Ranking Member Raskin and Vice Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez Demand Chief Justice Roberts Explain Why He Allowed Justice Alito to Remain on Jan. 6 Case Despite Recognizing[...]

Chief Justice Roberts Took the "Highly Unusual" Step of Replacing of Justice Alito as Author on the Fischer Case Following Reports of Ties to "Stop the Steal" Movement Yet Allowed Him to Remain on the Case

Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Vice Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts demanding an explanation for his decision to replace Justice Samuel Alito as the author of the Supreme Court's opinion in Fischer v. United States, a case involving the January 6 insurrection, just days after the public learned that he repeatedly flew flags and banners supportive of the January 6 insurrectionists while allowing him to remain on the case.

"Recent reporting by the New York Times suggests that you took the 'highly unusual' step of replacing Justice Alito as the author of the Supreme Court's opinion in Fischer v. United States, a case involving the January 6 insurrection, just days after the public learned that Justice Alito and his spouse repeatedly flew flags and banners supportive of the insurrectionists and the 'Stop the Steal' movement. Your decision suggests that you recognized that Justice Alito's partisan ideological activity called into question his impartiality with regard to the Fischer matter. Yet, Justice Alito, like Justice Clarence Thomas, whose own ties to the 'Stop the Steal' movement are well established, was allowed to participate in the Fischer case, in violation of the Court's institutional commitment to the principle that a Justice must 'disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the Justice's impartiality might reasonably be questioned,'" wrote the Members.

On June 20, 2024, the Members wrote to Chief Justice Roberts expressing concerns about Justice Alito's troubling participation in cases related to January 6 due to his own ties to the "Stop the Steal" movement, and questioned what steps Chief Justice Roberts was taking to investigate flagrant instances of partisan activity and lack of disclosure on the Supreme Court. The Members also sounded alarms about allegations of misconduct by Justice Clarence Thomas, who failed to recuse himself from January 6 cases despite his own conflicts of interest, as well as his blatant violations of the Court's financial disclosure requirements.

The letter followed reporting that between the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol and President Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021, Justice Alito and his spouse flew an upside-down American flag outside of their personal residence, in an apparent show of support for the "Stop the Steal" movement. Additional reporting uncovered other instances of partisan activity by Justice Alito, from displaying other political flags to suggesting he is involved in an ideological battle with "the Left," according to audio recordings.

Chief Justice Roberts' decision to remove Justice Alito as the author of the Fischer opinion strongly suggests he recognized that Justice Alito's conduct raises concerns about his impartiality. However, by only changing the authorship instead of requiring both him and Justice Thomas to recuse themselves, Chief Justice Roberts allowed the Court to violate federal law, the Constitution, and its own ethical standards.

"[B]y taking the half measure of replacing him as the opinion's author, instead of requiring him, as well as Justice Thomas, to recuse wholly from the matter, you allowed the Court to violate and defy federal law, the Constitution, and its own Code of Conduct. […] In order to help us understand the Court's processes and your own actions, as we consider potential legislative action to make clear that the Justices of the Supreme Court, like every person in America, are bound by our Constitution and our laws, we respectfully request that you provide written responses to the following questions,"wrote the Members.

On June 11, 2024, Ranking Member Raskin and Vice Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez led Committee Democrats in examining the private and public corruption of the Supreme Court in a roundtable titled "High Court, Low Standards, and Dark Money: Flagging a Supreme Ethics Crisis in America."

In November 2023, Ranking Member Raskin led Committee Democrats in a letter to Chairman Comer urging him to investigate the ethics crisis in the Supreme Court amid reports of conservative Justices receiving undisclosed lavish gifts from wealthy individuals with business before the Court.

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