Obama Publicly Rebukes Citizens United Ruling at State of the Union — Justice Alito Mouths Not True (2010-01-27)

President Obama publicly criticized the Citizens United ruling during his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, with six justices present in the audience. Obama stated: Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections. Justice Samuel Alito visibly shook his head and appeared to mouth not true — an unprecedented breach of judicial protocol that became a defining image of the controversy and highlighted the deeply polarizing nature of the ruling.