Democrats Act Against 'Shameless' SC Judge Samuel Alito Over His Jan 6 Upside-Down US Flag

A Tennessee Democrat is considering taking official action against 'shameless' Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito, following allegations of an upside-down American flag having been displayed at his Alexandria, Virginia, house during the January 6 insurrection. To reprimand Alito for “knowingly violating the Federal recusal statute and binding ethics standards and calling the impartiality of the Supreme Court of the United States into question,” Representative Steve Cohen, filed a resolution on Tuesday, May 21, as per The New Republic.

“Beyond poor judgment, Justice Alito’s misuse of the American flag is a knowing and shameless demonstration of his political bias,” Cohen said in a statement blasting Alito. “He flew a flag in front of his house showing the world he supported the January 6th insurrectionists. What’s more, he continues to participate in litigation directly related to the 2020 election and the insurrection, in direct violation of the federal recusal statute and the Supreme Court’s own ethics rules.”

Earlier this month, on May 16, The New York Times reported that the upside-down flag was observed in Alito's yard on January 17, 2021, much like many of Donald Trump's supporters who protested the alleged 'stolen election' in the weeks following the Republican's loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential elections. Alito defending himself, said that his wife had hung the flag upside down in protest of a neighbor's yard signs, and not in support of the business tycoon.

“There must be accountability to protect the integrity and impartiality of the High Court,” Cohen continued, not buying into Alito's claims. “We must protect the Constitutional rights to fair and impartial proceedings. Justice Alito should be censured for flagrant breaches of the law and court rules, and he must recuse himself from all other 2020 election and January 6th related litigation.”

In an essay published last week, Matt Ford of The New Republic stated that the disclosure raises questions about whether Alito can fairly resolve matters about the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The court is currently considering several such issues, one of which concerns whether Trump is exempt from punishment over his involvement in the coup attempt.

Cohen's remarks are consistent with those of Senator Lindsey Graham, a conservative member of the upper chamber, who stated that the act was 'not good judgment'. However, Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, dismissed a query over Alito's actions on May 21, telling reporters that the nation should “leave the Supreme Court alone.”

Ford, however, expressed in his op-ed that “Alito doesn’t care." He argued, “He [Alito] abides by judicial ethics requirements, and the general principle that judges should appear to be impartial and nonpartisan, only to the degree that they suit his own preferences.”