After nearly 24 hours of sitting before the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Joe Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court—Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson—got a welcome break from the nonsense that partly defined the first three days.
Instead, on Thursday, the Committee heard testimony from members of the American Bar Association's standing committee on the Federal Judiciary (which gave Jackson a glowing rating), and from 10 legal experts, evenly chosen by Republican and Democratic committee members.
Among those experts was Alabama's far-right Attorney General, Steve Marshall, who urged the Committee to vote against advancing Jackson's nomination, suggesting she was soft on crime and anti-policing, despite Jackson being endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police and having multiple law enforcement family members.
Marshall said:
“I have heard nothing this week to alleviate my fear that Judge Jackson believes a fundamental redesign is needed in our criminal justice system and she would be so included to use her position to this court to this end."
But Marshall may have discredited himself with a maddening answer to questions from Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who asked if Marshall recognized Biden as the "the duly elected and lawfully serving president of the United States of America."
Watch Marshall's answer below.
Testifying against Judge Jackson’s SCOTUS nomination, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) repeatedly sidesteps direct questions from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) about whether President Biden is the “duly elected and lawfully serving” president. pic.twitter.com/9E28nkNzRP
— The Recount (@therecount) March 24, 2022
Marshall responded:
"[Biden] is the President of this country."
Whitehouse asked the question again, only for Marshall to repeat his initial answer.
That prompted Whitehouse to ask:
"Are you answering that, omitting the language 'duly elected and lawfully serving,' purposefully?"
Marshall responded:
"I’m answering the question. He is the president of the United States."
His refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of Biden's victory, which has been verified by numerous audits, court rulings, and recounts, doesn't come as a surprise. It's a matter of public record that Marshall promoted former President Donald Trump's delusions that the 2020 election was "rigged" or "stolen" against him.
He signed on in support of far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's quixotic effort to sue Pennsylvania and other swing states Trump lost in an effort to hold off the joint congressional session certifying then-President-elect Biden's victory. The suit was denied standing.
The bizarre moment generated widespread rebuke on social media.
This stupid, dangerous game being played by Alabama’s AG is the direct fault of Donald Trump and all of his other co-conspirators.
And the AG is a lawyer. So his gamesmanship here is even more ridiculous. He knows that there was no voter fraud. https://t.co/hlnxPtNaqe
— Katie S. Phang (@KatiePhang) March 24, 2022
Again, and I just cannot reiterate this enough, this isn't a man who is confused about the evidence. This is a man who is trying to rewrite reality through blatant bad faith. https://t.co/6r2BfKW5ff
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) March 24, 2022
Holy sh—
This is an attorney general https://t.co/AToFNYXYNL
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) March 24, 2022
There are sitting attorneys General in the US who believe an insane conspiracy that Joe Biden wasn't elected president. There's no way you can expect them to protect the constitution https://t.co/BBTmL7snxt
— Dr. Jason Johnson (@DrJasonJohnson) March 24, 2022
A deeply chilling exchange that reveals the slow-motion coup to end American democracy. Every person seeking public office should be asked this question. https://t.co/E1z1A0oxhw
— Alex Aronson (@alexaronson) March 24, 2022
No matter which side does it, it's dangerous for democracy when elected officials don't acknowledge that the winners have been "duly elected."
January 6, 2021 doesn't happen without this kind of nonsense. https://t.co/eNqXqu2jHk
— Josh Douglas (@JoshuaADouglas) March 24, 2022
Some felt fear of Trump was what kept Marshall from acknowledging the election's legitimacy.
Mo Brooks, Alabama Congressman & speaker for Trump at the Jan 6 rally, has just lost Trump's endorsement in his Senate primary race for saying we should move on from the 2020 election. Alabama AG Steve Marshall tap dancing to avoid the same fate. Such fear of Trump. https://t.co/oJKG6SHVRs
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) March 24, 2022
This is utterly pathetic. They can't say anything to even slightly contradict Trump's Big Lie.
I don't know how many believe it themselves or how many are just scared of being canceled by the party. But either way, it's an embarrassment. https://t.co/qB64sxwD2V
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) March 24, 2022
Imagine being so owned by someone that you can’t just answer a question. https://t.co/wFvZnaniWp
— Michael Muscato (@michael_muscato) March 24, 2022
The Judiciary Committee will vote on the advancement of Jackson's nomination on April 4.
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