WaPo declined to report on story at time because it seemed like neighborhood dispute
Justice Alito claims no involvement in upside-down flag outside house
‘Fox News Sunday’ anchor Shannon Bream reports on the photo of an upside-down American flag flying outside Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s house.
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.
The Washington Post revealed on Saturday that it passed on the Justice Alito flag story in 2021. (Left: (Photo by Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images), right: (Photo by Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images))
ALITO SAYS WIFE DISPLAYED UPSIDE-DOWN FLAG AFTER ARGUMENT WITH INSULTING NEIGHBOR
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.
FILE - Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr., left, and his wife Martha-Ann Alito, pay their respects at the casket of Reverend Billy Graham at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, Feb. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
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"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.
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
