Lauren Windsor, a liberal filmmaker who secretly recorded Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and John Roberts, said Wednesday that the “lies” they told the justices elicited “truths” of value to the public.
“I hope people are more shocked by the ethical violations of the Supreme Court than by the lies I told in an effort to elicit truths that serve the public interest,” Windsor told CNN’s Jim Acosta, responding to Republican criticism of her work.
Windsor posed as a conservative worshiping the justices at a Supreme Court Historical Society dinner on June 3 and posted the secret recording to social media.
Acosta said Windsor purchased a $500 ticket in her own name to attend the event and speak to the justices.
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Liberal filmmaker Lauren Windsor appeared with CNN’s Jim Acosta on Wednesday to discuss the secret recordings of Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and John Roberts. (Screenshot/CNN)
Windsor argued that Democrats haven’t put enough pressure on the Supreme Court on ethics reform.
“I don’t think Mr Sen thinks so. [Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.] “The Senate has done enough. I know there are a lot of arcane rules in Senate procedure. If Republicans won’t pass any ethics reform, I think Democrats should do something,” she said.
She criticized Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham for saying he would block ethics reform. “‘I’m against ethics’ is a great campaign message,” she said.
Justice Alito and his wife, Martha Ann Alito, have recently come under fire for flying an upside-down flag and for displaying an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at their beach house in the weeks following Jan. 6, 2021. Windsor argued that the judge was “encouraging” his wife’s behavior.
Asked whether Alito’s wife was allowed to have her own opinions, the liberal activist replied, “Of course.”
“But when your spouse is one of the most powerful people in the country and he literally has his finger on the scales of justice, are you going to say you’re going to abolish impartiality, which is a fundamental principle of our democracy, our judiciary? Is that OK? He’s acknowledging that he cannot be impartial. He’s saying there are some things he cannot compromise on,” Windsor said.
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Justice Samuel Alito appeared in a new group photo with the other Supreme Court justices in October 2022. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
“The View”‘s liberal co-hosts on Tuesday criticized the way Windsor obtained the recording, with co-host Sunny Hostin describing it as an “assassination.”
“I am extremely disappointed by what I have heard, but I am also disgusted that snippets of the tape recording were quoted out of context without my consent,” Hostin said.
Fellow host Joy Behar also said she was uncomfortable with the clip because it appeared to have been altered.
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But the co-hosts agreed that someone had to expose the judges.
“As we’ve just seen, the Supreme Court is currently very biased and theocratic. Someone has to expose them because they’re acting arrogantly and they’ve got the entire Republican Party on their side. The objectivity of the Supreme Court is being lost and someone needs to be exposed,” Behar said.
In one exchange, Windsor told Alito that Americans should fight to “restore our country to its sanctity.”
“I agree, I agree,” Alito replied, according to the recording.
