Washington, D.C. (January 9, 2025)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement following a report that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito spoke with President-elect Donald Trump, one day before Trump’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to delay his sentencing in his New York hush-money case:

Yesterday, we learned that President-elect Trump spoke to Justice Alito just hours before Trump asked the Supreme Court to halt his criminal sentencing in New York. Justice Alito brushed off this startling ex parte private phone call and breach of judicial ethics by asserting that this perfectly timed conversation actually regarded his recommendation of a former clerk for an administration job. Especially when paired with his troubling past partisan ideological activity in favor of Trump, Justice Alito’s decision to have a personal phone call with President Trump—who obviously has an active and deeply personal matter before the court—makes clear that he fundamentally misunderstands the basic requirements of judicial ethics or, more likely, believes himself to be above judicial ethics altogether.

Read the full press release from Rep. Raskin here.