The Washington Post revealed on Saturday that the outlet initially passed on the Samuel Alito flag story in 2021 after its former Supreme Court reporter had a confrontation over it with the justice’s wife.
“The Post decided not to report on the episode at the time because the flag-raising appeared to be the work of Martha-Ann Alito, rather than the justice, and connected to a dispute with her neighbors,” the Washington Post report said, citing a spokesperson for the paper. “It was not clear then that the argument was rooted in politics.”
Former Washington Post Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes went to the Alitos’ home in 2021 after receiving a tip on the flag. According to the outlet, Alito’s wife, Martha-Ann, shouted, “It’s an international signal of distress” after being probed by the reporter on the flag.
An upside-down American flag, a symbol used by the former president’s supporters who falsely claim President Biden did not win the 2020 election, was seen flying at Alito’s home in the weeks following the Jan. 6 riot, The New York Times first reported last week.
Alito previously told Fox News that his wife was the one who hung the flag in response to insults from a neighbor.
Cameron Barr, the former senior managing editor, took responsibility for not running the story at the time, according to Semafor.
“I agreed with [Supreme Court reporter] Bob Barnes and others that we should not do a single-slice story about the flag, because it seemed like the story was about Martha-Ann Alito and not her husband,” Barr told the outlet.
Semafor referred to the decision as “cautious and deferential, and very pre-Dobbs,” suggesting it meant more now after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Now, it’s hard to imagine,” the outlet wrote.
Members of the media and prominent Democratic lawmakers are calling on Alito to recuse himself from all cases before the court that are related to Donald Trump. Conservatives have said the story is much ado about nothing and part of a wider effort to delegitimize the Supreme Court.
“In retrospect, I should have pushed harder for that story,” Barr told Semafor.
Alito’s wife reportedly told the Washington Post reporter to ask their neighbors what they did and told the reporter to get off their property.
Another symbol carried by Trump supporters, an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, was seen flying at a beach home owned by Alito in New Jersey, the New York Times reported days after their initial report. The flag, also known as the Pine Tree flag, dates back to the Revolutionary War.