If I were President, he wouldn't be making comments or anything else....

Alito says there is ‘concerted effort’ to intimidate Supreme Court

The longtime justice said he is "concerned about the future of the court” amid growing calls for reform.

By Cheyanne M. Daniels

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Sunday expressed concerns about the future of the nation’s highest court amid growing calls to reform the storied institution.

“There has been a concerted effort to intimidate the court — and justices on the court — to try to influence us to decide cases differently from the way in which we have been deciding them and I am concerned about the future of the court,” Alito said in a pre-recorded interview with “Fox News Sunday.”

He continued, “I think it’s an important institution and it has not always done the right thing, but I think on the whole it has been fundamental in protecting our constitutional structure and the rights that all Americans enjoy.”

Democratic and progressive leaders have set their sights on overhauling the court, arguing its 6-3 majority of Republican-appointed justices has allowed the Trump administration to circumvent Congress and accusing some justices of ethical violations.

Recently, critics have accused the Supreme Court of abusing its emergency docket — often called the shadow docket — to allow the Trump administration to move ahead, at least temporarily, with controversial policies, including deporting immigrants to countries where they have no prior connection.

Alito on Sunday argued that the court has been transparent in its handling of the emergency applications, including disclosing “everything” but internal communications between the justices.

The use of the shadow docket, he added, is a bipartisan issue.

“I think the dynamic is this: Presidents of both parties have become increasingly frustrated by their inability to persuade Congress to adopt their legislative agenda so they have tried to do as much as they possibly can using their own unilateral power, issuing executive orders or new rules or new interpretation of old statutes or rules,” Alito said.

As the court’s new term gets underway, Americans’ trust in the institution hovers at historic lows: Just 34% approve of the court, and only 46% trust the court.

Alito said he tries not to think of the debate and hopes his fellow justices don’t either, but he said he is “concerned about the long-term effect of that on the standing of the court.”

“I am concerned about the escalation in public rhetoric in general and about the things that people in important positions say about the Supreme Court as a whole and about individual justices,” he said.

But Alito may not have to worry about the long-term effects. In an interview with CBS, set to air Monday, the 76-year-old admitted he has considered retirement.

Alito has served on the bench for more than 20 years, having been appointed by former President Geroge W. Bush in 2006 to succeed Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. In his interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Alito said speculation about his retirement “is to be expected.”

“I am bemused by the retirement speculation. It’s not too pleasant to look up and see the vultures circling around your head,” Alito said with a laugh.

Still, he refrained from offering a timeline of just when a retirement announcement could come.

“I think it would be foolhardy to make a calculation that I will serve for a certain number of additional years,” said Alito.