U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito just defended himself against the recent ethics controversy that he has found himself at the center of.
Alito did so during an interview with the Wall Street Journal. The Journal published the interview on Thursday in an article called, Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court's plain-spoken defender.
In recent months, both Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas have been targeted by leftist-backed reports that alleged that they may have committed ethics violations.
The Associated Press reports:
. . . ProPublica reported earlier this year that Justice Clarence Thomas participated in lavish vacations and a real estate deal with a top Republican donor . . . Since then, ProPublica also revealed that Alito had taken a luxury vacation in Alaska with a Republican donor who had business interests before the court.
These reports were clearly designed to give congressional Democrats a basis to argue that the court, at least, needs to be regulated by Congress or to argue, at most, that Alito and Thomas need to be removed from the court.
It has to be remembered that the Supreme Court has a conservative majority, which has stopped the Democrats from doing what they have done for years, namely, using the high court to bypass the democratic process. Accordingly, the Democrats have been trying to find ways to reestablish some control over the court, either by regaining its liberal majority or by regulating it (the court is self-regulatory).
Thomas and Alito have both defended themselves. Alito initially did so in an op-ed that was published by the Journal. Now, Alito has sat down with the Journal for an interview.
There, Alito said, "I marvel at all the nonsense that has been written about me in the last year."
Alito went on to say that, typically, the justices respond with silence to many issues and allow others to speak out in their own defense.
"But that’s just not happening," Alito told the Journal. "And so, at a certain point, I’ve said to myself, 'nobody else is going to do this, so I have to defend myself.'"
Alito, during the interview, went on to argue that Congress, under the Constitution, does not have the authority to regulate the Supreme Court.
He said, "I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it: No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period."
When asked whether other members of the court agree with him on this point, Alito said that he was not sure but that he did "think it is something we have all thought about."
Alito is already receiving much pushback from the left for his remarks here. What else would be expected from the Democrats in their quest to obtain more power?
