Sen. Russ Feingold’s biggest gripe with Judge Alito’s integrity is the old yarn about his investment in Vanguard mutual funds. This accusation is already warmed over from the months of scrutiny of Alito’s record: judges are encouraged to invest in mutual funds precisely because doing so avoids conflict of interests. Alito (rightly) didn’t recuse himself from a case involving Vanguard because he’s their customer, not an investor. Their success or failure in a case has no bearing on the worth of his investment in their funds.
