Alito-Trump Call Sparks Ethics Debate Ahead of Court Filing

Facts

• US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Justice Samuel Alito confirmed Wednesday that he held a phone call with Pres.-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon regarding a former law clerk, William Levi, who was being considered for a government position.^[1][2]
• The call occurred the day before Trump's legal team filed an emergency application with the court seeking to delay his sentencing in the New York hush-money case.^[3]
• Alito stated he was unaware of the upcoming emergency application during the call and maintained that no discussion occurred about any pending or potential future court matters involving Trump.^[4][5]
• William Levi, the subject of the job reference call, previously served as chief of staff to then-Attorney General Bill Barr during Trump's first term and had clerked for Alito from 2011 to 2012.^[6]
• Trump's emergency application to the Supreme Court argues for halting his sentencing, scheduled for Friday, citing concerns about presidential immunity and potential harm to governmental operations.^[5][7]
• The Supreme Court requested prosecutors to respond to Trump's application by Thursday morning. This comes amid ongoing ethics controversies at SCOTUS, including scrutiny of Justice Alito over undisclosed travel and flying of an "Appeal to Heaven Flag" at his residence.^[7]

Sources: ^[1]FOX News, ^[2]CNN, ^[3]ABC News, ^[4]NBC, ^[5]Newsmax, ^[6]Breitbart and ^[7]The New York Times.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by The New Republic and Medium. This phone call reeks of political maneuvering, as Trump, convicted on 34 felony counts for falsifying records to cover up hush money payments, chose Alito to influence his case. Alito's claim of it being a routine job reference call is laughable, especially given his history of engaging with conservative figures when their cases are before the court. This interaction is another dagger in the heart of judicial impartiality.
• Republican narrative, as provided by New York Post and Townhall. This phone call has been completely misrepresented by Democrats attempting to project their sins onto Trump and Alito. The call was merely a job reference, not a plot. Yet Democrats, who have attacked the court's legitimacy since the 2022 abortion case, continue to paint justices as corrupt to sway public opinion. What's worse is that they're doing this to protect corrupt NY Judge Juan Merchan in his pursuit of falsely labeling Trump a "felon" before his presidency.