House Democrats increase pressure on Alito to recuse himself in Jan 6 Supreme Court cases

Dozens of House Democrats on Tuesday have increased the pressure on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, after it was discovered that an upside down American flag flew outside of his home following the 2020 presidential election.

The upside down flag has been used as a symbol for the "Stop the Steal" movement, which supports the claim that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. Alito claims that the flag was flown by his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, and that he had "no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag," per the New York Times. His wife flew the flag because of a spat with a neighbor.

The flag controversy has prompted at least 45 Democratic lawmakers to demand he recuse himself from cases related to January 6, and the 2020 presidential election. Some lawmakers have also renewed calls for an ethics code of conduct to be placed on Supreme Court justices.

“Your own public statement attempts to pass responsibility to your wife, but you nonetheless acknowledge that it was a political statement in support of Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter, The Hill reported. “Even if you had ‘no involvement’ in the display yourself, the fact of such a political statement at your home creates, at minimum, the appearance of improper political bias."

The lawmakers, co-led by Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman from New York, have specifically called for Alito to recuse himself from an upcoming ruling on whether Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for his actions related to the 2020 election. They also call on him to recuse himself on a separate ruling related to Trump and January 6.

The letter comes after they urged Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from January 6 cases, because of his wife's connection to the "Stop the Steal" movement. Ginni Thomas was also allegedly “actively strategizing” with Trump allies about how to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Supreme Court justice has declined the calls to recuse himself so far, but did recuse himself on a case related to Trump ally and former lawyer John Eastman.

“Sadly, you are now the second justice who has demonstrated at least an appearance of a conflict of interest related to the events surrounding the January 6 insurrection,” the members wrote. “Although Justice Thomas seemingly acknowledged this conflict of interest by recusing himself from the Court’s case related to Trump attorney John Eastman, he has shockingly refused to recuse himself from Trump and Fischer."