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Ariana Baio
Apr 06, 2022
Tom Cotton claims Ketanji Brown Jackson 'might have' defended Nazi war criminals
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Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) spoke out against Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson suggesting she would have defended Nazis during the Nuremberg trials which earned him a plethora of backlash.
The Arkansas Senator was attempting to deter other Senators from confirming Judge Jackson's nomination by bringing up cases where Judge Jackson had served as a public defender.
Taking to the Senate floor on Wednesday, Cotton criticized Judge Jackson for defending four men allegedly involved in al-Qaeda and held in Guantanamo Bay saying, "Judge Jackson has also shown real interest in helping terrorists."
It should be noted that public defenders do not get to choose their clients.
Senator Cotton went on to make the extreme conclusion that Judge Jackson would have also defended Nazi war criminals.
"You know the last Judge Jackson left the Supreme Court to go to Nuremberg and prosecute the case against the Nazis," Senator Cotton said. "This Judge Jackson might have gone there to defend them."
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) literally says Ketanji Brown Jackson might have defended Nazis at Nuremberg:\n\n"The last Judge Jackson left the Supreme Court to go to Nuremberg and prosecute the case against the Nazis. This Judge Jackson might have gone there to defend them."pic.twitter.com/K0eHZ56sGY— The Recount (@The Recount) 1649190871
Senator Cotton was referring to Robert H Jackson, a Supreme Court Justice who took a leave of absence to prosecute Nazis during the Nuremberg trials in 1945.
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People immediately took to Twitter to criticize Senator Cotton for making the statement.
Senator Tom Cotton says Ketanji Brown Jackson would defend Nazis. \n\nNonsense. Why would she ever want to defend him?— Jon Cooper (@Jon Cooper) 1649201295
Tom Cotton just said Judge Jackson would\u2019ve gone to Nuremberg to defend the Nazis\n\nSame guy who falsely portrayed himself as an Army Ranger in his campaign ads\n\nSame guy who said slavery was a \u201cnecessary evil\u201d\n\nYeah we should really be listening to this douche canoe— Lindy Li (@Lindy Li) 1649200893
Tom Cotton just said that Judge Jackson might have gone to Nuremberg to defend Nazis. \n\nThis is unbecoming of a United States Senator.— Aaron Parnas (@Aaron Parnas) 1649193732
The Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to protecting Jewish people from defamation tweeted, "Absolutely shameful conduct from @SenTomCotton. To use a Nazi analogy as some sort of twisted way to attack Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is reprehensible. We've said it a thousand times and we'll say it again: stop trivializing the Holocaust for political gain."
The Senator's attempt to undermine Judge Jackson's experience is just one of many other attacks the Supreme Court nominee has faced in the past few weeks.
While the Senate Judiciary Committee remained deadlocked on the Judge's nomination advancement, a bipartisan vote in the Senate advanced Judge Jackson to a confirmation vote.
Should Judge Jackson be confirmed, she will be the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.
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