NPR Retracts Article Mistakenly Reporting Justice Alito's Retirement
NPR said the story was based on a misunderstanding and retracted it within minutes after the false retirement report spread widely online.
- On Tuesday, NPR erroneously reported Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring, prompting confusion in the high court's press room shortly after the term's final opinion was released.
- End-of-Term retirement speculation often surrounds long-serving members like Alito and Clarence Thomas, while publishing pre-written stories has become common due to intense demands for digital speed.
- At 10:51 ET, Nina Totenberg's byline appeared on the report; about 15 minutes later, NPR removed the story and issued an Editors Note clarifying Alito has not announced his retirement.
- Alito, who wrote the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, has served for 20 years, though the retracted article included a lengthy profile lacking actual departure details.
- The incident likely will not end speculation regarding a potential high court vacancy, which would grant Donald Trump an opportunity to nominate a fourth justice, potentially exceeding Ronald Reagan's record.
97 Articles
97 Articles
NPR Reporter Comments On Retracted Story
The Supreme Court handed down a flurry of major decisions on Tuesday, but one of the day’s biggest headlines turned out to be completely wrong. NPR briefly reported that Justice Samuel Alito was retiring, a claim that quickly spread before the outlet retracted it and acknowledged the story was false. As previously reported, NPR Editor-in-Chief...
FAKE NEWS! NPR's SCOTUS Scribe Nina Totenberg Claimed Justice Alito Was Retiring
FAKE NEWS! NPR's SCOTUS Scribe Nina Totenberg Claimed Justice Alito Was Retiring National “Public” Radio legal reporter Nina Totenberg turned 82 in January, and she may be losing a step. On Tuesday, as the Supreme Court put out its final opinions of the term, she posted a false report on NPR’s website (and then repeated on air) that Justice Samuel Alito, 76, was calling it quits. “Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the Supreme Court’s opinion reve…
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