Key Takeaways
- • ProPublica reported that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito took an unreported 2008 luxury fishing trip to Alaska's King Salmon Lodge, flown on a private jet provided by hedge fund billionaire and GOP donor Paul Singer.
- • Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Management, later had at least 10 matters before the Supreme Court; in 2014 Alito did not recuse from a case involving Singer's NML Capital and Argentina and voted with the 7-1 majority, and the fund was ultimately paid $2.4 billion.
- • Alito did not report the trip on his annual financial disclosures; ethics law experts said the omission appears to violate a federal law requiring justices to disclose most gifts, and experts could not identify another instance of a justice ruling on a case after accepting an expensive gift from a party.
- • Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo organized the trip and invited Singer, according to a person familiar with it; the lodge owner, also a major conservative donor, had previously hosted Justice Antonin Scalia.
- • Alito, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, said he was unaware of Singer's connection to the cases, that the seat on the jet 'would have otherwise been vacant,' and that justices commonly interpreted disclosure rules not to cover social travel.
Summary
ProPublica reported that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito vacationed in July 2008 at the King Salmon Lodge in Alaska, a luxury fishing resort charging more than $1,000 a day, after flying there on a private jet provided by Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire who has repeatedly asked the court to rule in his favor. Flight records and emails cited by ProPublica indicate the group left the East Coast on July 8, 2008, and returned three days later. Leonard Leo, leader of the Federalist Society, attended and helped organize the trip, according to a person familiar with it. Judge A. Raymond Randolph, a conservative appellate judge for whom Leo had clerked, was also in the group.
Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Management, came before the court at least 10 times in the years that followed. In 2014, the court agreed to hear a key issue in the decade-long dispute between Singer's NML Capital and Argentina. Alito did not recuse and voted with the 7-1 majority in Singer's favor; the fund was ultimately paid $2.4 billion. ProPublica reported that the flight could have cost more than $100,000 one way had Alito chartered it himself.
Alito did not disclose the trip on his annual financial disclosures. Ethics experts told ProPublica the omission appears to violate a federal law requiring justices to disclose most gifts. Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor and recusal expert, questioned the relationship either way. ProPublica also reported that another conservative donor, whose Alaska lodge hosted Alito, had flown Justice Antonin Scalia to Alaska on a private jet and paid for his stay three years earlier.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published after ProPublica sent questions, Alito said he was unaware of Singer's ties to cases before the court when they arose, recalled speaking with Singer on 'no more than a handful of occasions,' and said they never discussed Singer's business. He said the jet seat 'would have otherwise been vacant' and that justices 'commonly interpreted' disclosure rules not to cover 'accommodations and transportation for social events.' A Singer spokesperson said Singer did not organize the trip and was unaware Alito would attend, and that neither Singer nor his companies had pending Supreme Court matters at the time. Leo said he 'would never presume to tell' Alito and Scalia 'what to do.' The Supreme Court's spokeswoman said Alito would not comment.
The reporting comes amid scrutiny of Justice Clarence Thomas's undisclosed travel and real estate transactions with Dallas developer Harlan Crow, and lawmakers have proposed binding ethics rules and an ethics body for the court, which currently has neither a code of conduct nor an ethics office. Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized the court for not acknowledging the problem.
Singer's hedge fund, Elliott Management, came before the court at least 10 times in the years that followed. In 2014, the court agreed to hear a key issue in the decade-long dispute between Singer's NML Capital and Argentina. Alito did not recuse and voted with the 7-1 majority in Singer's favor; the fund was ultimately paid $2.4 billion. ProPublica reported that the flight could have cost more than $100,000 one way had Alito chartered it himself.
Alito did not disclose the trip on his annual financial disclosures. Ethics experts told ProPublica the omission appears to violate a federal law requiring justices to disclose most gifts. Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor and recusal expert, questioned the relationship either way. ProPublica also reported that another conservative donor, whose Alaska lodge hosted Alito, had flown Justice Antonin Scalia to Alaska on a private jet and paid for his stay three years earlier.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published after ProPublica sent questions, Alito said he was unaware of Singer's ties to cases before the court when they arose, recalled speaking with Singer on 'no more than a handful of occasions,' and said they never discussed Singer's business. He said the jet seat 'would have otherwise been vacant' and that justices 'commonly interpreted' disclosure rules not to cover 'accommodations and transportation for social events.' A Singer spokesperson said Singer did not organize the trip and was unaware Alito would attend, and that neither Singer nor his companies had pending Supreme Court matters at the time. Leo said he 'would never presume to tell' Alito and Scalia 'what to do.' The Supreme Court's spokeswoman said Alito would not comment.
The reporting comes amid scrutiny of Justice Clarence Thomas's undisclosed travel and real estate transactions with Dallas developer Harlan Crow, and lawmakers have proposed binding ethics rules and an ethics body for the court, which currently has neither a code of conduct nor an ethics office. Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized the court for not acknowledging the problem.
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