In the United States, the Supreme Court is once again under fire from critics, particularly one of its members, the very conservative Samuel Alito. On Thursday, the New York Times revealed that the magistrate had, in January 2021, raised a United States flag upside down in the garden of his home, in the suburbs of Washington. This action, considered a “Trumpist symbol”, took place precisely on the day Joe Biden took office.
For many observers, this gesture further calls into question the partiality of the highest institution of the United States. This is particularly bad because the Supreme Court has many pending cases. In particular, it must rule on the criminal immunity invoked by Donald Trump in the federal proceedings against him for attempts to illegally reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Samuel Alito rejects any involvement
In an email sent to the New York daily, the magistrate assured that he was not at the origin of this action. He thus claims to have “not been in any way involved in the hoisting of the flag” at his home, evoking a “brief” initiative by his wife in reaction to an “insulting display in a neighbor’s garden”.
Despite his denials, several elected Democrats called on the magistrate on Friday to recuse himself from any case related to the 2020 election or the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, head of the judicial committee, indicated that this upside-down flag “created an appearance of bias.” “The Court finds itself in an ethical crisis for which it is solely responsible and Justice Samuel Alito and his colleagues should do everything in their power to regain public trust,” he said.
Aged 74, Justice Samuel Alito is considered the most right-wing of the nine members of the Supreme Court. In 2022, he became known to Americans after writing the ruling that removed federal protection of the right to abortion.