Tennessee U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that would censure U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito and remove him from litigation related to the 2020 election or the January 6 Capitol riots.
Last week, The New York Times reported that an inverted U.S. flag was photographed flying from the front lawn of Alito’s residence on January 17, 2021.
Alito has since commented on the report, saying, “I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”
Democrats are arguing that the display of the inverted flag at Alito’s residence “publicly engaged in political activity and demonstrated his bias,” which, as Cohen’s office adds, is a “breach of judicial ethics.”
Despite The Times pointing out that the “exact duration that the flag flew outside the Alito residence is unclear,” Cohen and a group of Democrats are determined that Alito displayed the inverted flag to sympathize or show support for the January 6 riot and “Stop the Steal” effort.
As a result, Democrats are demanding that Alito recuse himself from “all litigation related to the 2020 election or the January 6 insurrection,” specifically the cases of Trump v. United States and Fischer v. United States.
“Beyond poor judgment, Justice Alito’s misuse of the American flag is a knowing and shameless demonstration of his political bias. He literally flew a flag in front of his house showing the world he supported the January 6th insurrectionists. What’s more, he continues to participate in litigation directly related to the 2020 election and the Insurrection, in direct violation of the federal recusal statute and the Supreme Court’s own ethics rules,” Cohen said in a statement.
“There must be accountability to protect the integrity and impartiality of the High Court. We must protect the Constitutional rights to fair and impartial proceedings. Justice Alito should be censured for flagrant breaches of the law and court rules, and he must recuse himself from all other 2020 election and January 6th related litigation,” Cohen added.
On Tuesday, Cohen also joined 45 Democratic members of the House in sending Alito a letter conveying similar concerns and demands as laid out in the Tennessee congressman’s resolution.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
we need to censure cohen for being a piece of trash. he is terrible.
look at the shape his district is in
chicken coop Cohen is a pitiful example of a legislator. He has done nothing and Memphis is a good example of it. Divisive as the day is long. Hoping someday we finally get him out of this state.
Idiotic! An inverted flag is a sign of distress, originally used in naval situations as I recall. Flying one over land, in recent history, is generally regarded as a statement that our nation is in distress and needs help. Despite what many idiotic Democrats are attempting to portray, this has NOTHING to do with J6. Foolishness like this is further evidence that our nation does, in fact, need help.
What a disgrace Cohen is to Tennessee. But that is not a surprise considering his district and his political affiliation.