WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Monday that Supreme Court Justice Samuel・He repeatedly told reporters that he wanted Alito to resign. 2021.
But Durbin said he has no intention of conducting an investigation.
“No, there is no plan. I think he has explained his situation. The American people understand what he has done.” “But I don’t think there’s much to be gained from the hearing at this point. I think he should recuse himself from cases involving Trump and his administration.”
And what if Alito refuses to resign voluntarily?
“Impeachment is the only option, and we are nowhere near that point,” Durbin said.
Still, other Democrats on the committee said they were concerned about the situation and wanted to investigate it, and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a ranking Republican and former Judiciary Committee chairman, said the upside-down flag reflected poor judgment from Alito, a conservative.
“It’s not a good decision to do something like that,” Graham told reporters. “I don’t know what the position is, but he said his wife was insulted and he was angry. I assume that’s true. But he’s still a Supreme Court justice. You have to be aware of the moment and think about it.”
Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said he had not looked into the Alito matter in detail but added: “It’s obviously very unfortunate and should be looked at closely.”
The upside-down flag, long considered a distress signal, was used by some rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in reaction to fabricated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump. swayed by. After the Times article was published, Alito said Fox News’ Shannon Bream said her wife flew the flag upside down for a “brief period” after an anti-Trump neighbor made rude and vulgar comments toward her. Neighbors were alarmed by the installation of the exhibit on the Alitos property in mid-January 2021, between the Jan. 6 attack and President Joe Biden’s inauguration, the newspaper reported. Ta.
Alito did not respond to requests for comment.
“I’ve been in this business for several years, and I’ll tell you this: blaming your wife is never a good defense,” Durbin said.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.), the No. 2 Judiciary Democrat, said the Alito case “should be investigated.” He said it was “too early” to say what the investigation should look like, but said it should “obviously” include subpoena powers if necessary.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said he supports an investigation.
“There’s no way he didn’t know about it,” Padilla said.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) said he doesn’t understand why Justice Alito and other justices would “allow him to be portrayed that way” and question his impartiality. .
“If that guy wants to fly an unusual flag, that’s very strange,” Fetterman said. “Now you wonder: Does he love Tucker Carlson and all kinds of weird stuff like that?”
“I never think throwing your wife under the bus is a great strategy for anything,” he added.
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont), the freshman member of the Judiciary Committee, said he doubted the investigation would be fruitful.
“There has to be a strong ethical standard. I don’t think we should waste time at this point,” he said. “Whether it was just Alito’s spouse who did it or whether it was him on his own, it was clearly inappropriate. I don’t believe there is any so-called investigation going on. That’s the reality.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) said he didn’t blame Alito.
“This is America. Mrs. Alito has a right to her opinion. But I see no evidence that Judge Alito had any part in it,” he said. “You’re going to come home and tell my wife that she doesn’t have a right to her beliefs? If I do that, I’m going to get murdered in the future.”
