'Magnifies its indefensibility': Trump-appointed judge's self-recusal used to shame Alito

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's refusal to step aside from cases involving Trump despite his home having publicly displayed pro-Trump imagery looks even worse as federal judges below him are scrupulously following the rules, wrote Jordan Rubin for MSNBC.

Among the lower court judges cited is one appointed by Trump.

"Trump appointee Ryan Nelson, who sits on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, recused Thursday from a case brought by Palestinian rights groups that are challenging the Biden administration’s military support of Israel," Rubin wrote.

"Nelson had recently traveled to Israel with a judicial delegation," wrote Rubin. "The plaintiffs argued that he should step aside to avoid the appearance of partiality (they also claimed that he might have personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts)."

Nelson ultimately decided to err on the side of caution, writing, “Out of an abundance of caution, the best course in this specific case (which may not apply in other cases) is to recuse.”

This stands in stark contrast to Alito, who has adamantly refused to step aside from a pair of cases involving political matters he has publicly been involved in, including whether Trump has immunity from prosecution for acts taken while president, and whether obstruction of Congress charges apply to January 6 cases.

In fact, Chief Justice John Roberts has refused even to sit down for a meeting with the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss the problem.

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"To be sure, there are differences between Supreme Court justices and lower court judges, who can be replaced with other judges and aren’t the final judicial word on important matters. But that only gets Alito so far, because it doesn’t cure the appearance of impropriety that he won't acknowledge," wrote Rubin, adding that "there’s at least an appearance of impropriety with Alito weighing in on these crucial disputes. In a situation like this, it’s even more important for a justice to step aside, not less."

Ultimately, Rubin wrote, the fact that Alito can't do what even like-minded judges sitting on lower courts can do, "Only magnifies its indefensibility. With people bound by the justice’s rulings doubting his impartiality, Alito could choose the cautious route but instead is opting for the more dangerous one."