Mary Trump's Warning About Republicans After Samuel Alito Report

Following the report of a photograph of an upside-down American flag at Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's home, Donald Trump's estranged niece Mary Trump warned that Republicans are "leveraging" the system against democracy as she called for Alito's impeachment on Saturday.

A photograph taken on January 17, 2021, of an upside-down American flag displayed outside of conservative Justice Alito's home was reported by The New York Times on Thursday. The inverted flag—spotted just days before President Joe Biden's inauguration—is a symbol, often referred to as "Stop the Steal," that has been used by Trump supporters to contest the 2020 presidential election results.

Despite lack of evidence, Trump and his allies have repeatedly and falsely claimed that his 2020 loss to Biden was due to widespread voter fraud. The photograph of the inverted flag outside the justice's home was taken less than two weeks after a group of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6.

In a statement emailed to the Times, Alito placed all the responsibility on his wife, Martha-Ann Alito. The justice wrote he "had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag" and that it was "briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."

Newsweek has reached out to the Supreme Court via email for comment.

On Saturday, amid ongoing calls for Alito's impeachment, Mary Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump, took to X, formerly Twitter, to warn others about Alito and the Republican Party as she stated the GOP is "leveraging the system to destroy American democracy."

"We don't need Alito to apologize--we need him off the Court. Republicans are leveraging the system to destroy American democracy," she wrote.

In her X post, Mary Trump also called for the impeachment of Alito and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"The least the Democrats can do is work within the system to save it. Impeach Alito and Thomas. Expand the Court to restore its legitimacy NOW," she added.

In order to impeach a Supreme Court justice, the House of Representatives would vote on whether to impeach the justice in question. If the justice is impeached, there would then be a Senate trial. The House needs only a simple majority to impeach a Supreme Court justice or any federal judge, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. To convict and then remove the justice or judge, the Senate requires a two-thirds majority.

Newsweek has also reached out to Mary Trump via email for comment.

Thomas has also faced calls for recusal from Trump cases after his wife, Ginni Thomas, previously said she attended Trump's Washington, D.C., rally that preceded the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol building.

According to the Court's code of conduct, a justice "should maintain and observe high standards of conduct in order to preserve the integrity and independence of the federal judiciary" and "should not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism."

According to Reuters, David Rivkin Jr., an Alito supporter and appellate attorney whose clients include litigants in a tax case currently pending before the Supreme Court, called the recent push for the justice's recusal "fundamentally wrong."

"Since Justice Alito has indicated that he had nothing to do with the display of the flag, seeking his recusal is fundamentally wrong," he said.

The Times' report also raised questions about Alito's ability to rule on Trump-related cases impartially—such as the soon-expected decision on whether Trump is protected by presidential immunity from charges in his federal election subversion case. Some have even suggested that Alito recuse himself from Trump-related cases because of the flag incident.

Trump is facing four federal felony counts for his alleged actions surrounding the riot: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claimed that the case is politically motivated.