Senate Republicans are accusing the White House of “intentionally” withholding documents relating to Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson and her record of giving lenient sentences to child pornographers.
When the White House provided the Senate Judiciary with a list of Jackson’s child abuse cases, some were left off. One such case was U.S. v. Cane, which involved “over 6,500 files depicting children appearing to be of elementary, middle and high school ages, engaged in sexual acts or posing sexually.” The recommendation was for the defendant to be sentenced to 84 months, but Jackson sentenced him to the mandatory minimum of 60 months.
“Not only does this case, which Judge Jackson left off her list of child abuse cases, undercut her argument that she followed the probation office’s recommended sentences, but it also underscores the perils of moving too quickly in the vetting process,” a Republican Judiciary Committee aide told Fox News.
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The White House claims the case was “unintentionally” left off the list given to the committee, however, that claim is contradicted by the fact that the White House leaked specific information to the media and Democrats on the committee while excluding Republicans.
Nevertheless, the White House claimed the case undermines accusations from Republicans that Jackson is soft-on-crime — however, transcripts of the sentencing prove otherwise.
“The transcripts—the only public material to address sentencing in this case—confirm that the probation office recommended a longer sentence than the minimum term imposed by Judge Jackson,” the GOP aide explained. “They also reveal the government’s arguments for enhancing the penalty, which suggests interest in a sentence longer than the term Judge Jackson handed out.”
“It’s clear from the sentencing transcript that the probation office, which Judge Jackson repeatedly referenced to justify her sentences, wanted a longer sentence in this case,” the GOP aide continued. “Moreover, Judge Jackson even pointed to a case (Cooper), where she imposed the shortest possible sentence despite the prosecutor’s higher recommendation, to justify her sentence in this case.”
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee only got the transcript for the Cane case on Friday — after the hearings had concluded. “Clearly, the White House either didn’t thoroughly vet the nominee, or were aware of the record and they intentionally left it out in hopes that the nominee would be confirmed before the full record could be uncovered and reviewed,” the GOP aide insisted.
Article III Project founder Mike Davis says the White House engaged in a cover-up.
“This is a cover-up by the Biden White House and Senate Democrats,” Davis said. “They’re covering up her record. They intentionally omitted this case from less than a year ago because it did not fit their political narrative.”
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) agrees that the White House deliberately withheld this information to protect Biden’s nominee.
“When we first highlighted her record on child porn cases, the White House leaked information to their friends in the media and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee,” Hawley told Fox News. “They hid it from the public despite knowing Judge Jackson gives lenient sentences to criminals. The White House is still refusing to be transparent about Judge Jackson’s record.”
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