In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.

In early July 2008, Samuel Alito stood on a riverbank in a remote corner of Alaska. The Supreme Court justice was on vacation at a luxury fishing lodge that charged more than $1,000 a day, and after catching a king salmon nearly the size of his leg, Alito posed for a picture. To his left, a man stood beaming: Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire who has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to rule in his favor in high-stakes business disputes.

Singer was more than a fellow angler. He flew Alito to Alaska on a private jet. If the justice chartered the plane himself, the cost could have exceeded $100,000 one way.

https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court

  • Snapz@beehaw.org
    6·
    3 years ago

    Wonderful journalism, wow. I will say that it did take too long to read that Leonard Leo planned/coordinated the whole trip. This Supreme Court is so fully out in the open fucked.

    In a legitimate society with a sliver of integrity this would not be tolerated.

  • Fauxreigner@beehaw.org
    4·
    3 years ago

    The really telling thing is, I skipped this article the first time because, “Yeah, we know, this isn’t news.” Took me another look to catch that this was Alito, not Thomas.

    • Toxic_Tiger@beehaw.org
      3·
      3 years ago

      Must be really depressing when a crooked Supreme Court Justice story comes out, and there’s more than one possibility for who is referring to.

      My condolences to America tbh.

    • Snapz@beehaw.org
      2·
      3 years ago

      If you’re going to ever say, “yeah, we know…” you should take a moment to acknowledge that was the exact strategy of bombarding the public with a constant stream of scandal, crime and controversy - to numb you to real issues like this, worth actual outrage and attention.

      I know it’s overwhelming, I feel it too, but I work to not indulge that feeling when I can avoid it. Glad you came back a second time and read the article.

      • Fauxreigner@beehaw.org
        1·
        3 years ago

        Oh, 100%. And I was being slightly glib, more of a “oh, they found more?” feeling when I thought it was Thomas. Not really a numbing of outrage as much as just another data point. But you’re completely right about the strategy.

    • Snapz@beehaw.org
      4·
      3 years ago

      He didn’t just “put out his own statement”. Propublica reached out to him for comment on this article, he didn’t respond and then he scrambled to have an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal hours later (always worth saying that that is a Rupert Murdoch owned company). It was a poor attempt at damage control by a weasel trying to get ahead on spinning the narrative.