Hello and

today is Thursday June 13th, 2024 and this is a special episode of the excerpt.

This is a special episode of The Excerpt.

The US Supreme Court has had its ethical compass

called into question periodically over the decades,

but not nearly as much as it is right now.

From Justice Clarence Thomas's recent disclosure of receiving millions of dollars in vacation

benefits to Justice Samuel Alito's admission of flying an American flag upside down at one of his homes,

a politically charged symbol, the court's integrity is under scrutiny and public faith in the court

has dropped to its lowest level ever recorded. Can the public's

trust in this institution of American democracy be restored? Here to help us dig

into it is USA Today's Supreme Court correspondent Marine Gropi.

Thanks for joining me, Maureen.

I'm happy to be here.

Let's start with the recent news about comments

Justice Samuel Alito and his wife Martha Ann made at a Supreme Court gala.

This was first reported in Rolling Stone and the conversations were secretly recorded

by filmmaker Lauren Windsor.

What did they say and why are those comments so problematic?

Well, Justice Alito questioned whether compromise between the left and the right is even possible,

and he agreed with the filmmaker who was posing as a

Catholic conservative to try to get him to be candid that the nation should return

...