Chief Justice John Roberts "respectfully declined" to meet with senate Democrats in a letter on Thursday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Roberts said his attendance at a meeting with Senate Democrats was "inadvisable" and underscores the importance of separation of power between the Supreme Court and the legislative branch.
"Separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence counsel against such appearances," he wrote. "Moreover, the format proposed — a meeting with leaders of only one party who have expressed an interest in matters currently pending before the Court — simply underscores that participating in such a meeting would be inadvisable."
READ ROBERTS' LETTER: APP USERS, CLICK HERE:
Robert's response came a day after Alito said he won't recuse himself from former President Trump's immunity case or other cases relating to the 2020 presidential election or the Jan. 6 Capitol protests because of the flags, which are like those carried by rioters.
"Flying an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement — clearly creates the appearance of bias," said Durbin in a statement.
"Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former President’s immunity in U.S. v. Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering," he argued.
Liberal media and Democratic Party leaders have used the classic "Appeal to Heaven" colonial-era flag to link Supreme Court Justice Alito to Jan. 6 rioters. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Alito also said he had "no involvement in the decision" to fly a flag "bearing the legend ‘An Appeal to Heaven’ that flew in the backyard of our vacation home in the summer of 2023."
"My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not. My wife was solely responsible for having flagpoles put up at our residence and our vacation home and has flown a wide variety of flags over the years," said the Supreme Court justice.
Alito said he was not familiar with the "Appeal to Heaven" flag when his wife flew it and that "she may have mentioned that it dates back to the American Revolution, and I assumed she was flying it to express a religious and patriotic message."
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"She did not fly it to associate herself with that or any other group, and the use of an old historical flag by a new group does not necessarily drain that flag of all other meanings," Alito concluded.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Sen. Durbin for comment.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and Shannon Bream contributed to this report.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chief-justice-roberts-declines-invitation-meet-democratic-lawmakers-over-justice-alito-flag-incident