What a new report shows about Justice Alito in a Jan. 6 Supreme Court case

[marmar]

(MSNBC) One of the many big stories of this past Supreme Court term is Justice Samuel Alito’s refusal to recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases, despite the appearance of impropriety from flags flying at his homes that Jan. 6 rioters also carried. A new report from The New York Times sheds more light on the situation, painting a potentially even more damning picture of the episode.

The Times reported Sunday that Alito was originally assigned by Chief Justice John Roberts to write the majority opinion in Fischer v. United States, the case that narrowed obstruction charges against Jan. 6 defendants. The appeal didn’t involve Donald Trump directly, but some of the Republican presidential nominee’s charges in his federal election interference case involve alleged obstruction, so he could benefit from the Fischer decision as well.

But according to the Times, Roberts took over the opinion shortly after the Times reported in May that an upside-down flag — a symbol of the Stop the Steal movement — flew outside Alito’s home following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. We already knew that Roberts authored the 6-3 ruling in Fischer, published June 28, which Alito joined. But Alito initially being assigned by Roberts to write it is a new detail. When he’s in the majority, the chief has the power to assign who writes the opinion; otherwise, it’s the senior-most justice.

NBC News and MSNBC have not independently confirmed the Times report, which also explored the rulings granting Trump broad criminal immunity and keeping him on the presidential ballot despite the Constitution’s insurrectionist ban. The report said it’s based on “justices’ private memos, documentation of the proceedings and interviews with court insiders, both conservative and liberal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because deliberations are supposed to be kept secret.” ................(more)

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/alito-jan-6-case-roberts-supreme-court-rcna171267

[canetoad]

1. Wouldn't you love to be

A tarantula on the wall in their private meeting room.

I wish this showed that Roberts was attempting to rein in Alito, but sadly I think it's all about appearances not substance.