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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Kate Connolly

The princess and the judge: Samuel Alito’s ties to a German aristocrat who defends the far right

a side-by-side image of Samuel Alito and Gloria von Thurn und Taxis
The relationship between Samuel Alito and Gloria von Thurn un Taxis sparked media interest after he revealed last week he had accepted free concert tickets from the billionaire. Composite: Reuters, Getty Images

A German aristocrat who hosted Samuel Alito at her castle in 2023 has revealed new details about her friendship with the rightwing supreme court justice, including that they share a mutual friend who played a key role in JD Vance’s conversion to Catholicism.

Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, a onetime party girl turned traditionalist Catholic activist who has faced criticism for her defense of far-right politicians in Germany, told the Guardian that she first met Alito in Rome – she could not remember what year – and that both were friends of Dominic Legge, a priest and Yale Law graduate in Washington who Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, has often cited in discussions about his adult conversion to Catholicism.

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