'See, I Don't Believe You': John Kennedy Tears Into Biden Nom Over Past Statements About Kavanaugh

thank you mr chairman if you could indulge me i'd like a couple extra minutes too it's okay certainly counseling did you really say that justice kavanaugh was a morally bankrupt person senator as i explained i did not write that letter i did sign it and i i read it quickly yes and you signed it yes sir did you really say that justice kavanaugh if he would was confirmed would cause people to die as i stated senator i understood those statements were overheated rhetoric but i understood them to be justified historical you said it right i did sign the letter yes senator okay do you do you believe that brett kavanaugh is a morally bankrupt person senator sitting here as a judicial nominee it is not appropriate for me to comment do you believe personally when you said it you said it do you believe that he's a morally bankrupt person senator it is not appropriate for me why not you said it i understand senator i am giving you extra time but can she be allowed to answer sure i i i just want an answer i agree that she should answer you're not going to answer my question i believe i've answered it to the best of my ability honestly senator i respect completely the confirmation process and the authority of justice kavanaugh and every supreme court justice but but do you this is real simple you said just a few years ago you weren't in law school you weren't in college you said brett kavanaugh is a morally bankrupt person it's clear as thunder on a summer night now you're under oath do you believe he is or not how hard is that you'll have much harder questions as a federal judge if you make it that far i appreciate the question senator as i stated those statements were rhetorical advocacy that i signed as an alum addressing my law school alma mater i did not well let me ask you about this rhetorical advocacy is does rhetorical advocacy mean you said something but now that you've been nominated you're scared that you can't get the votes so you're going to uh try not to answer the question is that what rhetorical ad rhetorical advocacy means what is rhetorical advocacy is it a lie no it's not a lie senator i would say that it's statements that are made in service of an advocacy position okay and if you issue an opinion and you get reversed by the supreme court are you just going to say oh don't worry about it justices that was just rhetorical advocacy what is this absolutely not senator if the court issues an opinion as a lower court judge i would be absolutely bound to to follow it it is not merely rhetorical advocacy it is the law of the land okay let me try one more time do you believe that brett kavanaugh is a morally bankrupt person senator sitting here today under oath sitting here today under oath i can assure you that i respect completely the authority of justice kavanaugh as a duly confirmed supreme court justice of the united stand but do you believe he's morally bankrupt senator as i stated i respect his authority and the authority of every supreme court justice sitting on our court yes ma'am but do you believe he's morally bankrupt my personal opinion is not for me it's not appropriate for me to say i respect his authority as a supreme court so you think he is morally bankrupt i did not say that senator but you signed a letter saying he was morally bankrupt several years ago as an alum addressing my law school alma mater i did sign a letter that i believed was addressed only to my law school administration oh you didn't think it would be public i did not understand that it would be used as a public advocacy piece no i believed it was only addressed to my law school and you signed that because because you wanted to show fidelity to your alma mater young law school i signed it senator at the time because i felt that it was an appropriate statement to make to my law school administration notwithstanding the overheated rhetoric but sitting here today as a judicial nominee what i want to assure you is that as an advocate as a litigator as a neutral adjudicator and as a judge if confirmed i would absolutely respect the authority of every supreme court justice and all of its precedents without reservation see i don't believe you i think you i think you said i think you allowed your political beliefs to cloud your judgment and i think you said a few years ago what what you said about brett kavanaugh and i think you believe it and i can't imagine what it's going to be like to be a litigant in front of you with that demonstration of lack of judicial temperament and judgment how can a litigant possibly think that you're not going to act on personal beliefs if you were so intemperate to say something like this last question are you proud of the fact that yale law school has a quota system limiting the number of asian americans have you ever written a letter about that or is that not is that how does that fit in your your socioeconomic uh view of the world that you think everybody else should adopt and you will impose if you're in a position of power senator i'm not aware of any policy like that but what i can assure you is that i have attracted you i need to get out i have a track record as a neutral adjudicator i have decided cases for nearly five years impartially by applying the law as set forth in our statutes our constitution and our precedence and i have applied that law and partially i have you're the only person in the milky way who believes you're impartial mr chairman i'm done mr chairman well yes you are

Channel: Forbes Breaking News

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Keywords: Sen. John Kennedy, Jennifer Sung, Senate

Id: Zdmf2UlNuhs

Length: 6min 49sec (409 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021