Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Alito: $500K Investment Isn’t A Conflict Of Interest

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread		 This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion: Presidential (Through Nov 2009) Donate to DU
 
MelissaB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:18 PM
Original message
Alito: $500K Investment Isn’t A Conflict Of Interest
If this is old news I apologize ahead of time.


Alito: $500K Investment Isn’t A Conflict Of Interest


Supreme Court nominee Samuel J. Alito and Justice Antonin Scalia share more than just ideology; they also share a resistance to removing themselves from cases where they have a conflict of interest.

In 2002, Alito dismissed a case in favor of a company where he was heavily invested :

Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, has been accused of a conflict of interest by a woman whose suit he and two other appeals judges dismissed…. According to Alito’s 2002 financial-disclosure statement, the judge held investments worth $390,000 to $930,000 in 11 Vanguard funds in July 2002, when he ruled on a lawsuit filed by Shantee Maharaj of Wayne against Vanguard.

Alito argued that he didn’t need to recuse himself because the case was so small that it wouldn’t even affect Vanguard:

They have $600 billion invested with them. The idea that a case like this would affect is just ludicrous.

Despite his own arguments, Alito eventually recused himself but continued to insist he had done nothing wrong.

Link: http://thinkprogress.org/2005/10/31/alito-500k-investment-isnt-a-conflict-of-interest/
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
Erika Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:23 PM
Response to Original message
1. It looks like Alito is just another GOP crook
Don't they have anyone in the GOP who is honest? It's amazing how they've sold themselves.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Bernardo de La Paz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:25 PM
Response to Original message
2. Good catch. We need a master thread to accumulate these points.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
texpatriot2004 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-01-05 01:14 AM
Response to Reply #2
12. Do you know if they started the master thread for this info yet? nm
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
1932 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:27 PM
Response to Original message
3. That's a bullshit excuse. No matter how small a single case is, his
dismissal at appellate level sets a precedent that influences the fate of other suits, and he has no idea how much of an impact those later suits might have. His dismissal could possible have a huge influence on the value of his investment.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Cloister Donating Member (25 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-01-05 01:47 AM
Response to Reply #3
13. Um, he was invested in Vanguard Funds -
Not Vanguard itself. Being invested in funds MANAGED by a company has zippo to do with being invested in the company itself. Vanguard could go belly up, and people invested in its funds would be totally unaffected - other than the hassle of moving to another fund company.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
1932 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-01-05 02:03 AM
Response to Reply #13
14. The suit was against the manager of his funds.
Unfavorable litigation could cause good managers to leave and people to take their money out of the funds, similar to what happened to Putnam.

His justification wasn't the one you just made for him.

It was that this one case was too small to make a difference.

The rebuttal to that is precedent. He tosses one small suit out then he's set a precendent that could prevent hundreds of small people from making the same claim. Cumulatively, those cases make a difference.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Tab Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:33 PM
Response to Original message
4. Well, it probably wouldn't be a conflict of interest
if Alito was a billionaire...

but for me it would be.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
MelissaB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:35 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. He is a millionaire
Alito's total assets were worth between $615,000 and $1.6 million at the end of last year. He earned between $11,000 and $47,000 in interest, dividends and capital gains on his investments during 2004, in addition to his $167,600 judicial salary.

Link: http://michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4730
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Erika Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:46 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. No wonder he's business friendly and worker hostile
Just another rich GOP exploiter.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
kevinbgoode Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:46 PM
Response to Original message
6. This is the kind of argument Repukes HATE
"Just because I'm a member of the Concerned Women For America" doesn't mean I won't be impartial when I rule on cases involving religious Reich causes. . .

Believe me - when this appointee is confirmed - IF he is, we'll see the largest filing of lawsuits by wingnut groups on every level of society. . .and suddenly once again, the people of this country will get to see what a REAL activist court is all about.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ShockediSay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:58 PM
Response to Original message
8. "Contaminated by Culture of Corruption"
like Scalia, IMO.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
pk_du Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Oct-31-05 11:59 PM
Response to Original message
9. How about the fact that "Rosemary Alito" gave to Orrin Hatch
...cant prove she's related right now but;

She's from Roseland , NJ ( Alito's whole family is from NJ)
She's a lawyer - Alitos brothers are also all in legal Prof.

..and according to www.fec.gov she's contributed to Hatch.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Gloria Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-01-05 12:21 AM
Response to Original message
10. This whole damned adminstration is just one big conflict of interest
against the American people, so what else is new?

These people are unethical, and yet they always seem to get a pass...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Digit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-01-05 12:57 AM
Response to Original message
11. Funny how B/W issues turn to shades of grey when money's involved
It is either a conflict of interest or NOT.

Think of it as "kinda" cheating on your taxes...
do ya think the IRS considers you had MOST of your
return done correctly?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Mon May 06th 2024, 11:31 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion: Presidential (Through Nov 2009) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators

Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC