Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito reportedly spoke with Donald Trump just before the president-elect asked the high court to delay his sentencing in his hush money case.
According to ABC News, Trump and Alito spoke by phone this week to recommend one of his former law clerk for a job in the incoming administration.
Alito insisted that he did not discuss Trump’s pending effort to delay his sentencing before the court.
“William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position,” Alito told ABC News. “I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon.”
The call reportedly came hours before Trump filed an emergency appeal seeking to delay his Friday sentencing in his New York hush money case.
ABC News contributor Kate Shaw told the outlet that it is unusual for a justice to offer a job recommendation for a former clerk directly with a sitting president or president-elect, especially one with an active stake in business pending before the court.
Alito has faced calls for recusal from ethics experts and Democrats in Congress over his conduct.
Most recently the conservative justice faced calls to recuse himself from election related cases before the court after two flags linked to the ‘Stop the Steal’ effort were flown at his home.
