Chief Justice Roberts declines invitation to meet with Democratic lawmakers over Justice Alito flag incident

Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday declined an invitation to meet with Democratic senators to discuss the controversy surrounding the flags that flew outside homes owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

In a letter on Thursday, Roberts penned his response to Democratic senators, writing that he "respectfully declines" their invitation to meet to discuss ethics concerns surrounding Alito flying of an upside-down American flag outside his Virginia home, and an "Appeal to Heaven" flag at his New Jersey vacation home.

"I must respectfully decline your request for a meeting," Robert wrote in his response to Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and the Judiciary Committee.

"As noted in my letter to Chairman Durbin last April, apart from ceremonial events, only on rare occasions in our Nation's history has a sitting Chief Justice met with legislators, even in a public setting (such as a Committee hearing) with members of both major political parties present," he said.

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Roberts said his attendance at a meeting with Senate Democrats was "inadvisable" and underscores the importance of separation of power between the Supreme Court and the legislative branch.

"Separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence counsel against such appearances," he wrote. "Moreover, the format proposed — a meeting with leaders of only one party who have expressed an interest in matters currently pending before the Court — simply underscores that participating in such a meeting would be inadvisable."

READ ROBERTS' LETTER: APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Robert's response came a day after Alito said he won't