'You're Going To Bring Up My Dad?!': Mike Lee Explodes On Witness Who Invokes His Late Father

Mr chairman I'd note up the outset I am concerned by the tone and tenor of this hearing it feels an awful lot like a political Witch Hunt uh political Witch Hunt which may be in the process of being aided and abetted by a member of the Judiciary uh after reading the letters from Senator Whitehouse responses from the administrative office of the courts and news articles this appears certainly like sour grapes or perhaps some combination of sour grapes and and a political Witch Hunt uh we we've got um people who are trying desperately to make a lot out of something that isn't there and I I'd like to inter offer into the record Mr chairman um a letter A a letter from the secretary of the Financial disclosure committee um indicating that two iterations of the committee and two subcommittees found that there was no willful violation uh by Justice Thomas yes this is the May 15th thank you I'm sorry what letter is that please a letter dated May 15th to me from The Honorable Ross on armauskopf answering letters that I had sent April 21st 27th and May 5th so judge judge wolf how was the press and specifically Bloomberg News Bloom Bloomberg news reporter silk Tillman able to review your August 2012 letter to a group of judicial conference colleagues how did that happen I do not know she sent me an email asking if I would speak to her and I communicated that I decline isn't the timing of this seemed a little odd I mean this is this is something occurred 11 years ago and days before this hearing it magically appears did you leak a copy of the letter no to Ms Tillman did you link it to anyone else who may have given it to Ms Tillman no and actually of course I've thought about that question uh too and you excuse me if I uh say something that may be supportive of all of you uh I had not given those letters to any Senator any member of his or her staff the administrative office would have these records who did you give them to nobody no one correct and Mr Lee I work closely with your father when he was the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and I was attorney general Levy's liaison to him I think your father would have been very disturbed by the matters that I've addressed A and B would have in getting and I would have thought that members of the Senate from both parties would be concerned about whether the Judiciary and anybody else was properly seriously interpreting it you're going to bring up my dad you're you're here you're here attacking a member of the United States Supreme Court on grounds that are frivolous on grounds that have been rejected by two different iterations of the judicial committee that you're talking about twice rejected and you have the audacity to come in here and invoke the memory of my late father I shame on you sir I okay look you you submit you submit a statement to this committee it's a lengthy statement um contains 122 footnotes on page two you state that you're testifying quote as an individual and not as a representative of the judicial Conference of the United States or the federal Judiciary close quote did your law clerks help you draft this yes who else helped you draft it who else was involved in the drafting of it guess my law clerks although I did consult one of my colleagues about it okay so you're not here on behalf of the conference uh and yet you use judicial resources to do it and you consulted one of your colleagues to do it and you're speaking solely in Your Capacity as someone who served on the committee and so you're purporting to speak for the committee no I'm not I said I'm speaking when I was invited first to be interviewed I thought by Senator Kennedy who declined to meet with me uh but I didn't meet with the staff and then when I was invited to testify I immediately informed the administrative office of the United States courts I was familiar with the guidance again not public the judges are free to speak the Canon 4 as you saw when you read my uh piece encourages judges to speak on matters relating to the administration of justice uh when they have experience or expertise and uh the only thing that the administrative office said to me was be sure to point out that you're testifying as an individual which I had already done and what I was Drafting and uh if I wanted any ethical guidance it mentioned who to call okay Senator Durbin I'm sorry are vividly clear and there wasn't any open issue on which to consult yeah yet you're here speaking in that capacity based on your service on that committee notwithstanding the fact that the your your motion to have it considered by the full conference as to your suggestion that Justice Thomas's uh disclosures were willfully wrong was rejected Senator Durbin Church wolf

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Length: 6min 19sec (379 seconds)

Published: Fri May 26 2023