Roberts Rebuffs Senate Democrats' Invitation to Discuss Ethics, Alito

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Facts

  • US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday rebuffed Democratic senators' request to have Justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from cases involving the Jan. 6, 2021 US Capitol riots and turned down an invitation to speak with those senators about ethics at the Court.1
  • Roberts wrote that justices should continue making their own decisions about recusals, and he would 'respectfully decline' meeting with the senators because a 'meeting with leaders only of one party' would be 'inadvisable.'2
  • Previously, Democratic leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week sent their requests to Roberts in response to media reports about Alito flying flags reportedly associated with the 'Stop the Steal' movement in front of his homes in Virginia and New Jersey.3
  • In a pair of letters sent to congressional Democrats earlier in the week, Alito wrote that 'a reasonable person who is not motivated by political or ideological considerations' wouldn't expect him to recuse himself from cases because of the flags, which he said were flown by his wife, who is a 'private citizen.'4
  • SCOTUS has two pending cases related to the 2020 election. One involves the use of an obstruction charge by prosecutors against Jan. 6 defendants, while the second will decide whether Trump has sweeping immunity from federal prosecution.4

Sources: 1New York Times, 2Associated Press, 3USA Today and 4CBS.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by Townhall. Roberts was right to shoot down the Democrats' invitation. Congressional Democrats have had it in for conservative justices for years and even used a portion of their letter to Roberts to complain about Justice Clarence Thomas in addition to Alito. Democrats are seemingly never going to quit pursuing these justices over nothing, and Roberts is absolutely correct to not indulge them.
  • Left narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast. Roberts has again proven why he'll probably go down in history as one of the most problematic chief justices ever. Even if he doesn't deem it wise to meet with Democrats, Roberts could at least take steps to implement strict ethics rules for judges. This would reassure legislators and the public that there won't be any improprieties involving future cases. Instead, he continues to stymie every attempt to hold SCOTUS accountable.

Predictions