The ethical implications of President-elect Trump's call with Justice Alito
The ethical implications of President-elect Trump's call with Justice Alito
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito after Mark Esper's swaring in as Secretary of Defense during a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 23, 2019. Carolyn Kaster/AP hide caption
President-elect Donald Trump's phone call with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Tuesday is raising ethical concerns about communication protocols between the judicial and executive branches.
But others view the call as normal and unlikely to shape the court's decision-making.
The call took place just hours before Trump unsuccessfully asked the top court to block his sentencing in his New York hush money case. The court denied Trump's request late Thursday, and sentencing took place in New York on Friday.
Alito, who signaled that he would have wanted the Supreme Court to hear Trump's appeal, told ABC News that the call had nothing to do with the case or any other cases involving the president-elect. NPR reached out to Alito for a comment and has not received one yet.
Trump hasn't commented on the call.
The call was unethical and shouldn't have happened, said Gabe Roth, founder of Fix the Court, a group that advocates for federal courts to be more transparent, open and accountable to the public.
"It's obviously an unmistakable breach of protocol," Roth told Morning Edition. "You have an individual, the president-elect, who is petitioning the Supreme Court related to his sentencing in the hush money case, a Supreme Court justice who frankly should know better. This conversation should not have taken place."
Alito said in a statement that the two did not discuss the case or any others involving Trump. He said they talked about William Levi, Alito's former law clerk, and if he was qualified for a potential position in Trump's administration.
Levi also served as chief of staff and senior counselor to former Attorney General William Barr and chief counsel to GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.
Roth argues that these are also high-profile references whom Trump could have called instead of Alito.
He also said that a Supreme Court justice should have no reason to intermingle with members of the executive branch.
There is a federal law that any U.S. justice, judge, or magistrate should disqualify themselves in any proceeding where their impartiality might be reasonably questioned, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
"People are reasonably questioning Alito's impartiality given this call with Trump," Roth said. "So, that would mean he would be required to recuse from any Trump related cases."
GOP strategist Ron Bonjean, who has worked in the House and Senate, said this is a peek into how Trump will operate during his next presidential term.
"This is just one of the many things we can expect from President-elect Trump," Bonjean said. "He thinks outside the box. He operates on his own, his own bandwidth."
Bonjean said the call was unconventional, but he doubts it will have any effect on the court's decisions.
"I don't think the Supreme Court is up for haggling over rulings based upon whether or not Trump would hire an employee or not," Bonjean said. "I would find that highly unlikely."
Obed Manuel edited this piece, and Anna Yukhananov contributed.