Filmmaker Lauren Windsor secretly recorded conversations with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito, where Alito was captured agreeing with a statement about the need to “return our country to a place of godliness.” Windsor, who falsely identified herself as a conservative Christian, believes that these recordings serve the greater good and aim to reveal truths about the current political climate in the United States. The full audio has not been independently verified by NPR, and the Supreme Court has not commented on the recordings.
While Windsor hopes these recordings will bring transparency to the Supreme Court, former Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur believes that they may have the opposite effect, pushing justices further into seclusion. Isgur points out that the questions Windsor asked Alito are more about his personal beliefs as a Catholic rather than his legal opinions or Supreme Court rulings. The ethics of secret recordings have been called into question, with some criticizing Windsor’s methods for obtaining the conversations with the justices. Overall, the impact of these recordings on the public perception of Supreme Court justices remains to be seen.
