A federal judge is on the defense by a Donald Trump ally for publishing a New York Times Op-Ed rebuking Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and saying the upside-down American flag and “Appeal to Heaven” flag placements erode trust. Mike Davis, the founder of the Article III Project, a collective that works to get conservative judges nominated on the bench, slammed Judge Michael Ponsor, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1993, for “a curiously timed and unprecedented political screed” aimed at Alito. “Facts, logic, ethics, and good judgment did not dissuade Judge Ponsor a wee…