Alito should not be serving on the Supreme Court

He’s not going to be removed. But by holding hearings Senate Democrats can focus attention on his treasonous behavior and the Court's corruption.

The New York Times reports on yet another treasonous flag flying on yet another home owned by Justice Samuel Alito and his wife.

Last week, it was the Times report and a jaw-dropping photo of an upside-down flag—embraced by the “Stop the Steal’ movement—flown on the lawn of his Alexandra, Virginia, home in the days after January 6th. This week it’s an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which, as the Times reports, ‘like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol in the days after Jan. 6, 2021.” It was flown at the Alito’s home on the Jersey shore on Long Beach Island in the summer of 2023:

[The flag] dates back to the Revolutionary War but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald J. Trump, for a religious strand of the “Stop the Steal” campaign and for a push to remake American government in Christian terms.

This is completely unacceptable for a Supreme Court justice. But Democrats and much of the media are falling into a trap in discussing why it is unacceptable.

Democrats have called for Alito to recuse himself from January 6th cases, noting that Alito has shown he can’t be impartial. Many media reports have quoted legal scholars and ethicists, pointing out that judges aren’t supposed to show any political bias or express political viewpoints.

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The response to this by the GOP is to point to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg having publicly criticized Donald Trump and not recusing herself from Trump-related cases (though she did apologize for her statements, calling them “ill-advised”).

This is comparing apples and oranges, but Democrats are allowing Republicans to do so by not pointing to the most disturbing aspect of Alito’s flag waving: He is pledging allegiance to rebellion against the United States.

As the distinguished Harvard constitutional scholar Lawrence Tribe stated yesterday, “Any judge or justice who commits high crimes and misdemeanors, and that certainly includes giving aid and comfort to an insurrection against the Constitution of the United States, which is close to treason, that any such person is subject to impeachment by the House of Representatives.”

Tribe acknowledges that there is no way this MAGA-led House is going to impeach Alito but says that’s not an excuse for the Senate not to “at least initiate a serious investigation into whether impeachable offenses have been committed,” and, at the very least, “whether a meaningful, enforceable code of ethics” should be enacted.

Tribe says the Senate should call for Alito to testify and subpoena him if he doesn't. He needs to explain under oath what the flags meant, not just release statements to the media blaming his wife.

Two days ago, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Dick Durbin, joining Democrats in the House and Senate, called on Alito to recuse himself from January 6th cases but said there’s “not much to be gained” by holding hearings. “No, we haven’t got anything planned,” he told NBC News. “I think he’s explained his situation. The American public understands what he did.”

Really? I think the American public is overwhelmingly horrified to see an upside-down flag on the lawn of a Supreme Court justice. Will Durbin continue with this weak argument even after the report of a second treasonous flag?

His response is not only insufficient; it’s political malpractice as we’re headed into a critical election. There is an enormous amount to be gained. It’s all upside, no downside.

The Supreme Court is very unpopular, having swung to the far right and stripping basic freedoms like the right to abortion. And after the corruption in the form of undisclosed gifts to Alito, Thomas and others, the American people want political leaders to stand up and demand justice. It doesn’t matter if Republicans fight against this. Let them be exposed as indifferent or supporting treason themselves.

And actually, even some Republican senators were on the defensive after the upside-down flag report, per CNN:

Senate Republican Whip John Thune, one of the contenders vying to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, called the flag a “bad decision.”

“I don’t know how you explain that,” Thune said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that it was a “mistake” for Alito to have an American flag hanging upside down at his home.

It creates a bad image,” Graham told CNN’s Manu Raju. “It created a situation that we’re all talking about. So, yeah, I think it was a mistake.”

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney echoed concerns about the flag.

“It’s very unfortunate and we ought to take a look at it,” he said to reporters.

Of course, Republicans will defend Alito in the end. And Alito is not going to be removed from the court. But Democrats need to understand the power of hearings, especially when—unlike the clown show in the House as Republicans hold ridiculous hearings based on lies—Democrats have the American people with them.

And at least some Republicans in the Senate are clearly uncomfortable and know how this is playing out among voters. Democrats need to capitalize on that, going on the offensive, exposing MAGA extremism and Trump’s radical grip, rather than run from it.