In part, he's a liar.
In explaining in more detail the flying of the upside-down flag, Alito said his wife was "greatly distressed" because of a "very nasty neighborhood dispute" that he was not involved with. The New York Times had new details on that dispute in a story published on Tuesday.
"A house on the street displayed a sign attacking her personally and a man who was living at the house trailed her all the way down the street and berated her in my presence using foul language, including what I regard as the vilest epithet that can be addressed to a woman," Alito wrote.
He addd that once he became aware of the flag, he asked his wife to take it down but "for several days, she refused."
The New York Times account differed somewhat, with a neighborhood couple saying they had called the police at one point because they felt that Martha-Ann Alito was harassing them. The Times also reported that the confrontation between the Alitos and the neighbors happened weeks after the upside-down flag was already taken down.
As for the second flag, Alito said he could recall it being flown by his wife but was not aware of its meaning or any connection with the "stop the steal" effort to overturn the 2022 election results.
In both cases, Alito stressed that his wife is a private citizen who has her own free speech rights.
"My wife is fond of flying flags," he added. "I am not."
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/justice-alito-declines-step-trump-related-cases-flag-spat-rcna154540?
Do something positive.
| 