Supreme Court Justice Alito took luxury fishing trip to Alaska with billionaire and failed to follow federal disclosure law

Billionaire Paul Singer brought Justice Samuel Alito to Alaska on his private jet for a fishing vacation at the King Salmon Lodge in 2008, when the going rate was more than $1,000 a day.

It was the first time the two had met.

Singer, a hedge fund titan with a net worth of $5.5 billion, had 10 cases before the Supreme Court in the years that followed, but Alito never recused himself. Had Alito chartered the jet himself, the flight alone would have cost $100,000.

ProPublica published a thorough and damning investigation Tuesday night about Singer’s travels with Alito, and how Alito never disclosed the Alaska trip. He and Singer became friends in the years that followed.

I urge you to read the entire story, which is backed up by solid reporting, and the earlier coverage by ProPublica about how Clarence Thomas also ignored federal law and did not report expensive gifts from rich right-wing benefactors.

People always suspect that the richest people in the country enjoy easy access, because of their money, to a justice system that doesn’t exist for ordinary citizens. Stories like this one make it easy to believe and destroy trust in the High Court.

In advance of the story’s release, the Wall Street Journal editorial page did damage control for Alito by publishing a press release from Alito in which he attacked ProPublica and offered a raft of excuses for himself. Alito claimed he stayed in a “modest” room at the lodge and he claimed he didn’t have to disclose the trip to anyone.

“Alito said that he was invited to fly on Singer’s plane shortly before the trip and that the seat “’would have otherwise been vacant.’ He defended his failure to report the trip to the public, writing that justices ‘commonly interpreted’ the disclosure requirements to not include ‘accommodations and transportation for social events,’” ProPublica reported.

“Leonard Leo, the longtime leader of the conservative Federalist Society, attended and helped organize the Alaska fishing vacation. Leo invited Singer to join, according to a person familiar with the trip, and asked Singer if he and Alito could fly on the billionaire’s jet. Leo had recently played an important role in the justice’s confirmation to the court. Singer and the lodge owner were both major donors to Leo’s political groups.”

”The justice’s stay was provided free of charge by another major donor to the conservative legal movement: Robin Arkley II, the owner of a mortgage company then based in California.”

Arkley had recently acquired the King Salmon Lodge, “which catered to affluent tourists seeking a luxury experience in the Alaskan wilderness. A planning document prepared by lodge staff describes Alito as a guest of Arkley. Another guest on the trip told ProPublica the trip was a gift from Arkley, and two lodge employees said they were told that Alito wasn’t paying.”

In 2005, Arkley flew Justice Anton Scalia to Alaska on his private jet for a luxury fishing vacation on Kodiak Island and rented a lodge that cost $3,200 per week per person. Scalia never reported the trip, which was required by law.

“On June 9, Arkley’s group chartered a boat, the Happy Hooker IV, to tour Yakutat Bay. On the way over, Scalia and Arkley discussed whether Senate Republicans, then in a contentious fight over judicial confirmations, should abolish the filibuster to move forward, according to a person traveling with them.”

ProPublica said Leo did not respond to questions about setting up the Alito trip in 2008, “but said in a statement that he “would never presume to tell” Alito and Scalia “what to do.’”

“The only clear thread connecting the prominent guests on the trip is that they all had a relationship with Leo. Leo is now a giant in judicial politics who helped handpick Donald Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees and recently received a $1.6 billion donation to further his political interests. Leo’s network of political groups was in its early days, however, when he traveled with Alito to Alaska. It had run an advertising campaign supporting Alito in his confirmation fight, and Leo was reportedly part of the team that prepared Alito for his Senate hearings.”