A progressive filmmaker posing as a conservative Catholic activist secretly recorded Supreme Court justices and at least one of their wives, reigniting political tensions on the nation's highest court. In a private conversation at the annual dinner for the Supreme Court Historical Society on June 3, Martha-Ann Alito reportedly vowed retaliation of some kind against her former neighbors and journalists, stating, “You come after me, I'm gonna give it back to you.” Her comments came after scrutiny over the display of flags, also flown at the U.S. Capitol riot, at the Alitos' properties.
“There will be a way, it doesn't have to be now, but there will be a way they know,” she insisted. “Don't worry about it.”
Justice Alito suggested in his comments that a compromise between the left and the right might be impossible. “One side or the other is going to win,” he said. “There can be a way of working, a way of living together peacefully, but it's difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can't be compromised.”
The Hill continues:
The remarks were recorded by progressive filmmaker Lauren Windsor, who attended the event as a member of the society under her real name, though she posed as a conservative to elicit answers from Alito and others.
The recordings were published by MSNBC and Windsor's activist site The Undercurrent — the second set released Monday after previous recordings of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Alito in Rolling Stone.
Alito's flag controversy began last month when it was discovered that an “Appeal to Heaven” flag and an upside-down American flag were flown at the couple's homes. The symbols have been associated with far-right politics, Christian nationalism, and those who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
Alito asserts that the flags were flown by his wife without his knowledge and not as a political statement. He claims that the first reported flag, an upside-down American flag, was hoisted briefly following a neighborhood dispute. The second, an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, also known as the Pine Tree flag, has historical significance dating back to the American Revolutionary War.
Windsor's conversation with Justice Alito included him agreeing with her assertion that the U.S. should strive to be a Christian nation and his admission that much of the court's business comes down to political ideology. Roberts fought against her ideas in the pair's own recorded conversation.
Roberts began by challenging Windsor's assertion that the court has the authority to guide the country on a “moral” path.
“Would you want me to be in charge of putting the nation on a more moral path?” Roberts asked rhetorically. “That's for people we elect. That's not for lawyers.” When Windsor stated “I believe that the founders were godly, like were Christians, and I think that we live in a Christian nation and that our Supreme Court should be guiding us in that path,” Roberts responded, “I don't know if that's true.”
“I don't know that we live in a Christian nation. I know a lot of Jewish and Muslim friends who would say maybe not, and it's not our job to do that.”
When pressed if the role of the court was “guiding us toward a more moral path,” the chief justice flatly disagreed.
“No, I think the role for the court is deciding the cases.”
Roberts also contested the idea that the current polarization in the country was irreparable.
At the end of May, Roberts declined a meeting request from Democratic Senators Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) regarding the flag displays. Justice Alito himself responded to the controversy the day prior, stating, “The two incidents you cite do not meet the conditions for recusal. As I have stated publicly, I had nothing whatsoever to do with the flying of that flag. I was not even aware of the upside-down flag until it was called to my attention.”
Alito first told Fox News' Shannon Bream that the upside-down flag display stemmed from a personal dispute, not political motivations. He explained that a liberal neighbor had insulted his wife after she asked him to remove an anti-Trump sign near a school bus route.
“Things escalated, and the neighbor put up a sign personally addressing Mrs. Alito and blaming her for the Jan. 6 attacks,” Bream relayed Alito's version of events. The neighbors, Emily Baden and her then-boyfriend (now husband), countered these claims, alleging they were harassed by Martha-Ann. On Feb. 15, 2021, Baden's boyfriend called the Fairfax County Police Department, stating, “Somebody in a position of authority needs to talk to her and make her stop.” The police dispatcher responded that there was nothing they could do, as yelling isn't a crime.
READ NEXT: Senator Causes Early Morning Car Crash
