Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Tuesday met President-elect Donald J. Trump spoke shortly before Mr Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to delay his sentencing after he pleaded guilty in a case arising from hush money payments in New York.
“William Levy, one of my former law clerks, asked me to speak to President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in government office,” Justice Alito said in a statement Wednesday. “I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon.”
Judges often serve as references for their law clerks, but prospective employers are rarely certain of doing business before the court.
Justice Alito said he had not spoken with Mr. Trump about the hush money case or any other legal proceedings.
“We did not discuss the emergency application filed by him today and in fact, at the time of our conversation I was not even aware that such an application would be filed,” the justice said. “We also did not discuss any other cases that are pending or may come before the Supreme Court in the future or any previous Supreme Court decisions involving the President-elect.”
Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, an advocacy group seeking greater openness at the Supreme Court, said the call was unfair.
“No one is questioning Levy’s credentials, which are as good as they can be,” Mr. Roth said. “The call was simply an excuse for Trump to talk to one of the nine people who will determine the fate of his hush money conviction in the coming days and who will review a number of other issues related to Trump over the next four years. “
The call was reported earlier ABC News,
In his emergency applicationMr Trump’s lawyers urged judges to stop the sentencing, which is scheduled for Friday, 10 days before the presidential inauguration. The plea came after a New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected the same request and raised sharp questions over the legality of his attempt to block the sentencing.
“This court should immediately stay further proceedings in the New York trial court to protect the institution of the President and the operation of the federal government from serious injustice and harm,” the application said.
The Supreme Court asked prosecutors to respond to the application by Thursday morning and may act on the request later that day.
Justice Alito has been the subject of controversy in recent years. In 2023, ProPublica reported that he had Failed to disclose a private jet flight It was paid for by a conservative billionaire whose case later went to court. In an opinion column The judge wrote in the Wall Street Journal that he was under no obligation to disclose the trip.
In 2024, The New York Times reported an upside-down American flag being flown outside the judge’s residence in the weeks following the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag being flown on January 6. A symbol of the rioters and the more Christian-minded government, on display at the Beach House of Justice in summer 2023.