REPS. JOHNSON, CROCKETT TO JUSTICE ALITO: YOUR CALL WITH TRUMP DOESN'T PASS THE SMELL TEST

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee overseeing Federal Courts and a leading legislator on court reform in the House, along with Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), sent a letter to Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito demanding his recusal from Donald J. Trump v. New York. The demand comes after Justice Alito admittedto having a private conversation with President-elect Trump just hours before his lawyers requested the Supreme Court halt sentencing in his New York hush money case.

The Honorable Samuel Alito
Associate Justice
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20543

Dear Justice Alito:

We strongly urge you to recuse yourself from participation in the case of Donald J. Trump v. New York, et al. Yesterday, Donald Trump applied to the Supreme Court for a stay of his criminal proceedings, those in which Mr. Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments, and in which he is to be sentenced tomorrow. News outlets reported that you spoke on the phone with Mr. Trump on Tuesday, January 7, the day before his attorneys filed an application with the Supreme Court. Although this filing was docketed after your call, it was apparent to anyone following the case that Mr. Trump would apply to the Supreme Court for relief.

You stated that the call was simply a reference check for a potential government employee. But that does not pass the smell test. When the President-Elect calls a Supreme Court Justice just before the Supreme Court rules on a personal matter, there is a clear appearance of impropriety, and it tarnishes the independence of the Court. We wrote to you last year, because we were concerned about the appearance of hyper-partisanship when you flew an upside-down flag and an "Appeal to Heaven" flag at your homes, both of which are symbols of the "Stop the Steal" movement.

This one-on-one phone call with Mr. Trump only lends greater credence to the idea that the Court is hyper-partisan and pro-Trump. 28 U.S.C. § 455 requires disqualification "in any proceeding in which [your] impartiality might reasonably be questioned." Likewise, Canon 3B of the Court's ethics guidelines state that "a Justice should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the Justice's impartiality might reasonably be questioned, that is, where an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could fairly discharge his or her duties." We think, given these facts, it is evident that an unbiased and reasonable person would doubt your impartiality on the case, and that that perception is corrosive to the rule of law.

Scandal after scandal has led to rock-bottom levels of trust in the Supreme Court. To protect what is left of the integrity of the Court, you must recuse yourself from any decisions in the case of Trump v. New York.

You can view the pdf version of the letter HERE.