Recusals
— Justice Alito failed to recuse in 12-842, NML Capital v. Argentina, despite his receipt of a luxury vacation to Alaska from Paul Singer, the head of NML Capital, in 2008 and Alito’s impartiality might reasonably being in question (cf., 28 U.S.C. §455(a)). NML filed or was a respondent in nearly a dozen SCOTUS petitions between 2007 and 2014, though this is the only one for which cert. was granted. Missed recusal 1/10/14 (cert. granted); no action taken (FTC not founded until 11/12/14).
— Justice Alito failed to recuse in 17-290, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht, despite owning shares in Merck; missed recusal on 6/27/17 (application to extend the time to file); reported and recused on 9/22/17, and then unrecused 10/26/18 after he sold his shares.
— Justice Alito failed to recuse in 20-6256, Valentine v. PNC Financial Services, et al., where one of the “al.” was PNC Bank, whose shares Alito owns. Missed recusal on 1/11/21 (cert. denied); reported 2/4/21; no further action taken.
— Justice Alito is also participating in Moore v. U.S. despite a conflict. An attorney on the cert. petition, David Rivkin, Jr., interviewed Alito for the Wall Street Journal in April 2023, when the petition was pending, and again in July 2023, just after the petition had been granted. Reported by various commentators, though most effectively in a letter from Sen. Dick Durbin to Chief Justice Roberts, on 8/3/23; Alito denied calls to recuse in a statement issued 9/8/23.
Source: Fix the Court
Ethical Lapses
— Did not recuse in merits case 07-582, FCC, et al., v. Fox Television, et al., despite holding 2,000 shares of Disney stock on behalf of his minor children. ABC, which Disney owns, was a party on the respondents’ side. (2008)
— Did not recuse in a series of petitions brought by hedge fund NML Capital against Argentina over a yearslong debt repayment fight, though NML’s principal, Paul Singer, paid for his private plane travel during a lavish 2008 Alaskan fishing trip in 2008. (2009-14; revealed in 2023)
— Reportedly disclosed the outcome of an open case, 13-354, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, to friends over dinner; these friends became close to the justice and his wife during “Operation Higher Court” (described above). (2014; revealed in 2022)
— Did not recuse in merits case 17-290, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. v. Albrecht, despite owning shares in Merck. Eventually sold shares and unrecused. (2017-2018)
— Along with Kavanaugh, met with the head of the National Organization for Marriage at the Supreme Court. NOM submitted an amicus brief in the merits cases 17-1618, Bostock v. Clayton Co.; 17-1623, Altitude Express v. Zarda; and 18-107, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC that were unresolved at the time. (2019)
— Attended Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s taxpayer-funded Madison Dinner with other politicians and GOP donors. (2019)
— Along with Breyer, Did not recuse in 18-6644, Feng v. Komenda and Rockwell Collins, Inc. (cert. denied), though he owns shares in Rockwell’s parent company, United Technologies Corp. Said he had “no way of knowing” about the conflict since Rockwell didn’t file a response, which is spurious reasoning (i.e., FTC knew). (2019)
— Speech to Federalist Society annual convention included discussion on COVID’s impact on religious exercise at a time when cases concerning the topic remained active at the Court. (2020)
— Did not recuse in 20-6256, Valentine v. PNC Financial Services, et al. (cert. denied), where one of the respondents was PNC Bank, whose shares Alito owns. (2021)
— Attacked a journalist and the journalist’s article on the “shadow docket” during a live broadcast speech. (2021)
— Justified in an unprecedented Wall Street Journal op-ed his lavish 2008 Alaska trip with Paul Singer, Leonard Leo and GOP megadonor Rob Arkley II by downplaying the opulence of the lodge he stayed in and the wine he drank, which contradicts press reports, and justified the acceptance of ride in Singer’s private plane by saying it “would have otherwise been an unoccupied seat,” among other memorable lines. (2023)
— Sat for two Journal interviews with David Rivkin, Jr., an attorney on the petition in 22-800, Moore v. U.S., which was argued in Nov. 2023. The first interview occurred in April, when Rivkin’s cert. petition was pending, and the second occurred in July, just after cert. was granted. Alito did not recuse in the case. (2023)
— In the above interview, made comments about Supreme Court ethics legislation that is pending in the House and Senate. (2023)
Source: Fix the Court (PDF)