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Alito Refuses to Recuse Himself From Tax Case After Fawning Article

Senate Democrats alleged the flattering interview with Alito, conducted by a lawyer arguing a case before him, created a conflict of interest.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has shot down calls for him to recuse himself from an upcoming tax case after Senate Democrats alleged his presence would constitute a conflict of interest. The Wall Street Journal published a fawning interview with Alito in July, an article whose byline included law firm BakerHostetler LLP’s partner David Rivkin—who just so happens to be a member of the team who will be presenting arguments in Moore v. U.S. before the Supreme Court. Ten of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Democratic members alleged in a letter that Alito “violated a key tenet” of court ethics by taking the case despite the possible conflict of interest. Alito shot back Friday in a petition aimed at Committee Chair Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), calling his argument “unsound” and confirming he will be a sitting justice on the case. “There is no valid reason for my recusal in this case,” Alito wrote. “There was nothing out of the ordinary about the interviews in question.” In a statement Friday, Durbin blasted Alito's refusal to recuse himself: “The Court is in a crisis of its own making, and Justice Alito and the rest of the Court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust, not the opposite.”