Business meeting to consider the nominations of Jennifer Lee Mascott, of Delaware, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, Rebecca L. Taibleson, of Wisconsin, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit, David A. Bragdon, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, Robert P. Chamberlin, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi, Lindsey Ann Freeman, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, Edmund G. LaCour, Jr., to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, Bill Lewis, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama, James D. Maxwell II, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi, Harold D. Mooty III, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, Matthew E. Orso, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina, Susan Courtwright Rodriguez, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of North Carolina, Sara Bailey, of Texas, to be Director of National Drug Control Policy, Braden Boucek, to be United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee for the term of four years, David Courcelle, to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana for the term of four years, Dominick Gerace II, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio for the term of four years, Jerome Francis Gorgon, Jr., to be United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan for the term of four years, James Kruger, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi for the term of four years, Scott Leary, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi for the term of four years, Bryan Stirling, to be United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina for the term of four years, and Thomas Wheeler II, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana for the term of four years.
2025-10-01
Source: Congress.gov
Summary
The Judiciary Committee held a hearing on 20 judicial nominations, including circuit and district judges and a U.S. Attorney. Senators raised concerns about the lack of state ties among nominees, citing Jennifer Mascott's minimal connection to Delaware. The hearing focused on the politicization of justice, with witnesses highlighting controversial prosecutions of Trump allies and claims of misconduct by the FBI. Critics argued that presidential directives have undermined prosecutorial independence and led to politically motivated cases. Key issues discussed included the FBI's handling of investigations, misconduct by DOJ leaders, and the need for bipartisan safeguards against political prosecutions. Senators emphasized the importance of judicial integrity, witness honesty, and adherence to the rule of law in all federal proceedings.
Participants
Transcript
I've been asked by three people to make short statements. One would be White House, one would be Coons, and the other one would be Britt. Good morning, everybody. On today's agenda, we have 20 nominations listed. We'll vote on five of them. Jennifer Mascott, Circuit Judge. Edmund LaCour, Bill Lewis, and Harold Moody to be district judges, and David Kursel for U.S. Attorney. I'm going to support all these nominees. We'll hold over the remaining nominees listed on our agenda for later consideration. Before turning to today's business, I'd like to discuss the recent flurry of outrage that's been expressed by people that are in office and out of office, but particularly because of what my colleagues have said in the indictment of FBI Director James Comey. The indictment returned by the grand jury contains Serious charges, if you consider testifying before Congress, is an important thing for people to do honestly. At the time of Comey's alleged conduct, my colleagues and I had active investigations. If the facts and evidence show that Comey lied to the Congress and obstructed the investigative work that we're doing, he ought to be held accountable. The rule of law requires truthfulness before Congress, and this body's constitutional oversight role demands it. Instead of acknowledging this fact and allowing the legal process to play out, As I saw over the weekend on television, some of my colleagues are warning us about the dangers of politicized justice, and that's perfectly right for them to make that warnings to us, but I think it's reasonable for us to look at the history of the last decade
I've long warned against political investigations and prosecutions and dual standards of justice. As one example, in 2023, I said, quoting myself, Attorney General Carlin signed off on prosecuting Trump for conduct similar to what Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton engaged in. Two standards of justice in this country will turn our constitutional republic upside down. That's the end of my quote. During the FBI's Clinton email scan investigation, The FBI agreed to destroy records and laptops of Clinton's associates. After reviewing them, the FBI limited the scope of review and provided immunity agreements. Comey drafted an exoneration statement for Clinton way before the FBI even interviewed her and six other witnesses. And then President Obama publicly undermined the investigation before it was completed by saying, quote, this isn't a situation in which America's national security was endangered, end of quote. Now you've heard about me reducing the Clinton annex. showed that Comey, FBI, had information related to conduct, quote, a thorough and complete investigation, end of quote. They didn't review it. That's the opposite of how the FBI treated Trump.
The Obama administration and Comey's FBI opened crossfire hurricane on candidate Trump and falsely accused him of Russian collusion. The FBI lied to the FISA court. The now declassified Durham annex, which I got declassified, said that the Clinton campaign planned to falsely tie Trump to Russia. The FBI helped them try to do it. And where was my Democrat colleagues and their outcry when the Biden administration weaponized the Justice Department to investigate the 92 political groups during Arctic frost. That's another bit of information that come from things I got declassified. For all these examples, there's been no outcry, no matter how outlandish and obvious the political infection. That's true even with state level cases brought against Trump. In one of the partisan lawsuits launched against President Trump, A justice of the New York Supreme Court described the goal as, quote, the derailment of President Trump's political career and the destruction of his real estate business, end of quote. That's not the commentary of a media personality. That's what a sitting justice wrote in his concurrence. Democrats chaired the political arrest and prosecution of President Trump, his advisors, his friends, his lawyers, and even his valet. House Democrats then preached President Trump not once but twice.
Democrats, their allies, and the politicized justice system raided President Trump's house, publicly released his tax returns, fined his companies, and stripped his business licenses. Democrats even tried to remove President Trump from the ballot in 2024 in more than one state. Now imagine that, depriving the American people from electing
Sign up for free to see the full transcript
Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.