Justice Alito, in secret recording, agrees that the nation must return to ‘godliness’

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts had no comment Tuesday after a woman posing as a conservative Catholic allegedly secretly recorded them at a black-tie event last week.

Lauren Windsor, seeking out the justices at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual gala, apparently tried to involve them in the country’s culture wars.

At one point, the liberal filmmaker struck up a conversation with Justice Alito, a staunch conservative well-known on the court.

She posted what appears to be edited audio of that exchange on X, detailed in an account first published by Rolling Stone.

ABC News has not authenticated the audio.

In one exchange, Windsor asks Alito a leading question, suggesting that there can be no compromise between the right and the left.

Alito seems to agree, saying there are fundamental differences that are difficult to resolve.

In the edited recording, Windsor continues to push Alito, saying, “The people of this country who believe in God must continue to fight for this, to return our country to a place of godliness.”

Alito responds by saying, “I agree with you, I agree with you.”

Windsor also published an exchange with Chief Justice Roberts, a moderate conservative, at the same event, in which she suggested to him that America is a Christian nation.

Roberts counters by saying: “Yeah. I don’t know if we live in a Christian nation. I know a lot of Jewish and Muslim friends who would say, maybe not. And it’s not our job to do that. C This is our job.” to decide cases as best we can. »

The Supreme Court Historical Society on Tuesday condemned the surreptitious recording of Roberts and Alito at the private gala, where Windsor said tickets cost $500 each.

“The annual dinner of the Supreme Court Historical Society is an opportunity to recognize and support the educational and historical work of the Society over the past year. Members of the Society are permitted to purchase two tickets, one for themselves “themselves and one for a guest,” James said. C. Defer, executive director of the company, said in a statement.

“Our policy is to ensure that all participants, including judges, are treated with respect. We condemn the surreptitious recording of judges at the event, which is inconsistent with the spirit of the evening. Participants are informed “Discussions of pending cases, cases decided by this Court or the jurisprudence of a judge are strictly prohibited and may result in forfeiture of membership in the Society,” he said.

ABC News contacted the chambers of the Chief Justice, Justice Alito and the court itself and received no response.

The secret recording controversy comes as the court prepares to issue more than a dozen major rulings over the next three weeks and remains under close public scrutiny for its ethical practices and transparency.