The Washington Put up revealed on Saturday that the outlet initially handed on the Samuel Alito flag story in 2021 after its former Supreme Court docket reporter had a confrontation over it with the justice’s spouse.
“The Put up determined to not report on the episode on the time as a result of the flag-raising seemed to be the work of Martha-Ann Alito, quite than the justice, and related to a dispute along with her neighbors,” the Washington Post report mentioned, citing a spokesperson for the paper. “It was not clear then that the argument was rooted in politics.”
Former Washington Put up Supreme Court docket reporter Robert Barnes went to the Alitos’ residence in 2021 after receiving a tip on the flag. In line with the outlet, Alito’s spouse, Martha-Ann, shouted, “It’s a global sign of misery” after being probed by the reporter on the flag.
An upside-down American flag, a logo utilized by the previous president’s supporters who falsely declare President Biden didn’t win the 2020 election, was seen flying at Alito’s residence within the weeks following the Jan. 6 riot, The New York Times first reported final week.
Alito beforehand advised Fox Information that his spouse was the one who hung the flag in response to insults from a neighbor.
Cameron Barr, the previous senior managing editor, took accountability for not working the story on the time, according to Semafor.
“I agreed with [Supreme Court reporter] Bob Barnes and others that we should always not do a single-slice story in regards to the flag, as a result of it appeared just like the story was about Martha-Ann Alito and never her husband,” Barr advised the outlet.
Semafor referred to the choice as “cautious and deferential, and really pre-Dobbs,” suggesting it meant extra now after the Supreme Court docket’s conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Now, it’s exhausting to think about,” the outlet wrote.
Members of the media and outstanding Democratic lawmakers are calling on Alito to recuse himself from all circumstances earlier than the court docket which are associated to Donald Trump. Conservatives have mentioned the story is way ado about nothing and a part of a wider effort to delegitimize the Supreme Court docket.
“On reflection, I ought to have pushed more durable for that story,” Barr advised Semafor.
Alito’s spouse reportedly advised the Washington Put up reporter to ask their neighbors what they did and advised the reporter to get off their property.
One other image carried by Trump supporters, an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, was seen flying at a seashore residence owned by Alito in New Jersey, the New York Times reported days after their preliminary report. The flag, often known as the Pine Tree flag, dates again to the Revolutionary Warfare.
