Susan Walsh/AP
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at the Capitol in Washington, March 7, 2019.
CNN
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Left-wing activists on Monday released secret recordings of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife, Chief Justice John Roberts, discussing a range of politically sensitive topics.
In his conversation with the activist, who describes herself as a religious conservative and did not disclose in the recordings he released that she was making them or intending to release them, Justice Alito endorsed her suggestion that “the people of this country who believe in God must continue to fight for that, to restore this country to God’s country.” “Well, I agree with you,” Justice Alito said.
At another point, the activist, who described himself as a devout Catholic, told the judge, “I don’t know if we can negotiate with the left in the way that’s necessary to end polarization. I think this is a matter of winning.”
“I think you’re probably right,” Alito responded. “One of us will win. I don’t know. I mean, there may be ways to live together peacefully, ways to work together, but it’s difficult. We disagree on fundamental points that really can’t be compromised. So there’s no middle ground to be found.”
The recording was made by self-described documentary filmmaker Lauren Windsor, who said she made the recording last week at a dinner hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society. The subjects did not appear to know they were being recorded by Windsor, and Windsor calls the clips “secret audio” of X.
Rolling Stone magazine was the first to report on the recording.
During last week’s event, Windsor also secretly recorded a conversation with Chief Justice John Roberts in which the chief justice can be heard disapproving of some of Windsor’s statements, including her position that the Supreme Court should “lead” the United States as a “Christian nation.”
“Well, I don’t know if we live in a Christian country, and I know a lot of Jewish and Muslim friends who would say maybe we don’t,” Roberts says in the recording, “and it’s not our job to do that. It’s our job to judge the case as best we can.”
CNN has not independently obtained the full audio of Alito or his wife’s remarks. Posted by Windsor on X These were part of a longer recording she made of the event. Roberts and Alito declined to comment on the secret recordings to CNN.
The Alitos in particular have been embroiled in controversy recently after two provocative flags were reportedly displayed on the conservative justice’s property. The incident adds to a growing list of ethics controversies that have plagued the Supreme Court in recent years and drawn scrutiny from politicians and commentators on both sides of the aisle.
In another clip, Justice Windsor again describes herself as a religious conservative, and Justice Martha Ann Alito laments a Washington Post-style reporter who has written critically about her, goes on to complain about “fem-Nazis” and says she believes “Justice Alito should control himself.”
The comments came after Windsor brought up the flag controversy, in which Justice Alito said his wife was responsible for the display of two provocative flags seen on his property — an upside-down U.S. flag that flew at their Virginia home in early 2021 and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag that flew at their New Jersey home last summer.
“That’s why they’re going to hell,” Martha Ann Alito says in the recording. “He’ll never control me.”
Later in the conversation with Windsor, Martha Ann Alito says, “Next month we’ll see the Pride flag across the lagoon, and we want to fly the Sacred Heart of Jesus flag.”
“And he said, ‘Don’t put up the flag,'” she said, referring to the judge. “I said, ‘I’m not going to put up the flag because I’m following you, but once you’re free of this nonsense, I’m going to put up the flag and I’m going to send them a message every day, maybe every week.'”
James Duff, executive director of the Supreme Court Historical Association, denounced the recording in a statement Monday.
“The secret recording of the judges at our event is counter to the overall spirit of the evening and we condemn it,” Duff said. “Attendees are warned that discussion of ongoing cases, cases decided by sitting judges, or the judges’ legal doctrines is strictly prohibited and may result in termination of membership in the association.”
