Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has no interest in playing the Democratic political game.
Last week, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Ind.) Requested Justice Roberts forced Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from cases “related to the 2020 presidential election” on January 6. Senators have also made clear they want to exclude Justice Alito from any upcoming rulings on President Trump’s immunity case.
“I understand that Justice Alito sent you a letter about this matter.”
Their reason? Because Alito’s wife held up the flag.
The two Democrats also requested to meet with Roberts to discuss their concerns about Supreme Court ethics.
No refusal
In his response Thursday, Roberts rejected requests from Durbin and Whitehouse to force Alito to resign.
Alito subtly made clear the partisan nature of the request, noting that Supreme Court justices have followed the same guidelines on recusal since the 1790s and are not going to deviate now just because Democrats say so.
“With regard to questions about justices’ involvement in pending cases, the Supreme Court justices recently reaffirmed their 235-year-old practice of having individual justices decide recusal issues,” Roberts said. explanation In a letter.
“I understand that Justice Alito sent you a letter on this issue,” he noted.
No meetings
Roberts added that he would not meet with Democrats because doing so could violate the separation of powers.
Importantly, Roberts alluded to the fact that Durbin and Whitehouse already knew he couldn’t meet with them, a fact he made clear as early as April of last year.
“As I wrote to Chairman Durbin last April, aside from ceremonial occasions, this is a rare time in our nation’s history that a sitting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has met with members of Congress, even in a public setting such as a committee hearing attended by members of both major parties,” he explained. “It raises concerns about separation of powers and the importance of maintaining an independent judiciary in the event of such an event.”
But Roberts didn’t end the letter there, emphasizing what he believes to be the partisan nature of the Democrats’ demands.
“[T]”The proposed format – a meeting only with leaders of one party who have expressed an interest in matters currently pending before the court – only emphasises that it would be unwise to participate in such meetings,” he said.
Alito speaks
Earlier this week, Justice Alito made his position clear in response to calls for his resignation.
“Any reasonable person not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to influence the outcome of the Supreme Court’s decision would conclude that what happened does not meet the criteria for a presidential withdrawal,” he said of his wife’s flag-raising.
“I am therefore obliged to reject your request for resignation,” he stressed.
Do you like Blaze News? Bypass censorship and subscribe to our newsletter to get stories like this delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up here!
