Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson rejects GOP attack on her record: ‘Nothing could be further from the truth’

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies on her nomination to become an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 22, 2022.

Jackson defended her judicial record against Republican accusations that she was too soft on child-pornography offenders.

As a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, I was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the question at the start of the second day of Jackson's confirmation hearings, directly referencing claims made by another member of the judiciary panel.

Jackson showed a pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes, both as a judge and as a policymaker.

The claim was called misleading by many media outlets. A conservative columnist called the argumentmeritless to the point of demagoguery.

Jackson's defense of her record began at the start of the hearings. Jackson, who if confirmed will become the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, was expected to face intense scrutiny from Republicans and praise from Democrats.

In her first appearance before the Senate committee, Jackson offered a summary of her career on the bench. She said she applies the law without fear or favor.

She told the senators that her judicial experience has shown her to be impartial.

She told the panel that she doesn't think anyone could say that her record supports one viewpoint or another.

Jackson refused to share her views on court packing and the possibility of increasing the number of seats on the Supreme Court. She referred to Justice Amy ConeyBarrett, the third nominee of former President Donald Trump, who refused to opine on that issue during her confirmation hearings.

Jackson said that the proper role of a judge in our constitutional scheme is the consideration.

Lawmakers are able to question Jackson under oath in a public forum Tuesday for the first time since President Joe Biden nominated her to the Supreme Court. The judge met with senators on Capitol Hill.

Jackson is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Jackson would replace one liberal justice with another, if he were nominated by Biden.

Conservatives enjoy a 6-3 majority on the high court.

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