By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-sen-cory-booker-defends-jackson-against-gop-attacks-during-confirmation-hearing Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Sen. Cory Booker defends Jackson against GOP attacks during confirmation hearing Politics Mar 22, 2022 9:54 PM EDT After Republican senators attacked Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown, accusing her of being soft on crime, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker offered a spirited defense of the federal judge. Watch the moment in the player above. “Law enforcement organization after law enforcement organization, victims advocacy organization after victims advocacy organization. Republican appointed judges, Democratic appointed judges. That’s who’s in your corner,” Booker said. AP FACT CHECK: Republicans skew Ketanji Brown Jackson’s record on crime Jackson herself forcefully defended her record as a judge Tuesday, declaring she would rule as an “independent jurist” if confirmed as the first Black woman on the high court. In a marathon hearing stretching into the night, Republicans aggressively questioned Jackson on the sentences she has handed down to sex offenders in her nine years as a federal judge, her advocacy on behalf of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory and even her religious views. At one point, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas read from children’s books that he said are taught at her teenage daughter’s school. Several GOP senators grilled her on her child pornography sentences, arguing they were lighter than federal guidelines recommend. She said she based the sentences on many factors, not just the guidelines, and said some of the cases had given her nightmares. Booker joined her in that defense, too. “And when you add that to the endorsements that you’ve gotten from folks that deal with victim advocacy groups, it is to me, just a line of attack that does not hold, in no way for me,” Booker said. More on Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings from our coverage: Few public defenders become federal judges. Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the Supreme Court’s first Key moments from Day 1 of the hearings Fact check: Republicans skew Ketanji Brown Jackson’s record on crime By — Associated Press Associated Press
After Republican senators attacked Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown, accusing her of being soft on crime, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker offered a spirited defense of the federal judge. Watch the moment in the player above. “Law enforcement organization after law enforcement organization, victims advocacy organization after victims advocacy organization. Republican appointed judges, Democratic appointed judges. That’s who’s in your corner,” Booker said. AP FACT CHECK: Republicans skew Ketanji Brown Jackson’s record on crime Jackson herself forcefully defended her record as a judge Tuesday, declaring she would rule as an “independent jurist” if confirmed as the first Black woman on the high court. In a marathon hearing stretching into the night, Republicans aggressively questioned Jackson on the sentences she has handed down to sex offenders in her nine years as a federal judge, her advocacy on behalf of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory and even her religious views. At one point, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas read from children’s books that he said are taught at her teenage daughter’s school. Several GOP senators grilled her on her child pornography sentences, arguing they were lighter than federal guidelines recommend. She said she based the sentences on many factors, not just the guidelines, and said some of the cases had given her nightmares. Booker joined her in that defense, too. “And when you add that to the endorsements that you’ve gotten from folks that deal with victim advocacy groups, it is to me, just a line of attack that does not hold, in no way for me,” Booker said. More on Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings from our coverage: Few public defenders become federal judges. Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the Supreme Court’s first Key moments from Day 1 of the hearings Fact check: Republicans skew Ketanji Brown Jackson’s record on crime