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The ConversationMay 31
Roberts Rebuffs Senate Democrats' Invitation to Discuss Ethics, Alito
Above: United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts poses for an official portrait at the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building on October 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Alex Wong/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday rebuffed Democratic senators' request to have Justice Samuel Alito recuse himself from cases involving the Jan. 6, 2021 US Capitol riots and turned down an invitation to speak with those senators about ethics at the Court.
Roberts wrote that justices should continue making their own decisions about recusals, and he would "respectfully decline" meeting with the senators because a "meeting with leaders only of one party" would be "inadvisable."
The Spin
Right narrative
Roberts was right to shoot down the Democrats' invitation. Congressional Democrats have had it in for conservative justices for years and even used a portion of their letter to Roberts to complain about Justice Clarence Thomas in addition to Alito. Democrats are seemingly never going to quit pursuing these justices over nothing, and Roberts is absolutely correct to not indulge them.
Left narrative
Roberts has again proven why he'll probably go down in history as one of the most problematic chief justices ever. Even if he doesn't deem it wise to meet with Democrats, Roberts could at least take steps to implement strict ethics rules for judges. This would reassure legislators and the public that there won't be any improprieties involving future cases. Instead, he continues to stymie every attempt to hold SCOTUS accountable.