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May 17, 2024

Rep. Schiff Calls on Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves from January 6th Cases Following NYT Reporting

Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) released the following statement calling on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from any cases related to the January 6 attack on the U.S Capitol. Schiff also called on Justice Clarence Thomas to do the same.

The statement comes in response to a recent New York Times article reporting that an upside-down US flag, a startling political symbol associated with the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement, was flying outside of Alito’s house days before President Biden’s inauguration.

“Justice Alito should recuse himself from cases related to January 6. As should Justice Thomas. The Supreme Court has lost the trust of the American people when justices continue to sit on cases where they have such a clear bias," said Rep. Schiff.


Background on Schiff’s work to restore integrity to the Judicial system

This week, Schiff announced the creation of the Court Reform Now Task Force, alongside Representative Hank Johnson. The task force will be utilized as a platform to increase awareness and elevate the debate around key pieces of court reform legislation to fix and rebalance the court

Schiff also recently introduced the Judicial Integrity Act, a critical bill that would hold federal judges and justices accountable for violations of their ethical duties and restore integrity to the courts. Last Year, Schiff introduced the Justice is Beneficial Limitation on Investments and Necessary Disclosure (BLIND) Act, a bill that would require judges to place their financial assets and investments into blind trusts. Schiff also introduced the Judiciary Act of 2023 which would expand the Supreme Court to 13 members. Later in September, Rep. Schiff joined as an original cosponsor of the Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization (TERM) Act, which would set term limits for Supreme Court justices while establishing a process for Supreme Court appointments.

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