Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito received a call from President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday, a day before Trump’s legal team filed an emergency appeal, aiming to delay his sentencing in a case involving falsified business records and hush money payments, reported ABC News.
Alito has since addressed the discussion, claiming that the pending processing had never been discussed during the visit and that he had no idea at the time. Instead, he explained that the visit was about a proposal for William Levi, who was being considered for a federal place in the incoming administration.
” William Levi, one of my past law clerks, asked me to take a visit from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to offer in a government position. I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me tuesday day”, Alito said in a statement issued Wednesday.
We did not talk about the urgent program he submitted today, and in fact, I was unaware that it would be submitted at the time of our conversation. Additionally, he continued,” We did not discuss any other matters that are pending or might occur before the Supreme Court or any prior Supreme Court decisions involving the president-elect.”
People with knowledge of the Trump transition team told the New York Times on Thursday that they believed Alito had requested the phone. But, Alito’s framed the position as him essentially agreeing to take the phone, at the request of his previous law clerk.”
Trump first appeared unsure as to why he was speaking with Alito, mistakenly believing he was answering the judge’s call. They added that Alito made it clear that Trump possible wanted to talk about Levi before the conversation turned to that subject.
The Supreme Court has rejected Trump’s charm to delay punishment. However, the timing and conditions surrounding this conversation between a sitting justice and a president-elect have attracted a lot of interest. It’s unusual for justices to speak with a leader in person, especially one with a situation pending before the judge.
This has raised questions about criminal ethics, especially given that Trump has long sought to influence the judge and has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with some justices.
Trump has occasionally officially criticized magistrates on social media for making controversial choices. He has even privately expressed anger that the three judges he appointed during his first term—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—had” done everything” for him, according to a man acquainted with his notes, writes the New York Times.
The Supreme Court gained Trump’s favor next summer when the six Republican-appointed judges decided that former presidents can be held legally liable for all offenses committed while serving in their official capacity.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a top Democrat, has called for Justice Alito to recuse himself from any potential role in Trump’s situation. He expressed concern about the possibility of a conflict of interest, citing the unexpected nature of the personal phone call and the timing of Trump’s legal filing.
According to Raskin, as quoted by ABC News,” Jury Alito’s decision to take a personal visit from President Trump shows possibly a serious mistake of judicial morality or, more likely, a conviction that he is completely free from them.”
