Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts declined to meet with two Democratic senators who requested a meeting to discuss Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, who is facing growing calls to recuse himself from cases involving former President Donald Trump.
Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts attends the State of the Union address on Feb. 7, ... [+]
In a letter to Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.—who requested a meeting with Roberts last week to discuss Alito and the court’s code of conduct—Roberts said he would “respectfully decline” the meeting, noting it is rare for a sitting chief justice to meet with legislators.
Durbin and Whitehouse requested a meeting with Roberts to ensure that Alito recused himself in cases related to the 2020 election and Trump because of the “appearance of impropriety” they said stemmed from two flags with ties to Trump supporters on display outside of Alito’s homes in recent years.
“Separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence counsel against such appearances,” Roberts wrote in his response.
Roberts wrote that meeting with leaders of just one political party with interest in matters before the court would be “inadvisable.”
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
On Wednesday, Alito responded to the senators’ letter by saying he would not recuse himself because his wife was the reason the two flags with symbols associated with Jan. 6 and Trump were flying at his houses. Alito argued in the letter that his wife has a First Amendment right to display what she wants outside of their homes—one of which is jointly owned and one that is “titled in her name.”