House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Friday to apologize for “disrespecting” the American flag.
“Samuel Alito should apologize immediately for disrespecting the American flag and sympathizing with right-wing violent insurrectionists,” Jeffries said in a statement in a press release Friday.
“He must recuse himself from cases involving the 2020 election and [former President Trump,]” the New York Democrat continued in the statement. ”Congress should immediately consider legislation to impose an ethical code of conduct on a runaway Supreme Court. The Constitution demands and the American people deserve more from a justice serving on the highest court in the land than baseless election denial.”
Jeffries’ statement follows a Thursday report from The New York Times about an upside-down American flag that was flown at Alito’s Alexandria, Va., home in January 2021. The upside-down American flag is a symbol connected to the “Stop the Steal” efforts that have a basis in inaccurate claims of election fraud.
Alito has said that his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, was responsible for the flag.
“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Alito said to the Times. ”It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called on Alito to recuse himself from every case connected to Jan. 6, 2021 and the 2020 election following the news of the flag coming to light.
“Flying an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement — clearly creates the appearance of bias,” Durbin said.
“Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former President’s immunity in U.S. v. Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering,” he added.