Justice Alito's Call with Trump Sparks Ethical Concerns

Justice Samuel Alito spoke with President-elect Donald Trump on a phone call to recommend his former law clerk, William Levi, for a position in Trump's incoming administration. Alito insists that they did not discuss Trump's legal issues, despite the call occurring one day before Trump's lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court to block his upcoming sentencing in a hush money case. This has raised ethical concerns about possible conflicts of interest, given the timing of the call and Trump's request for Supreme Court intervention. Alito has faced criticism and calls for recusal in matters involving Trump, amid a broader context of controversy surrounding his tenure and ethical conduct. Trump's legal team argues that the sentencing interferes with the presidential transition and that presidential immunity should extend to a president-elect, but the New York appeals court rejected this argument, prompting Trump's lawyers to seek an emergency stay from the Supreme Court.