Former Federal Prosecutors To Senate: Stop Confirming Election Deniers To The Federal Bench - Above the Law
Menu
Search for:
Search
Search for:
Search
Featured:
Appeal to Heaven flag on January 6 (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
The results of the 2020 election are not just like, your opinion, man. There was a demonstrated winner and loser and the election was one of the most investigated in history and Joe Biden won. That is just a fact. Now 12 former federal prosecutors who worked on J6 cases sent a letter to the Senate this week asking it to stop confirming judicial nominees who won’t acknowledge this reality. And really, the ask is simple: don’t give lifetime appointments to people who won’t say Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
The letter, released at a Capitol Hill press event Wednesday alongside Democrats from the Judiciary panel, targets what has become a defining — and deeply troubling — feature of Trump’s second-term judicial confirmation process. Not a single one of Trump’s second-term court picks would say in their Senate hearing that Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election. Not one. They also routinely dodge questions about January 6, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol with plans to stop the certification of Biden’s victory, with nominees typically saying that they condemn violence generally, while refusing to characterize the specific events of that day.
Former assistant U.S. attorney Sean Murphy, who spoke at Wednesday’s press event, did not mince words. “Please stop poisoning our courts by confirming appointees who refuse to admit basic historical truths,” he said. “This is not a problem of perspective or political persuasion. It is a fundamental question of competence.”
Sponsored Content
Learning After Law School
Once you’ve got your law degree, how do you keep your professional skills up to date? Share your perspective in this brief survey, and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card.
By Above the Law
And then he dropped this truth bomb, “You may have won yourself a lifetime appointment, but you have lost a lifetime of credibility. You traded a piece of your soul to occupy this seat. You will tell yourself that it was a small price, but the cost will be your credibility.”
The pattern Murphy is describing is, at this point, the explicit condition of being nominated. As HuffPost reported, nominees answer almost identically — saying Biden was “certified by Congress” or that he “served” as president, rather than simply acknowledging he won. They describe January 6 as a “political issue” they can’t comment on. The scripted uniformity of the evasions is itself telling: these nominees have been coached to perform loyalty to Trump’s lies as a prerequisite for their nomination, and the Senate has been confirming them anyway. Including, it should be noted, 15 Democratic senators who voted for at least one of these nominees.
Murphy’s framing is that this is a “fundamental question of competence” rather than politics. And he’s right. A judge who won’t state a documented historical fact on the record — who has been coached to evade, to deflect, to perform loyalty to a lie as the price of a lifetime appointment — has already told you everything you need to know about how they’ll rule when it matters.
Sponsored Content
Why Experience Still Matters In An AI-Driven Legal Industry
A conversation with Trustpoint.One CEO Christopher Gallagher.
By Above the Law
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
Sponsored Content
AI Built for Litigation. Verified by Design.
Grounded in authoritative content and verified at every step, Protégé is the only legal AI tool that delivers work you can trust—without exception.
By LexisNexis
Recommended
Courts
He Left The Bench For The Ballot, Then Came Back For More
Courts
Before He Wrote Opinions, He Broke Tackles
Courts
Legal Ethics Roundup: The ‘Unethical’ DOJ, A Biglaw Firm’s Court-Required Ethics Training, ‘Bending The Knee’ To Trump & More
Sponsored Content
Managing Partners are Navigating the AI Inflection Point.
New executive research from Ari Kaplan explores how law firm leaders are responding to changing client expectations, evolving economics, talent transformation, and AI governance.
By LexisNexis
Recent Jobs
Labor & Employment Attorney
Location: Minneapolis, MN<br>posted by Maslon LLP
Jr to Mid Level U.S. Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Associate
Location:<br>posted by Kinney Recruiting LLC
Mid to Senior Level U.S. Emerging Companies & Venture Capital Associate
Location:<br>posted by...