Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) stepped up his criticism of Supreme Court Justice Alito on Monday night after the release of a secret recording of the justice saying “we have fundamental and irreconcilable differences” while discussing ideological differences.
Regarding Alito’s comments, Blumenthal said, “Alito is becoming a tyrant who is rebelling against the Supreme Court itself, with no regard for ethics.”
The recording, recorded at the Supreme Court Historical Association’s annual dinner on June 3, also features Chief Justice John Roberts answering questions from a liberal filmmaker posing as a fan of the conservative justice.
According to one clip published by Rolling Stone, the chief justice countered the filmmaker’s claims, saying, “The idea that the courts have been at the center of a lot of turmoil is nothing new.”
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal (left) on Monday repeated his ethics criticism of Justice Samuel Alito in response to the new recording. (Getty Images)
“It is disappointing — outrageous, in fact — that Roberts is tacitly condoning Alito’s conduct, degrading the Supreme Court and degrading himself,” Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and himself a lawyer, wrote on X.
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The article focuses on Alito’s comments, particularly those in which he claims there are irreconcilable differences. Additionally, in the recording, the filmmaker can be heard telling Alito, “The people of this country who believe in God must continue to fight for it, to restore this country to its sacred place.”
“I agree. I agree,” Alito said in response to her.
The article made much of the judge’s support for the idea of returning the country to “sanctity.”
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Chief Justice John Roberts delivers the State of the Union address. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The Supreme Court did not provide comment from Justice Alito in response to a request from Fox News Digital.
Film director Lauren Windsor told her followers that the recording was “huge news” and “probably the biggest undercover job of my career”, but some reacted to its groundbreaking nature.
“The media war on Alito continues,” Fox News host Mark Levin wrote on X. “This time his crime is his belief in God.”
“This is pure clickbait,” argued Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network. “There is nothing impropriety whatsoever in this audio of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.”
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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife, Martha Ann, attend his inauguration in February 2006 in the East Room of the White House. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Earlier, Democrats, particularly those on the Senate Judiciary Committee, had renewed their efforts to pressure Justice Alito and the Supreme Court over alleged ethics violations, and had been lobbying Congress to pass legislation to enforce the Supreme Court’s code of conduct, but critics have said such measures to control the Supreme Court are outside the scope of Congress’ authority.
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Efforts to hold Justice Alito accountable have intensified in recent days following a New York Times report that an upside-down American flag and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag were hanging in Justice Alito’s home in the weeks following the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Despite requests to step aside from litigation related to the contentious 2020 election, Justice Alito has refused. In particular, the issue of former President Trump’s immunity from federal election interference lawsuits remains before the court, with a decision expected this month.
