News
CNN, – April 4, 2022
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to be confirmed as soon as this week, after facing a vote Monday in a Senate panel to advance her nomination.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on party lines – 11-11 – barring any unforeseen circumstances, but there are ways, in which, the panel or the Senate Democrats in power can still put her nomination to a confirmation vote in the days to come. If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Black woman to be a Supreme Court justice.
Senate Republican and Democratic leaders agree that Jackson is a well-qualified nominee. Jackson, 51, sits on DC’s federal appellate court and had been considered the front-runner for the vacancy since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement. Jackson previously worked as a clerk for Breyer, a federal public defender, an attorney in private practice, a federal district court judge and a member of the US Sentencing Commission.
CNN, – April 4, 2022
As the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court has ignited a discussion about the historic lack of diversity on the nation’s highest court, her ascendance has also renewed focus on the absence of Black judges on the federal judiciary’s lower courts.
Of the 3,852 people who have been confirmed as federal judges, a CNN analysis of data from the Federal Judicial Center shows that 240 of them – 6% – have been Black. Seventy-one of them have been Black women.
More than three-quarters of all the judges have been White men. And while strides have been made in recent years to improve the demographic makeup of the federal bench, the judiciary still skews dramatically toward White, male judges, especially when compared to the rest of the country
Politico, – April 4, 2022
Rep. Jamie Raskin said a 7-hour gap in White House logs provided to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot “are suspiciously tailored to the heart of the events” of that day but wouldn’t rule out the possibility the gap represents incompetence rather than conspiracy.
“We are aware of other phone calls that took place during that time that included the president,” the Maryland Democrat said. “But we have no comprehensive fine-grain portrait of what was going on during that period. And that is obviously of intense interest to us.”
Raskin, who sits on the Jan. 6 House select committee, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he is hoping for public hearings in early May regarding the investigation.
Politico, – April 4, 2022
Should the Jan. 6 committee ask the Justice Department to pursue a criminal case against Donald Trump? It’s a question with political heft but no practical effect — and some panel members are increasingly skeptical.
After all, as multiple lawmakers on the select committee noted in recent interviews, the Justice Department is aware of the volume of evidence pointing to violations of the law by Trump. That evidence got underscored emphatically last week, when a federal judge ruled the former president “more likely than not” committed felonies to try to overturn the 2020 election.
The select committee could send a “criminal referral” to Attorney General Merrick Garland outlining its recommendations, lawmakers note, but it would have no substantive value.
“A referral doesn’t mean anything,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a member of the select committee. “It has no legal weight whatsoever, and I’m pretty sure the Department of Justice has read [last week’s] opinion, so they don’t need us to tell them that it exists.”
Associated Press, – March 31, 2022
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday he won’t vote for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, expressing concerns about her record despite supporting her confirmation as an appeals court judge last year.
The South Carolina senator’s announcement had been expected after he criticized Jackson during her four days of hearings last week. But it gives Democrats one less Republican vote as they seek bipartisan backing for President Joe Biden’s pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
Graham, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only three Republicans to vote to confirm Jackson on the appeals court in 2021. Collins announced Wednesday that she’ll vote for Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination, as well, giving Democrats at least one GOP vote. Murkowski has said she’s still undecided.
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PBS NewsHour – April 4, 2022 (08:40)
The Jan. 6 committee’s probe into the Capitol attack is turning up new findings about the involvement of former President Trump’s allies, as Senate Democrats prepare to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Margaret Russell of Santa Clara University School of Law, Kyle Cheney of POLITICO, and Chuck Rosenberg, a former U.S. attorney, join Geoff Bennett to discuss.
U.S. administration officials accused Russia of deliberately killing civilians in Ukraine as part of its campaign, and said President Biden would work with allies to determine how to hold Putin accountable. Philippe Sands, professor of law at University College London and the author of “East West Street: On the Origins of ‘Genocide’ and ‘Crimes against Humanity,’” joins Nick Schifrin to discuss.
