Chief Justice John Roberts declines to meet with Democratic lawmakers about ethics flap and Alito’s flags

CNN —

Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday rejected a meeting request from Democratic lawmakers who wanted to discuss two provocative flags hoisted at Justice Samuel Alito’s properties.

“Separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence counsel against such appearances,” Roberts wrote in a letter released by the Supreme Court.

In this file photograph, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr., left, and his wife Martha-Ann Alito, pay their respects at the casket of Reverend Billy Graham at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 2018. An upside-down American flag, a symbol associated with Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud, was displayed outside of Alito's home days after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, The New York Times reports. "It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs," Alito said in an emailed statement to the newspaper. video

Related video Justice Alito: Wife ‘solely responsible’ for flags outside home

The chief justice’s letter landed a day after Alito told lawmakers in his own letters that he will not recuse in cases involving the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Alito said that his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, hoisted an upside-down American flag at their Virginia home in January 2021 in response to a neighborhood spat. He said she also raised the “Appeal to Heaven” flag at their New Jersey property last summer.

“My wife is fond of flying flags,” Alito wrote. “I am not.”

Both flags have become associated with supporters of former President Donald Trump and were waved at the Capitol during the riot. Alito said in