Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin knocked down a claim on Tuesday that Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson once referred to former President George W. Bush and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as “war criminals” in a legal filing.
After returning from recess on Tuesday, Durbin sought to clarify that Jackson filed several habeas petitions against the United States that named Bush and Rumsfeld in a brief advocating for individuals alleging they were tortured.
“To be clear, there was no time where you called President Bush or Secretary Rumsfeld a ‘war criminal,'” Durbin said.
GRAHAM WALKS OUT OF JACKSON’S HEARING AFTER RANT OVER INDEFINITE DETENTION AT GITMO
“Correct, senator. Thank you. That was correct,” she added.
During Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn’s allocated 30-minute block for questioning Jackson, he noted he was “impressed by our interaction” and lauded her for being “gracious and charming.”
But Cornyn quickly changed his tone, asking, “Why in the world would you call Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and George W. Bush war criminals in a legal filing? It seems so out of character for you.”
“I’m talking about when you were representing a member of the Taliban … and you referred to the secretary of defense and the sitting president of the United States as ‘war criminals,'” Cornyn added.
Jackson said, “I don’t remember that particular reference,” deferring to the fact that she was representing a client who was making the arguments. “I’d have to take a look at what you meant. I did not intend to disparage the president or the secretary of defense,” Jackson added.
President Joe Biden‘s Supreme Court nominee, tapped to succeed retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, is presently undergoing her second day of questions by senators on the committee.
GOP senators had been expected to go after Jackson’s work defending Guantanamo Bay detainees. Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham fixed his line of questioning on similar grounds.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Did you ever accuse, in one of your habeas petitions, the government of acting as war criminals, for holding the detainees?” Graham asked.
“I don’t remember that accusation,” Jackson said. “What I was doing, in the context of the habeas petitions at this very early stage in the process, was making allegations to preserve issues on behalf of my clients.”
