Justice Samuel Alito has publicly taken aim at Supreme Court journalist Joan Biskupic, saying her reporting no longer reflects real inside information about the Court. According to a Reason article, Alito singled out Biskupic for what he called empty reporting, arguing that she has been forced to build stories around his visible behavior instead of actual knowledge.
The piece claims Biskupic no longer has the kind of access that once gave her insight into the justices' thinking, leaving her to infer meaning from body language. The article frames this as a turn toward speculation, where gestures and expressions are treated as evidence of what the Court is doing behind closed doors.
The exchange underscores a growing tension between the judiciary and court observers, particularly as reporters try to read the Court's direction without direct confirmation from the justices. Reason's coverage takes Alito's side, dismissing the body-language approach as a substitute for grounded reporting.