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sen. Mitt Romney pushed back the GOP attacks against Ketanji Brown Jackson as “obviously”.
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Several GOP members have expressed concern about Jackson’s track record of child pornography.
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“I noticed it wasn’t natural,” Romney told the Washington Post.
sen. Mitt Romney on Tuesday criticized his Republican colleagues’ attacks on Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson nominated by President Joe Biden over child pornography cases.
“It struck me that it was off course, meaning the attacks were off course and coming from some,” Romney told The . Paul Kane of the Washington Post on Tuesday. “And there’s no there, there.”
Several GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday released child pornography that Jackson handled during her time as a federal district judge. The senators said Jackson imposed a lighter sentence than federal guidelines recommended and argued that she is lenient on child pornography violators.
Fact-checkers and legal experts have said the GOP’s claims lack context and are misleading, citing evidence that Jackson’s conviction was within the standards of most federal judges.
Jackson herself dismissed the allegations on multiple occasions Tuesday when Republican senators urged her on the subject.
“In all cases, I have done my duty to hold the defendants accountable in light of the evidence and information presented to me,” Jackson said in response to a question from Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
sen. Missouri’s Josh Hawley, who first circulated the allegations against her on Twitter last week, used his entire interrogation time to point out the child pornography cases to Jackson.
In what appeared to be her most forceful rebuff to date, Jackson repeatedly defended her record and denounced the child pornography crimes.
“As a judge, who is a mother, and charged with the responsibility of actually reviewing the evidence,” Jackson said, “the evidence that you would not describe in polite company, the evidence you refer to, discuss, treat in this context is the evidence I’ve seen in my role as a judge, and it’s horrific. It’s blatant.”
“What a judge must do is determine how defendants will be sentenced proportionally in accordance with the elements contained in the statutes with the requirements set by Congress,” she added.
Romney is not a member of the Judiciary Committee, but he will vote on Jackson’s confirmation.
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