Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito accepted a request to speak with Donald Trump on the phone, one day before the president-elect asked the top court to halt his criminal sentencing.
"William Levi, one of my former law clerks, asked me to take a call from President-elect Trump regarding his qualifications to serve in a government position," Justice Alito confirmed to ABC News Wednesday. "I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon."
Trump's petition asks the court to block his Friday sentencing in his New York criminal case, citing the Supreme Court's own landmark ruling on presidential immunity last year.
Alito says he did not discuss any court business with Trump during their call, and he was not aware of Trump's emergency application, which had not been filed yet.
One of the court's most reliable conservatives, Alito has been a regular target of criticism from Democrats and reformists who want to discredit and overhaul the Supreme Court.
The justice was drawn into a firestorm last year over flags displayed at his home that critics tied to the January 6th riot. Alito responded with a fiery letter making it clear he had no intention of stepping aside from any cases.
Alito's phone call with Trump has given critics fresh fodder. They say it represents an unusual level of communication between a Supreme Court justice and an incoming president, and damages trust in the judiciary.
"No person, no matter who they are, should engage in out-of-court communication with a judge or justice who's considering that person's case," Gabe Roth, executive director of the nonpartisan group Fix the Court, said.
The trial judge in Trump's criminal case, Juan Merchan, has set the sentencing for Friday, January 10th - just 10 days before Trump's inauguration.
The same reasons that presidents enjoy immunity from prosecution also apply to a president-elect, Trump's lawyers said, noting his victory has already been certified by Congress.
"President Trump is currently engaged in the most crucial and sensitive tasks of preparing to assume the Executive Power in less than two weeks, all of which are essential to the United States’ national security and vital interests," they wrote.
Meanwhile, Alito's defenders say the backlash over his phone call is overblown - and just more evidence the Supreme Court is facing a leftist assault.
Carrie Severino, of the Judicial Crisis Network, dismissed the backlash over the phone call as "the newest manufactured 'ethics' scandal over a simple reference check."
