A Tennessee congressman has introduced a House resolution to censure U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito—a George W. Bush appointee—over an inverted American flag hung outside his Virginia home between the Jan. 6, 2021, “Stop the Steal” protests and President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
An upside-down flag was used by many people who believed that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in favor of President Biden and that former President Donald Trump was the actual winner.
“Beyond poor judgment, Justice Alito’s misuse of the American flag is a knowing and shameless demonstration of his political bias,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who proposed the resolution, said in a statement. “He literally flew a flag in front of his house showing the world he supported the January 6th insurrectionists. What’s more, he continues to participate in litigation directly related to the 2020 election and the Insurrection, in direct violation of the federal recusal statute and the Supreme Court’s own ethics rules.”
“A Justice should not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism,” the code reads.
The code says that a justice “should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the Justice’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, that is, where an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could fairly discharge his other duties.”
Flag Photograph
The resolution referenced a New York Times article from May 16 that published a photograph of the inverted flag in Justice Alito’s yard on Jan. 17, 2021.The resolution later cited the U.S. “Respect for Flag” code, which states that “no disrespect should be shown to the flag” and that a flag “should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”
“Whereas by flying the flag upside-down in front of his residence during the period between the certification of the election and the inauguration in 2021, at a time when former President Trump and his political allies were actively disputing the validity of the election results, there was a reasonable perception that Justice Alito was supporting former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results or signaling that President Biden’s election posed ‘extreme danger to life or property,’” the resolution reads.
The resolution continues, calling for Justice Alito’s recusal from all cases related to the prosecution of those accused of being insurrectionists at the “Stop the Steal” rally.
‘No Involvement’
Justice Alito told The New York Times that he had “no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag.”“It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs,” he said.
House Democrats Demand Recusal
Several House Democrats sent a letter to Justice Alito asking for his recusal from cases related to Jan. 6 prosecutions.“Undoubtedly, public trust and confidence in the Supreme Court is in shambles, which jeopardizes our democracy and the Rule of Law upon which it is based,” they said. “And given that your decisions in Trump and Fischer will profoundly affect the future of a past and potentially future President, and of democracy itself, it is essential that the Court attempt to bolster the public’s trust in the integrity of the Court.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Justice Alito for comment but received none by press time.
