Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today questioned Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Treatment of Religious Views of Justice Amy Coney Barrett:
GRAHAM: “How would you feel if a senator up here said of your faith ‘The dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern’?
“How would you feel if somebody up here on our side said, you know, you attend church too much for me or your faith is a little bit different to me, and they would suggest that it would affect your decision?
“Would you find that offensive? I would if I were you.
“I found it offensive when they said it about Judge Barrett. The reason I ask these questions is I have no doubt that your faith is important to you, and I have zero doubt that you can adjudicate people’s cases fairly if they’re an atheist. If I had any doubt, I would say so.
“The only reason I mention this, Judge, is you’re reluctant to talk about it because it’s uncomfortable. Just imagine what would happen if people on late night television called you an ‘f-ing nut’ speaking in tongues because you practice the Catholic faith in a way they couldn’t relate to or found uncomfortable.” https://youtu.be/4VapXt4RuTw?t=113
Guantanamo Bay and the Detention of Enemy Combatants:
GRAHAM: “Would you say that our system in terms of releasing people [from Gitmo] needs to be relooked at?”
JACKSON: “Senator, what I’d say is that that’s not a job for the courts in this way.”
GRAHAM: “As an American does that bother you?”
JACKSON: “Well, obviously Senator any repeated criminal behavior or repeated attacks, acts of war bother me as an American.”
GRAHAM: “It bothers me. While I will not hold it against you, nor should I, the fact that you represented Gitmo detainees, I think it’s time to look at this system of new folks. When 31% of people are going back to fight to kill Americans and now are running the Taliban government, we have gone wrong somewhere.” https://youtu.be/4VapXt4RuTw?t=735
GRAHAM: “Do you support the idea, did you support then the idea, that indefinite detention of an enemy combatant is unlawful?”
JACKSON: “Respectfully, Senator, when you are an attorney and you have clients who come to you, whether they pay or not, you represent their positions before the court.”
GRAHAM: “I’m sure everybody at Gitmo wants out. No, I got that. This is an amicus brief, and I just don’t understand what you’re saying, quite frankly, I’m not holding it against you because you represented a legal position I disagree with. I mean, that happens all the time. I’m just trying to understand what made you join this cause. You say somebody hired you but did you feel okay in adopting that cause? I mean, when you signed onto the brief, were you not advocating that position to the court?”
JACKSON: “Senator, as a judge now, in order to determine the lawfulness or unlawfulness of any particular issue I need to receive briefs and information making positions on all sides.”
GRAHAM: “I get what a judge is all about. Listen, I’m not asking you to decide the case in front of me right here. I’m asking you to explain a position you took as a lawyer regarding the law of war, and I am beyond confused. I know what you said in your brief. Whether I agree with you or not is not the point. I just want you to understand that it’s important for all of us to know where you were coming from.
“If that brief had been accepted by the court, it would be impossible for us to fight this war because there’s some people who are gonna die in jail in Gitmo and never go to trial for a lot of good reasons because the evidence against them is so sensitive we can’t disclose it to the public. That we’re not charging them with a crime.
“What we’re doing is saying that ‘you engaged in hostile activities against the United States, that you’re an enemy combatant under our law, and you will never be released until the war is over or you’re no longer a danger.’ That’s the difference between fighting a crime and a war.” https://youtu.be/4VapXt4RuTw?t=1299
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