WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. declined on Thursday a meeting requested by two Democratic senators following reports that flags tied to the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election were flown outside the homes of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., last week wrote a letter to Roberts that asked for a meeting about Alito and ethics issues more broadly at the nation’s highest court.
Roberts, who as chief justice of the United States heads the judicial branch, wrote Thursday in a response to Durbin and Whitehouse that it is “rare” for a sitting chief justice to meet with legislators even in a public setting with both major political parties present.
“Separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence counsel against such appearances,” Roberts wrote.
“Moreover, the format proposed — a meeting with leaders of only one party who have expressed interest in matters currently pending before the Court — simply underscores that participating in such a meeting would be inadvisable,” Roberts wrote.
Durbin and Whitehouse in their letter to Roberts wrote that the flag displays called Alito’s impartiality into question.