Thirty judicial nominees this year have refused to say Trump lost the 2020 election
And a look at how nominees are responding to whether Democrats are evil.
Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee posted responses to written questions for the record from three more of Trump’s judicial nominees. I previously reported on how the first 25 nominees answered some of these questions, finding evasive and bizarre responses on a variety of issues.
Now, 30 nominees have responded to these written questions — and notably, all 30 have dodged any inquiry related to the outcome of the 2020 election and what happened on January 6, 2021. All nominees to date have refused to comment on certain subjects that may anger the president who nominated them — a president who demands and expects loyalty above all else.
A Demand Justice report — released last month after 27 nominees responded to written questions — built on my reporting and zeroed in on these issues specifically. They note the following:
No judicial nominee would affirmatively state that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
No judicial nominee would speak to the events that transpired on January 6, 2021, with most describing them as a “political issue” that they couldn’t comment on further.
Nominees answered almost identically to avoid answering questions about the results of the 2020 election, instead commenting on the congressional “certification” process or saying that Biden “served” as president.
As they observe, “nominees’ responses appear nearly identical, with many nominees using verbatim phrasing, repeating key words, and, overall, using unusual and evasive language that’s almost entirely outside the normal, historical, and common lexicon used to describe such events.”
I also noted that Senator Cory Booker started asking nominees whether they believe the vote count was accurate in 2020. While most nominees simply referred to their previous nonresponse, several others, bizarrely, wrote that they weren’t personally aware of the accuracy.
Kyle Dudek: “I have no knowledge about the accuracy of the vote count in the 2020 election.”
Jordan Pratt: “I have no personal knowledge of the accuracy of the vote count.”
Edmund LaCour: “I have no personal knowledge as to whether vote counts for the 2020 election were accurate.”
James Maxwell: “I have never personally inquired into the vote counts for the 2020 election. As a sitting judge and judicial nominee, it is not appropriate to provide a personal view of the accuracy of a political election.”
David Bragdon: “I have no personal knowledge as to whether vote counts for the 2020 election were accurate.”
It is alarming that these nominees — who are all white men from southern states — went out of their way to say that they didn’t know whether the vote counts were accurate.
Are Democrats evil?
You may recall an exchange from late July between Senator Booker and Ninth Circuit nominee (and now judge) Eric Tung, during which Tung would not say whether he believes that Democrats are evil. My story has more context for this question and why it was asked of Tung in particular — but Senator Booker has actually been asking this in writing since before Tung’s hearing. Here’s the question:
Article III Project (A3P) “defends constitutionalist judges and the rule of law.” According to Mike Davis, Founder & President of A3P, “I started the Article III Project in 2019 after I helped Trump win the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh fights. We saw then how relentless—and evil—too many of today’s Democrats have become. They’re Marxists who hate America. They believe in censorship. They have politicized and weaponized our justice systems.” Do you agree with the above statement?
Of the 24 nominees (other than Tung) who have been asked this question in writing, most simply said that they couldn’t comment on political matters. Only a handful would make a general statement to say or suggest that they don’t believe Democrats are evil:
David Bragdon: “I am not familiar with the statement described above, so I cannot comment on it specifically. As a judge, I would not prejudge any party or lawyer or their arguments based on political affiliation. I am friends and colleagues with many Democrats and have a high opinion of them. I believe that collegiality and dialogue are important.”
William Crain: “I am not familiar with the statement or the context in which it was made, so I cannot comment on it beyond saying that I do not believe all Democrats are Marxists who hate America or believe in censorship.”
Nick Ganjei: “I am not familiar with the above statement or the context in which it was made. I can say that I do not believe Democrats are evil.”
Joshua Dunlap: “I do not ascribe good or evil to a category of people based on their political affiliations. Further, Mr. Davis’ views are not relevant to whether I will be a fair and impartial judge.”
Only one nominee unequivocally responded with a single word: “No.” And it was Judge Bill Lewis — Trump’s only Black judicial nominee this year.
It is, of course, sad that this question needs to be asked. But it is even sadder that nominees won’t just respond the way Lewis did — or concede, the way Ganjei did, that Democrats are not evil, rather than hiding behind the judicial canons in refusing to respond.
Tung’s resistance to answering this question — live during the hearing — was astonishing to witness. Perhaps more nominees should be asked in person.
To access written responses, see: Hermandorfer | Divine | Stevens | Bluestone | Bove | Artau | Lanahan | Dudek | Mascott | Mooty | Moe | Mercer | Meredith | Taibleson | Lewis | Pratt | LaCour | Tung | Dunlap | Chamberlin | Maxwell | Bragdon | Rodriguez | Freeman | Orso | Van Hook | Crain | Ganjei | Peterson | Fowlkes