Samuel Alito is dealing with the question of whether Donald Trump enjoys criminal immunity at the US Supreme Court. Flags in front of his properties are now raising doubts about his neutrality.
Right-wing conservative Justice Samuel Alito of the US Supreme Court is under criticism over another report that a flag associated with the storming of the Capitol was hoisted in front of his house.
Alito must recuse himself from all matters related to the attack on the House of Representatives, demanded the Democratic minority leader in the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, at a press conference. “He should have no part in it.”
The New York Times published photos on Wednesday that reportedly show the judge’s vacation home in the US state of New Jersey last summer. In front of it flies a flag with a pine tree and the words “An Appeal to Heaven”. The symbolism goes back a long way in US history, but has recently been used primarily by ultra-right Christians. On January 6, 2021, some supporters of Donald Trump carried such a flag with them when they violently stormed the Capitol. The then-defeated Republican president had previously incited them by claiming that he had been robbed of victory by massive fraud.
Doubts about Alito’s impartiality
Last week, the New York Times reported on an upside-down US flag that was said to have been hoisted in front of Alito’s house in Alexandria (Virginia) on January 17, 2021 – just a few days after the storming of the Capitol. This symbolism is also used by Trump’s supporters and played a role in the riots. According to Alito’s statement to the newspaper, his wife had hoisted the upside-down flag as a result of a political neighborhood dispute. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham described this as “not good judgment.”
Trump still refuses to admit his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. The Republican is currently facing legal proceedings for his role in the storming of the Capitol. The Supreme Court is currently considering whether Trump can claim immunity from prosecution in this and other court cases. Critics say the existence of the flags in front of Alito’s houses is a violation of the ethics rules for judges and sows doubts about Alito’s impartiality.
Source: Stern
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