In a preemptive response to potential ethics violations, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito published an op-ed before the release of a report by ProPublica. However, ProPublica did release their report, detailing how hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer flew Alito to Alaska on a private jet in 2008 for a luxury fishing trip costing over $100,000. Alito stayed as a guest of a conservative donor and the trip was organized by a conservative judicial activist who later made a secret payment to the wife of another justice.
According to ProPublica, justices are not required to report free hospitality provided on personal property, but a stay at a commercial lodge should have been disclosed. The outlet also claims that judges are required to disclose gifts of private jet flights. In his op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Alito stated that he did not disclose the flight or stay because he believed the exemption meant accommodations and transportation for social events were not reportable gifts.
Alito also denied that he should have recused himself from Singer’s cases, stating that he was unaware of Singer’s connection to the court when the cases were presented. He claimed they had minimal contact and never discussed court matters or Singer’s business. Singer supported Alito’s statement, asserting that he had no pending matters before the Supreme Court at the time of the trip. However, it is worth noting that Singer’s hedge fund had previously asked the court to intervene in a case against Argentina and ultimately received a favorable ruling in 2014.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
