U.S. Supreme Court
Alito says his phone call with Trump concerned former clerk
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to provide a job reference for one of his former law clerks. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press)
Updated: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday to provide a job reference for one of his former law clerks.
Alito said in a statement the ex-clerk, William Levi, had asked him to take the phone call, according to ABC News, which broke the story.
Stories followed in publications that include the New York Times, Reuters, CNN and Fox News.
Levi formerly work as chief of staff to then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr during Trump’s first presidency. He is now being considered for a government position in the new administration.
A day after the phone call, lawyers for Trump asked the Supreme Court to stay his Friday sentencing for allegedly falsifying business records to conceal a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors said the payment violated a New York law barring use of unlawful means to promote a candidacy—in this case, Trump’s presidential bid in 2016.
Alito said Wednesday, however, that the case was not discussed.
“We did not discuss the emergency application he filed today, and indeed, I was not even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed,” Alito said in the statement. “We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the president-elect.”
On Thursday evening, the Supreme Court denied Trump’s emergency application in a 5-4 vote. Alito, who did not recuse himself, voted with Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh in favor of granting Trump’s request to delay his Friday sentencing. They did not indicate their reasoning in the unsigned order.
Updated on Jan. 9 at 9:05 p.m. to note Justice Samuel Alito’s vote on Donald Trump’s emergency application.
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