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 controversy, stating that the pending filing had never been discussed during the call and that he was not aware of it at the time. Instead, he explained that the call had been about a job recommendation for William Levi, who was being considered for a government position in the incoming administration.
“William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position. I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon,” Alito said in a statement issued Wednesday.
“We did not discuss the emergency application he filed today, and indeed, I was not even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed. We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the president-elect,” he added.
According to the New York Times, people familiar with the Trump transition team indicated Thursday that they believed Alito had asked for the call. However, Alito’s framed the situation as him simply agreeing to take the call, at the request of his former law clerk.”
“Trump initially appeared confused about why he was speaking with Alito, mistakenly thinking he was returning the justice’s call. Alito clarified that Trump likely wanted to discuss Levi, after which the conversation shifted to that topic,” they added.
The Supreme Court has rejected Trump’s appeal to delay sentencing. However, this interaction between a sitting justice and a president-elect has drawn significant attention due to the timing and circumstances surrounding it. It’s rare for justices to have such direct conversations with a sitting president, especially one with a case pending before the court.
This has led to concerns regarding judicial ethics, particularly since Trump has long sought influence over the court and has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with certain justices.
Trump at times has publicly criticised the justices on social media over decisions he disagrees with. He has also privately expressed frustration that the three justices he appointed during his first term—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—had “done nothing” for him, according to a person familiar with his remarks, writes the New York Times.
The Supreme Court regained Trump’s favour last summer when the six justices appointed by Republicans ruled that former presidents enjoy wide immunity from prosecution for actions carried out in their official capacity.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a senior Democrat, has called for Justice Alito to recuse himself from any future involvement in Trump’s case. He expressed alarm over the appearance of a conflict of interest, emphasising the unusual nature of the private phone call and its timing just before Trump’s legal filing.
“Justice Alito’s choice to take a personal call from President Trump—who clearly has an ongoing and highly personal case before the court—shows either a serious misunderstanding of judicial ethics or, more likely, a belief that he is exempt from them entirely,” said Raskin, as quoted by ABC News.
