Fox News Grandpa Writes Whiny Blog Post Defending His Wife’s Right-Wing Flags

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito responded to calls for his recusal with an indignant letter saying his wife has the right to fly flags with hidden, "Stop the Steal" meanings.

By Susan Rinkunas  |  May 29, 2024 | 5:07pm
Photo: Shutterstock Politics
Fox News Grandpa Writes Whiny Blog Post Defending His Wife’s Right-Wing Flags

Last week, 45 Democrats called on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from pending decisions in January 6-related cases after reports that his homes flew two far-right flags. And on Wednesday, the freak flag flier himself responded with a letter that is at various times whiny, indignant, and trolling.

If you’re just tuning in, news outlets reported recently that the Alitos flew an upside-down flag around the time of President Joe Biden’s inauguration and also an “Appeal to Heaven” flag last summer—both are symbols of the 2020 election denial movement, aka “Stop the Steal.” So you can see why lawmakers want him to recuse himself from cases regarding the January 6 insurrection due to “an appearance of impropriety.”

Alito blamed the first flag on his wife, Martha-Ann, and claimed to a Fox News reporter that she hoisted it after a male neighbor called her “the c-word.” (Pulitzer Prize winner Jodi Kantor reported in the New York Times on Tuesday that not only was it a woman, not a man, who said the word—but that this exchange happened several weeks after the flying of the upside-down flag. Kantor also reported that Martha-Ann spat at the neighbor’s car.) Alito did not respond to reporting about the second flag until his Wednesday missive.

In his little letter, Alito said he will not recuse from the cases because he didn’t put up either flag, his wife did. (Alito also sticks to his now-disproven story that Martha-Ann flew the inverted flag in January 2021 after a male neighbor called her a cunt.) Alito said he asked Martha-Ann to take down the upside-down flag but she initially refused. He wrote: “My wife and I own our Virginia home jointly. She therefore has the legal right to use the property as she sees fit, and there were no additional steps that I could have taken to have the flag taken down more promptly.” No additional steps? Guess his legs and arms stopped working temporarily! Also, is Alito saying that joint ownership of their home means she can really fly ANY flag she wants? Any flag? Like, I dunno, a Confederate flag? What about a Nazi flag? Much to think about.

Alito then asks us all to feel sorry for sweet little Martha-Ann, who’s been through a lot in his nearly two decades on the court, and implies that her free speech rights are being chilled. He wrote:

“My wife is a private citizen, and she possesses the same First Amendment rights as every other American. She makes her own decisions, and I have always respected her right to do so. She has made many sacrifices to accommodate my service on the Supreme Court, including the insult of having to endure numerous, loud, obscene, and personally insulting protests in front of our home that continue to this day and now threaten to escalate.”

You see, the wife of a life-tenured Supreme Court justice has a First Amendment right to fly flags with hidden, far-right meanings, but the constitutionally protected protests outside their home are “obscene” and “personally insulting.” Sam, if you’d like the protests of your horrible rulings to die down, you could simply retire.

Abortion rights protesters outside Justice Alito’s home in May 2022, after a leaked memo showed the court was planning to overturn Roe. Photo: Shutterstock

As for the “Appeal to Heaven” flag at their New Jersey beach house, Alito said he assumed Martha-Ann flew it “to express a religious and patriotic message.” He added, “I was not aware of any connection between this historic flag and the ‘Stop the Steal Movement.'” Then Alito repeats that his wife has a right to make her own decisions, which is especially rich coming from the author of the decision overturning Roe v. Wade. He adds that Martha-Ann owns the beach home outright as if that means she can do whatever she wants there. “My wife is an independently minded private citizen. She makes her own decisions, and I honor her right to do so. Our vacation home was purchased with money she inherited from her parents and is titled in her name. It is a place, away from Washington, where she should be able to relax.”

We’re still waiting on decisions in those cases about January 6 and, last week, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, (D-Ill.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) requested a meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts to ensure that Alito would recuse himself in those cases. Roberts can’t actually force Alito to do anything, though, which is super fun for all of us. If Roberts is actually upset by this Scandalito—plus all of the shit with Justice Clarence Thomas—perhaps the only solution is to resign himself to shift the balance of the court back to 5-4, rather than its current 6-3 lawless supermajority. But I’m not holding my breath.

 
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