Justice Alito questions possibility of political compromise in secret recordings
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Samuel Alito, Supreme Court Justice People are heard wondering whether a compromise between left and right is possible in a conversation posted on social media on Monday. The conservative justice is also heard agreeing with a woman who says the United States must return “to a place of godliness.”
The audio is placed on X by liberal filmmaker Lauren Windsor. She said it was recorded last week at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner.
“One side or the other is going to win,” Alito said. “There can be a way of working, a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are disagreements on fundamental issues that really can’t be compromised.”
Windsor then told Alito, “I think the solution is really like winning a moral argument. People in this country who believe in God must continue to fight for that, to return our country to a place of godliness.”
“I agree with you,” Alito replied.
Windsor also spoke to Chief Justice John Roberts, who rejected a similar argument. When Windsor suggested the court should lead the nation on a “Christian” path, Roberts responded, “I don’t know if that’s true.”
Alito has rejected calls to step aside High Council cases involving former President Donald Trump and Jan. 6 defendants after stories emerged of controversial flags flying over his homes.
In letters to members of Congress, Alito said his wife, Martha-Ann, was responsible for flying both an upside-down flag over their home in 2021 and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at their New Jersey beach house last year. Both flags resembled those carried by rioters who violently stormed the Capitol in January 2021, while echoing Trump’s false claims of election fraud.
Roberts declined an invitation to meet with Democratic senators to discuss the ethics of the Supreme Court and the flags flying outside Alito’s homes.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Windsor said she recorded the conversations with Alito and Roberts because “the Supreme Court is shrouded in secrecy and they refuse to submit to any accountability despite the overwhelming evidence of serious ethical violations, I think. that it is justified to take these types of measures.”