A flag&nbsp;reading&nbsp;‘Appeal to Heaven,’ was flown by some of the Capitol attackers on January 6, 2021 Virginia justices's house. This same flag was seen flying over Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday (May 22).

The second flag, which is a symbol for a religious strand of the “Stop the Steal” campaign, was raised over Alito's New Jersey vacation home in July and September of 2023, the NYT report said.

The Times had previously reported that an upside-down American flag flew over the house of Virginia justices in January of 2021.

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Alito told the Times his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, raised the inverted flag in response to a dispute with a neighbor and he “had no involvement whatsoever."

Alito declined to respond to questions about the beach house flag.

A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the latest episode.

The high court is deliberating on two cases concerning former President Donald Trump and his supporters' attempts to overturn the election results. These decisions will impact the criminal election interference charges currently pending against Trump.

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Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, renewed his call for Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 insurrection.

"This episode will further erode public faith in the court," Durbin said in a statement in which he also urged Chief Justice John Roberts to add an enforcement mechanism to the court's ethics code.

Durbin has been advocating for Congress to enforce stricter ethics rules on the court, supported by an enforcement process, but has faced opposition from Republicans.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has displayed the flag outside his congressional office.

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The Freedom from Religion Foundation calls the flag a "sectarian symbol that indicates government endorsement of Christianity."

Delivering the commencement address at a Catholic University this month, Alito said that the freedom of religion is "imperiled."

(With inputs from agencies)

A flag reading ‘Appeal to Heaven,’ was flown by some of the Capitol attackers on January 6, 2021 Virginia justices's house. This same flag was seen flying over Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday (May 22).

A flag reading ‘Appeal to Heaven,’ was flown by some of the Capitol attackers on January 6, 2021 Virginia justices's house. This same flag was seen flying over Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home last summer, the New York Times reported on Wednesday (May 22). The second flag, which is a symbol for a religious strand of the “Stop the Steal” campaign, was raised over Alito's New Jersey vacation home in July and September of 2023, the NYT report said. The Times had previously reported that an upside-down American flag flew over the house of Virginia justices in January of 2021. Also read: Nikki Haley says she will vote for Donald Trump Alito told the Times his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, raised the inverted flag in response to a dispute with a neighbor and he “had no involvement whatsoever." Alito declined to respond to questions about the beach house flag. A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the latest episode. The high court is deliberating on two cases concerning former President Donald Trump and his supporters' attempts to overturn the election results. These decisions will impact the criminal election interference charges currently pending against Trump. Also read: US opposes recognition of Palestinian state, Israel calls it reward for terror Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, renewed his call for Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 insurrection. "This episode will further erode public faith in the court," Durbin said in a statement in which he also urged Chief Justice John Roberts to add an enforcement mechanism to the court's ethics code. Durbin has been advocating for Congress to enforce stricter ethics rules on the court, supported by an enforcement process, but has faced opposition from Republicans. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has displayed the flag outside his congressional office. Also read: UK PM Rishi Sunak springs a surprise, announces general elections on July 4 The Freedom from Religion Foundation calls the flag a "sectarian symbol that indicates government endorsement of Christianity." Delivering the commencement address at a Catholic University this month, Alito said that the freedom of religion is "imperiled." (With inputs from agencies)

Controversial flag flown over US Supreme Court Justice Alito's home: Report

According to a report by the New York Times, a former evangelical activist in a letter claimed that he knew the outcome of the 2014 Supreme Court decision involving contraception and the Affordable Care Act prior to the formal ruling. The information was supposedly given to him by a wealthy political donor who was allegedly told about the ruling by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito during a dinner at his residence.&nbsp;

The letter in question was sent by Rev. Rob Schenck earlier this year to Chief Justice John Roberts and was later procured by the Times, said that he was told about the upcoming ruling by Gayle Wright weeks before the public announcement after the two had dinner at Justice Alito’s home with his wife Martha-Ann Alito.&nbsp;

Notably, Alito wrote the majority opinion in 2014 for the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby which ruled in the favour of family-owned corporations like Hobby Lobby which had objected to a provision of the Affordable Care Act mandating employers to provide health insurance that includes contraception coverage.

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This comes months after the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to abortion, was leaked and reported first by Politico in May, also written by Justice Alito. However, since the New York Times report emerged, the supreme court justice in a statement to the media has vehemently denied these allegations and called them “completely false”.&nbsp;

“The allegation that the Wrights were told the outcome of the decision in the Hobby Lobby case, or the authorship of the opinion of the Court, by me or my wife is completely false,” said Justice Alito in a statement. He added, “My wife and I became acquainted with the Wrights some years ago because of their strong support for the Supreme Court Historical Society, and since then, we have had a casual and purely social relationship”. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The Wrights also never made any effort to obtain “confidential information or to influence anything that I did in either an official or private capacity”, said Alito and would be “shocked and offended if those allegations are true,” to ABC news. Meanwhile, Gayle Wright, in a telephonic interview with the Times also denied obtaining or passing along any such information.&nbsp;

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Schenck said that he came forward with the letter now to help with the ongoing investigation into the leaked draft of the majority opinion to overturn Roe. However, his account of the leak “has gaps”, said the Times report, but a series of exchanged emails and conservations imply that he knew about the ruling beforehand.&nbsp; 
 
The former evangelical activist also wrote that since there may be a “severe penalty” levied on the person responsible for the initial leak or the recent draft opinion he thought that the 2014 incident might, “bear some consideration”.&nbsp;

This comes as the SCOTUS has been under scrutiny since May 2022 after the leak of the majority opinion to overturn Roe with many accusing&nbsp;the conservative majority of&nbsp;politicisation. Several recent polls have indicated that the supreme court's&nbsp;public approval has reached record lows. Earlier this year, Alito had called the draft opinion leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case a “grave betrayal”, the ruling for which was announced in June.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, several mostly Democrat lawmakers have called for an investigation including US Representative Mondaire Jones, a Democrat from New York, who took to Twitter and said, “Today’s well-sourced NY Times article strongly suggests Justice Alito leaked the 2014 opinion in Hobby Lobby, and describes a conspiracy by the far-right donor class to influence the Supreme Court Justices. The House Judiciary Committee must investigate this while we still can.”&nbsp;

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The executive director of the judicial group, Demand Justice, Brian Fallon, also called on the Senate Judiciary Committee “to investigate the apparent leak.” He added, “The whistleblower in this report…should be called to testify about both the leak and the yearslong lobbying effort he once led to cultivate Alito and other Republican justices,” he said in a statement.&nbsp;

The Times report was the latest proof of “Republican justices on the Court are little more than politicians in robes,” said Fallon. Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat and head of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a statement said the panel is reviewing these “serious allegations” and urged the passage of pending legislation in Congress which would create a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.&nbsp;

“It is unacceptable that members of the highest court in the land are exempted from the judicial code of ethics when wealthy special interests are spending millions of dollars in dark money to influence the Court’s decisions,” said Durbin in a written statement on Saturday.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

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According to a report by the New York Times, a former evangelical activist in a letter claimed that he knew the outcome of the 2014 Supreme Court decision involving contraception and the Affordable Care Act prior to the formal ruling.

According to a report by the New York Times, a former evangelical activist in a letter claimed that he knew the outcome of the 2014 Supreme Court decision involving contraception and the Affordable Care Act prior to the formal ruling. The information was supposedly given to him by a wealthy political donor who was allegedly told about the ruling by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito during a dinner at his residence. The letter in question was sent by Rev. Rob Schenck earlier this year to Chief Justice John Roberts and was later procured by the Times, said that he was told about the upcoming ruling by Gayle Wright weeks before the public announcement after the two had dinner at Justice Alito’s home with his wife Martha-Ann Alito. Notably, Alito wrote the majority opinion in 2014 for the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby which ruled in the favour of family-owned corporations like Hobby Lobby which had objected to a provision of the Affordable Care Act mandating employers to provide health insurance that includes contraception coverage. ALSO READ: Leaked draft shows US Supreme Court set to strike down abortion rights: Politico This comes months after the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the constitutional right to abortion, was leaked and reported first by Politico in May, also written by Justice Alito. However, since the New York Times report emerged, the supreme court justice in a statement to the media has vehemently denied these allegations and called them “completely false”. “The allegation that the Wrights were told the outcome of the decision in the Hobby Lobby case, or the authorship of the opinion of the Court, by me or my wife is completely false,” said Justice Alito in a statement. He added, “My wife and I became acquainted with the Wrights some years ago because of their strong support for the Supreme Court Historical Society, and since then, we have had a casual and purely social relationship”. The Wrights also never made any effort to obtain “confidential information or to influence anything that I did in either an official or private capacity”, said Alito and would be “shocked and offended if those allegations are true,” to ABC news. Meanwhile, Gayle Wright, in a telephonic interview with the Times also denied obtaining or passing along any such information. ALSO WATCH: Roe v Wade: Pro & anti-abortion activists come face-to-face in US Schenck said that he came forward with the letter now to help with the ongoing investigation into the leaked draft of the majority opinion to overturn Roe. However, his account of the leak “has gaps”, said the Times report, but a series of exchanged emails and conservations imply that he knew about the ruling beforehand. The former evangelical activist also wrote that since there may be a “severe penalty” levied on the person responsible for the initial leak or the recent draft opinion he thought that the 2014 incident might, “bear some consideration”. This comes as the SCOTUS has been under scrutiny since May 2022 after the leak of the majority opinion to overturn Roe with many accusing the conservative majority of politicisation. Several recent polls have indicated that the supreme court's public approval has reached record lows. Earlier this year, Alito had called the draft opinion leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case a “grave betrayal”, the ruling for which was announced in June. Meanwhile, several mostly Democrat lawmakers have called for an investigation including US Representative Mondaire Jones, a Democrat from New York, who took to Twitter and said, “Today’s well-sourced NY Times article strongly suggests Justice Alito leaked the 2014 opinion in Hobby Lobby, and describes a conspiracy by the far-right donor class to influence the Supreme Court Justices. The House Judiciary Committee must investigate this while we still can.” ALSO READ: After abortion, US Supreme Court may go after contraception, same-sex marriage, say experts The executive director of the judicial group, Demand Justice, Brian Fallon, also called on the Senate Judiciary Committee “to investigate the apparent leak.” He added, “The whistleblower in this report…should be called to testify about both the leak and the yearslong lobbying effort he once led to cultivate Alito and other Republican justices,” he said in a statement. The Times report was the latest proof of “Republican justices on the Court are little more than politicians in robes,” said Fallon. Meanwhile, Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat and head of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a statement said the panel is reviewing these “serious allegations” and urged the passage of pending legislation in Congress which would create a code of ethics for the Supreme Court. “It is unacceptable that members of the highest court in the land are exempted from the judicial code of ethics when wealthy special interests are spending millions of dollars in dark money to influence the Court’s decisions,” said Durbin in a written statement on Saturday. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

US: Justice Alito denies allegations of involvement in 2014 Supreme Court leak, amid calls for probe

Army Secretary Mark Esper was sworn in as US&nbsp;secretary of defence on Tuesday, hours after being confirmed by the Senate in a strong bipartisan vote that ended the longest period by far the Pentagon had been without a permanent top official.

Esper was sworn in at the White House by US&nbsp;Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a ceremony hosted by President Donald Trump and attended by a number of Republican lawmakers. He was confirmed by the US Senate on a vote of 90-8 several hours earlier.

"That's a vote that we're not accustomed to, Mark. I have to say that, so congratulations," Trump told Esper, a former professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

Esper, 55, a former soldier and lobbyist for weapons maker Raytheon Co, received strong bipartisan support despite sharp questioning during his confirmation hearing by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren about his ties to Raytheon and his refusal to extend an ethics commitment he signed in 2017 to avoid decisions involving the company.

Warren, a 2020 presidential hopeful, was the only member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to voice opposition to Esper's confirmation during the hearing.

Raytheon is the third-largest US defence contractor.

There has been no confirmed defence secretary since Jim Mattis resigned in December over policy differences with Trump. Many members of Congress from both parties had urged the Republican president to act urgently to fill the powerful position.

Trump's previous pick to be secretary of defence, former Boeing Co executive Patrick Shanahan, withdrew from consideration on June 18 after reports emerged of domestic violence in his family.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on members to support Esper as he opened the Senate on Tuesday morning.

"The nominee is beyond qualified. His record of public service is beyond impressive. His commitment to serving our service members is beyond obvious. And the need for a Senate-confirmed secretary of defence is beyond urgent," McConnell said.

Four of the eight "No" votes came from senators running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination - Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar.

An Army veteran, Esper served as a congressional aide and a Pentagon official under Republican President George W. Bush before working for Raytheon. He had been Army secretary since November 2017.

Army Secretary Mark Esper was sworn in as US secretary of defence on Tuesday, hours after being confirmed by the Senate in a strong bipartisan vote that ended the longest period by far the Pentagon had been without a permanent top official.

Army Secretary Mark Esper was sworn in as US secretary of defence on Tuesday, hours after being confirmed by the Senate in a strong bipartisan vote that ended the longest period by far the Pentagon had been without a permanent top official. Esper was sworn in at the White House by US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a ceremony hosted by President Donald Trump and attended by a number of Republican lawmakers. He was confirmed by the US Senate on a vote of 90-8 several hours earlier. "That's a vote that we're not accustomed to, Mark. I have to say that, so congratulations," Trump told Esper, a former professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. Esper, 55, a former soldier and lobbyist for weapons maker Raytheon Co, received strong bipartisan support despite sharp questioning during his confirmation hearing by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren about his ties to Raytheon and his refusal to extend an ethics commitment he signed in 2017 to avoid decisions involving the company. Warren, a 2020 presidential hopeful, was the only member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to voice opposition to Esper's confirmation during the hearing. Raytheon is the third-largest US defence contractor. There has been no confirmed defence secretary since Jim Mattis resigned in December over policy differences with Trump. Many members of Congress from both parties had urged the Republican president to act urgently to fill the powerful position. Trump's previous pick to be secretary of defence, former Boeing Co executive Patrick Shanahan, withdrew from consideration on June 18 after reports emerged of domestic violence in his family. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called on members to support Esper as he opened the Senate on Tuesday morning. "The nominee is beyond qualified. His record of public service is beyond impressive. His commitment to serving our service members is beyond obvious. And the need for a Senate-confirmed secretary of defence is beyond urgent," McConnell said. Four of the eight "No" votes came from senators running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination - Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar. An Army veteran, Esper served as a congressional aide and a Pentagon official under Republican President George W. Bush before working for Raytheon. He had been Army secretary since November 2017.

Former lobbyist Esper sworn in as US defence secretary, to succeed Mattis

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Controversial flag flown over US Supreme Court Justice Alito's home: Report

US: Justice Alito denies allegations of involvement in 2014 Supreme Court leak, amid calls for probe

Former lobbyist Esper sworn in as US defence secretary, to succeed Mattis