Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from oil and gas assets since joining supreme court, analysis shows
Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms’ climate accountability case Supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows. The analysis from the non-profit advocacy group and judicial watchdog Court Accountability , shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that even at the lowest range of estimates, Alito gained almost $400,000 from his oil and gas interests since being tapped for the high court by George W Bush in 2005. The findings come as the supreme court prepares to take up a case in which the oil companies Suncor Energy and Exxon asked the justices to find that federal law prevents subnational governments from filing lawsuits against fossil fuel producers for the climate-warming effects of their products. The supreme court said this month it will hear oral arguments in the case on 5 October, the opening day of its new term. He and the court rejected those calls.
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Alito appears to have since sold his stock in ExxonMobil, as indicated by the supreme court’s May statement to NBC News. “But my view is that you shouldn’t be able to sell a stock just so you can sit on a case, even though that company’s profits have benefited you,” said Graves.
