WASHINGTON — Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday refused to recuse himself from two pending cases related to former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, following recent news about flags controversial issues raised on their private properties.
In letters to members of Congress urging his recuse, Alito said the two incidents involving flags at his home in Virginia and a vacation property in New Jersey, first reported by The New York Times, “do not meet the conditions for recusal” set forth. in the code of ethics recently adopted by the Supreme Court.
Alito said that in both cases “a reasonable person who is not motivated by political or ideological considerations or the desire to affect the outcome of Supreme Court cases” would conclude that no recusal was necessary. A letter was sent to the senators while the other was sent to members of the Chamber of Deputies.
He added that he had no involvement in the decision to fly any of the flags, saying they were created by his wife, Martha-Ann Alito. In the first incident, neighbors said an inverted U.S. flag was flown in early 2021, shortly after Jan. 6 and President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
In the other incident, a flag linked to conservative Christians with the motto “Appeal to Heaven” was raised at the holiday home the following year.
Both flags were embraced by some Trump supporters involved in the January 6 attack.
The Supreme Court is currently considering two cases that concern January 6: Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in his election interference case and an appeal brought by a man prosecuted for his role on the same day. Decisions must be delivered by the end of June.
Under the Supreme Court’s ethics rules, individual justices have the final say on whether to step aside from cases.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
