House Dems Ask John Roberts If Sam Alito's Flag Mess Violated The Court's Ethics Rules

WASHINGTON ― Democrats on the House judiciary committee on Wednesday asked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to weigh in on whether Justice Samuel Alito violated the court’s code of ethics when he flew flags at two separate residences that were the same as those carried by insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

They also asked Roberts how, exactly, he plans to enforce the Supreme Court’s code of conduct given that it has no teeth .

“Recent reports indicate that Justice Samuel Alito displayed a flag indicating support for the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement a mere eleven days after the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol,” reads a letter to Roberts signed by House judiciary committee ranking member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and all 17 other Democrats on the panel.

“This incident, which Justice Alito has largely confirmed, constitutes both public participation in political activity and the appearance of the absence of impartiality in violation of Canons 5 and 3 of the Code of Conduct,” the letter says.

Canon 5 of the court’s code states that a justice “should not… publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for public office.” Canon 3(B)(2) of 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 or her duties.”

“Any reasonable person, knowing that Justice Alito has repeatedly and openly expressed his support for the former president ― including in the immediate aftermath of the attack on the Capitol ― would rightly question his