(IntegrityTimes.com) – Justice Samuel Alito’s former law clerk is asking him to recuse himself from Supreme Court cases following reports that an inverted American flag flew outside his residence after the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021. Susan Sullivan told reporters on June 5 that the symbol was “not insignificant”, and that regardless of who put it there, it should not have been there.
Sullivan added that the upside down flag was an “incendiary” statement that could only raise an “inference of bias”. She served as Alito’s clerk when he was on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The law clerk commented that she was “aghast” after seeing the images of the flag, stating that she had only known Alito to be a man of honor and integrity.
At the time of the January 6 attack, the inverted flag symbol was linked to the “Stop the Seal” movement, which sought to halt the transfer of presidential power following allegations of electoral fraud. Alito insisted he had nothing to do with the flag, claiming that his wife displayed it after an argument with neighbors. Martha-Ann, Alito’s wife, explained that the inverted flag is an internationally recognized “signal of distress”, which has long been used as a maritime signal by ships in trouble.
A former neighbor of the couple, Emily Baden, has disputed the claims, and accused Alito of lying about the display of the flag outside his Virginia home. Alito claimed that the neighbor put up a sign insulting his wife that prompted her retaliation, but Baden said the justice was at best mistaken and at worst lying deliberately. The former neighbor recalled that the flag had actually been displayed two or three weeks before the dispute on February 15, 2021.
Sullivan argued that the justice’s flag showed “political impropriety”, and that it irrefutably raised doubts about claims of impartiality towards former President Donald Trump. She added that the symbol demonstrated Alito’s support for those who continue to claim the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump and that its result was illegitimate.
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