Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito admitted to Fox News on Wednesday that he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump the day before Trump’s high court appearance, but said he had spoken to the former president’s legal team in an effort to delay the ruling. He said he did not discuss the emergency application that he had planned to file.
Alito told Fox News’ Shannon Bream that former Secretary of State William Levi was asked if he would take a call from President Trump regarding the position being considered, citing Levi’s “excellent resume.” praised.
“One of my former law clerks, William Levi, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his eligibility for government office. I would like to discuss this issue with President-elect Trump. I agreed and he called me yesterday afternoon,” Alito said.
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Associate Justice Samuel Alito will join other members of the Supreme Court in October 2022 to pose for a new group portrait. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Alito said he had not spoken to President Trump about the emergency application and that he was “not even aware that such a request would be made at the time of the conversation.”
“We also did not discuss any other issues that are pending or that may arise in the future regarding past Supreme Court decisions that are relevant to the Supreme Court or the next president,” Alito said. Ta.
Alito told Fox News that he often asks potential employers of former clerks for recommendations, which is common.
Levi previously worked at the Justice Department during the president-elect’s first term and also served as Alito’s clerk from 2011 to 2012.
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President-elect Trump meets with members of Congress. (Getty Images)
Alito spoke with Trump the day before the president was due to appear in New York in the high court over his hush-money lawsuit, but the conversation was a “blatant breach of protocol” and some criticized Alito. There is.
Gabe Ross, executive director of the nonpartisan group Fix the Court, said in a statement that “no person, no matter who he or she may be, should be allowed to stand in front of the judge or court considering that person’s case. We shouldn’t communicate outside.”
Alito said he was not aware that Trump’s lawyers were preparing an emergency request regarding the New York case, but there had been no discussion of it.
Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. poses for an official group photo at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on Friday, October 7, 2022. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He confirmed to Fox News that the call was solely about Levi and did not discuss any past, present or future issues related to Trump’s legal problems.
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He also said that no issues were discussed in court or that they might be challenged in court.
ABC News first reported the meeting between Trump and Alito.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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