By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he spoke to Donald Trump by phone on Tuesday to recommend a former law clerk for a job in a government position, adding he and Trump did not discuss the U.S. president-elect’s legal woes.
“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,” Alito said in a statement shared with Reuters by a spokesperson of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I agreed to discuss this matter with President-elect Trump, and he called me yesterday afternoon,” Alito added.
“We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the President-elect,” the statement said.
Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent a New York state court from sentencing him for his conviction on criminal charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star.
On Tuesday, a New York appeals court denied his effort to halt sentencing scheduled for Friday in Manhattan.
In Wednesday’s filing, his lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately order a stay in the case, as he seeks an appeal to resolve questions of presidential immunity.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)
