Representative Adriano Espaillat spoke on the House floor to denounce the actions of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and urged Justice Alito to recuse himself from all January 6th-related cases currently before the Court.
The following are remarks by Rep. Espaillat, as prepared for delivery:
“Thanks to recent confirmed reports, we now know that after the January 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew an upside down American flag in front of his home for several days. This is just the latest, brazen act by an out-of-control, MAGA Justice whose conduct is directly responsible for current public opinion on the Supreme Court being at record lows. The inverted flag was a well-known symbol flown by far-right MAGA activists in early 2021—extremists who believed Donald Trump’s nonsensical election lie and who supported the goals of the January 6th assault on our democracy.
‘Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are.’
“Federal judges cannot make political displays and Alito is a Supreme Court Justice. He knew exactly what he was doing when he expressed solidarity with January 6th criminals. To quote Esmeralda Santiago —’Tell me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are.’ Time and time again, Alito has shown us who he is—a far-right, MAGA ideologue who is anything but an impartial jurist.
“In 2022, Alito followed the directives of Trump and the far-right MAGA camp to defy the will of the American people, and 50 years of legal precedent, by writing the decision that reversed Roe v. Wade. And, along with his fellow ultra-MAGA Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Alito has routinely failed to report large luxury gifts, paid-for private flights, and other payments to him and his family members by wealthy, far-right donors. Worst of all, Justice Alito has also openly failed to recuse himself from any of the several January 6th-related cases currently before the Supreme Court. And his bias is showing.
“During last month’s oral arguments before the Supreme Court in the Donald Trump election interference case, Alito cozied up to Trump’s absurd legal argument that past Presidents are completely immune from criminal prosecutions—recuse yourself! And in last month’s oral arguments, in a separate case involving charges against the January 6th Capitol insurrectionists, Alito revealed his view that prosecutors may have gone too far by daring to charge these defendants—recuse yourself!
“Justice Alito is someone who will do everything in his power to make sure Donald Trump and the January 6th insurrectionists evade prosecution and accountability for their crimes. For the sake of our democracy, Justice Alito must immediately recuse himself from all January 6th-related cases before the Court.
“… a threat to not just to the rule of law, but to American democracy itself.”
“Justice Alito’s behavior also underscores the need for Congress to immediately pass H.R. 926, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act. With H.R. 926, Supreme Court Justices like Samuel Alito would finally be held subject to the same ethics and recusal standards as others federal judges in a manner that is meaningful and enforceable. Until this occurs, Justice Alito’s insurrectionist worldview will continue to dominate our highest Court, representing a threat to not just to the rule of law, but to American democracy itself.”
Watch video of Rep. Espaillat on the House floor below:
Photo credit: 1) HWM. 2) Youtube.
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