10.05.20

Senate Democrats’ Disingenuous Objections To A Hybrid Hearing

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats Who Once Praised Hybrid Hearings With Virtual Participation Have Now Changed Their Tune, Calling Them Unacceptable, Despite Participating In 21 Of Them Since May

 

Since May, The Senate Judiciary Committee Has Held At Least 21 Hearings With Virtual Participation, 17 Of Which Had Senators Participating Virtually

In The First Such Hearing, Sen. Klobuchar Thanked Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham ‘For Being Willing To Do A Hybrid Hearing,’ And Said Yesterday, ‘Yes We Have Had Virtual Hearings. I Helped To Put Them Together. It’s Important To Give Senators That Option’

CHAIRMAN LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): “Senator Klobuchar, I think is by video conference.”
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “Yep. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And also thank you for being willing to do a hybrid hearing like we’re seeing today. Senator Blunt and I in the Rules Committee worked hard to get this done and I’m glad that we are seeing senators there as well as remotely so thank you.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 5/6/2020)

FOX NEWS’ CHRIS WALLACE: “Are Democrats going to try to use this as a way to delay the confirmation hearing and the confirmation vote on Judge Barrett?”
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): “It’s not a matter of using it, Chris, it happened…. And so it’s very possible we’re going to have more senators, more staff. So I don’t know why you would ram through this Supreme Court hearing, put people in danger because it would be within that two week period, but while you have checked on the whole Senate. I just think it’s wrong. We are suggesting that we wait.”
WALLACE: “But, Senator, the fact is that you can hold hearings in different ways. In fact, last May, when the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, held a virtual hearing, you very much praised him and thanked him for doing that. So you could hold a virtual hearing for Judge Barrett, which raises the question again, are you trying to use the fact that there has been this outbreak … to try to block a nomination that you, frankly, oppose fiercely?”
KLOBUCHAR: Absolutely not. This is for the highest court of the land. And, yes we have had virtual hearings. I helped to put them together. It’s important to give senators that option.” (Fox’s “Fox News Sunday,” 10/04/2020)

MAY 6, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on the Nomination of Justin Walker to be US Circuit Judge for the District Of Columbia (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 5/6/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Durbin, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, Hawley, Coons, Blumenthal, Ernst, Kennedy, Booker, Paul
  • Virtual: Leahy, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Tillis, Hirono, Blackburn

MAY 12, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Legal Liability During the New Coronavirus (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 5/12/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Durbin, Lee, Hawley, Cruz, Coons, Blumenthal
  • Virtual: Leahy, Tillis, Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Hirono, Harris, Witness

MAY 20, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on the Nomination of Cory Wilson to be US Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 5/20/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Durbin, Lee, Cruz, Coons, Hawley, Ernst, Blumenthal, Kennedy, Wicker, Hyde-Smith
  • Virtual: Whitehouse, Blackburn, Booker, Hirono

JUNE 2, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Examining Best Practices for Incarceration and Detention During COVID-19 (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/2/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Durbin, Coons, Blumenthal, Grassley, Hawley, Cruz, Booker, Harris, Lee
  • Virtual: Whitehouse, Klobuchar, Tillis, Hirono, Multiple Witnesses

JUNE 2, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Subcommittee Hearing on Is the DMCA’s Notice-and-Takedown System Working in the 21st Century? (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/2/2020)

  • In person: Tillis, Coons, Blumenthal
  • Virtual: Multiple Witnesses

JUNE 3, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Crossfire Hurricane Investigation Oversight (Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/3/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Cruz, Klobuchar, Hawley, Coons, Tillis, Blumenthal, Ernst, Crapo, Booker, Kennedy, Blackburn
  • Virtual: Hirono

JUNE 9, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on COVID-19 Fraud: Law Enforcement’s Response to Those Exploiting the Pandemic (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/9/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Durbin, Tillis, Whitehouse, Hawley, Blumenthal
  • Virtual: Klobuchar, Blackburn, Hirono, Booker

JUNE 16, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Police Use of Force and Community Relations (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/16/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Booker, Harris, Klobuchar, Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Hawley, Hirono, Cruz, Tillis, Blumenthal, Ernst, Crapo, Kennedy
  • Virtual: Multiple Witnesses, Blackburn

JUNE 17, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Judicial Nominations (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/17/2020)

  • In person: Blackburn, Feinstein, Johnson, Kennedy, Blumenthal, Hawley
  • Virtual: Toomey, Casey, Multiple Nominees, Tillis

JUNE 23, 2020: The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Coronavirus, and Addressing China’s Culpability (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/23/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Coons, Cornyn, Whitehouse, Lee, Blumenthal, Cruz, Booker, Ernst
  • Virtual: Witness, Hirono, Hawley, Blackburn

JUNE 24, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Judicial Nominations (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/24/2020)

  • In person: Kaine, Durbin, Kennedy, Hawley, Blumenthal
  • Virtual: Multiple Nominees, Hirono

JUNE 30, 2020: The Judicial Conference’s Recommendation for More Judgeships (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 6/30/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Coons, Crapo, Hawley, Blumenthal, Whitehouse
  • Virtual: Multiple Witnesses, Hirono, Booker

JULY 22, 2020: Protecting the Integrity of College Athletics (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 7/22/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Blumenthal, Booker, Sasse, Lee, Hawley
  • Virtual: Multiple Witnesses

JULY 28, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Subcommittee Hearing on How Does the DMCA Contemplate Limitations and Exceptions Like Fair Use? (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 7/28/2020)

  • In person: Tillis, Coons
  • Virtual: Multiple Witnesses

JULY 29, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Judicial Nominations (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 7/29/2020)

  • In person: Sasse, Feinstein, Roberts, Blumenthal, Hawley
  • Virtual: Multiple Nominees, Portman, Brown, Hirono, Blackburn

AUGUST 4, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Subcommittee Hearing on The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 8/4/2020)

  • In person: Cruz, Hirono, Merkley, Graham, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Coons, Blumenthal
  • Virtual: Wyden, Blackburn, Multiple Witnesses

AUGUST 5, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation: Day 2 (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 8/5/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Grassley, Leahy, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Hawley, Tillis, Coons, Kennedy, Blumenthal, Cruz
  • Virtual: Witness, Klobuchar, Hirono, Blackburn, Booker

SEPTEMBER 9, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Judicial Nominations (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 9/9/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Wicker, Hyde-Smith, Lee, Blumenthal, Cruz, Durbin, Hawley
  • Virtual: Multiple Nominees, Cassidy, Hirono

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Subcommittee Hearing on Stacking the Tech: Has Google harmed competition in online advertising? (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 9/15/2020)

  • In person: Lee, Klobuchar, Hawley, Blumenthal, Cruz
  • Virtual: Witness, Blackburn

SEPTEMBER 16, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Subcommittee Hearing on Are Reforms to Section 1201 Needed and Warranted? (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 9/16/2020)

  • In person: Tillis, Coons, Blumenthal
  • Virtual: Multiple Witnesses

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020: Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation: Day 3 (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 9/30/2020)

  • In person: Graham, Feinstein, Cornyn, Durbin, Lee, Whitehouse, Cruz, Klobuchar, Sasse, Coons, Hawley, Blumenthal, Tillis, Hirono, Ernst, Booker, Kennedy, Blackburn
  • Virtual: Witness, Leahy

 

Don’t Be Fooled, Senate Democrats Have Been Saying Since Before Judge Barrett Was Nominated That Their ‘First Job’ Is To ‘Delay These Hearings,’ Exposing Their Latest Efforts As Simply Partisan Political Delay Tactics

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): “We will have many more procedural options when it comes to a vote in the Senate committee and a vote on the floor. And we will use every tool in the toolbox to delay and not have the votes occur.” (Sen. Schumer, Press Conference, 10/04/2020)

  • SCHUMER: “[W]e’re going to use every procedural tool that we can. First job, delay these hearings. We can’t force the delay, but public pressure on the Senators, both who have COVID and who don’t. We should be delaying these hearings, so we can have a full and fair hearing. Not something over Zoom. That doesn’t measure up when you have the most important appointment that the Senate makes, for a lifetime.” (Sen. Schumer, Press Conference, 10/04/2020)
  • SCHUMER: “We invoked the two-hour rule because we can’t have business as usual when Republicans are destroying the institution as they have done, and that is why we invoked the two-hour rule.” (Sen. Schumer, Press Conference, 9/22/2020)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “I’ve been around here a few years. You can slow things down but you can’t stop them. And there comes a point-- we use whatever tools we have available, but ultimately there will be a vote.” (“POLITICO Playbook PM: McConnell plows ahead,” Politico’s Playbook PM, 9/22/2020)

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): “In the meantime, I will look for every procedural tool that I can find to make sure that this does not happen. We will do everything we can. … [B]ut my goal is to prevent the replacement before the new president is installed. … I will do everything I can to figure out how we can stop a replacement from happening but believe me… what’s going to happen is that there will be a lot more calls for Supreme Court reform if there is a replacement.” (MSNBC, 9/18/2020)

  • HIRONO: “What I have been doing is, we may not be able to stop it. We can slow it down.” (CNN, 9/26/2020)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): “We are going to fight like hell because the American people deserve a say. Their voices should be heard in this election... They want the next president and the next Senate to choose the next Supreme Court justice. … If the American people are heard, there will be no vote until after the inaugural.” (CNN, 9/21/2020)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): “Look, we need to use every tool, and there are a lot of tools that Democrats have to try and fight this. We got to be strategic about how we use them, but it can’t be business as usual in the Senate. We need to think seriously about everything we can do to try to slow this down and to show how illegitimate this whole process is.” (MSNBC, 9/24/2020)

SEN. PATTY MURRAY (D-WA): “Ruth Bader Ginsburg gave her all to us, and I will give mine to making sure the American people have their next President before her seat is filled.” (Sen. Murray, Press Release, 9/18/2020)


Sen. Tim Kaine Laments That With A Hybrid Hearing, Staff Could Only Text Questions To Senators And An MSNBC Hosts Suggests The Benefit Of A Physical Hearing Is ‘You Could Actually Disrupt It’

MSNBC’S MARIA TERESA KUMAR: “When you are in the room, you get a different sense of something, you get a different sense of what the person is doing, and in some cases you could actually disrupt it as we saw in the last—during Kavanaugh’s hearing—of protesters, and you lose those elements. Are you concerned that by doing virtually, that you would actually basically be redlining what the American people are actually seeing and actually experiencing?”
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): “Yeah. Yes. And you also make the senators less able in their questioning because when we’re in committee hearings live, we usually have staff members sitting right behind us who are reminding us, ‘Hey, here’s what needs to happen’ or ‘You should ask this,’ and as a former Hill staffer, you know an awful lot of the good work that is done—
KUMAR: “We’re your external hard drive!”
KAINE: “Right. But in the virtual hearings that we do now, for example, I’m in a room by myself, my staff might send me a text that I may or may not get when I’m talking to a witness.” (MSNBC, 10/04/2020)

 

FLASHBACK: Senate Democrats ‘Plotted Coordinated Protest Strategy’ To Disrupt And Delay The Hearings For Justice Kavanaugh In 2018 While Far-Left Special Interest Groups Launched ‘A Nationwide Campaign To Disrupt The Confirmation Process’

“[F]rom liberal protesters caterwauling to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) urging Kavanaugh to suspend his own hearing … one has to wonder: Was the chaos merely political theater? There’s plenty of evidence that it was, starting with a call that Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, allegedly placed to Democratic members of the committee over the weekend, encouraging them to join together in a mutual (but most likely futile) effort at obstruction.” (Damon Linker, “The Grandstanding Theatricality Of The Kavanaugh Hearings,” The Week, 7/05/2018)

  • NBC’S KASIE HUNT: “Democrats plotted coordinated protest strategy over the holiday weekend and all agreed to disrupt and protest the hearing, sources tell me…. Dem leader @chuckschumer led a phone call and committee members are executing now” (NBC’s Kasie Hunt, @kasie, Twitter, 9/04/2018)

Senate Democrats Cheered On The Protests And Disruptions…

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): “What we’ve heard is the noise of democracy.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 9/04/2018)

“@SenWarren stopping by Hart atrium to thank protesters” (Demand Justice’s Diana Bowen, @DianaBowen, Twitter, 9/04/2018)

Sen. Gillibrand also met with protesters to thank them: SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): “And I appreciate the fact that you are wearing those t-shirts that say ‘I am what is at stake’ …” (Sen. Gillibrand, @gillibrandny, Twitter, 9/04/2018)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): “I want to thank the many, many Americans who are paying attention to this hearing, not only in this room but also across the country. I want to thank them for their interest and indeed their passion. That is what sustains democracy … There is a t-shirt worn by a number of folks walking around this building. It says, ‘I am what’s at stake.’” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 9/04/2018)

“[Winnie] Wong [senior adviser to the Women’s March] said that she felt like her group had advocates in the hearing room on the dais, mentioning specifically Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.” (“Meet The Protesters Interrupting Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearing,” CNN, 9/05/2018)

…And Did Some Of Their Own Protesting And Disrupting

“Spoiling for a fight, some Democratic senators weighing 2020 presidential campaigns seized upon the opening moments of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation hearings on Tuesday … One by one, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey, demanded that Republicans delay Kavanaugh’s hearing …” (“Potential 2020 Democrats Seize On Kavanaugh Senate Hearings,” The Associated Press, 9/04/2018)

  • “[Sen. Chuck] Schumer [D-NY] objected to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) request that the Judiciary Committee be allowed to continue its confirmation hearing … Such requests are usually granted routinely, but Schumer balked … McConnell decided to adjourn the Senate for the day to get around Schumer’s objection.” (“Democrats Force Senate To Adjourn To Protest Kavanaugh,” The Hill, 9/05/2018)

“Democratic senators opened Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing with an aggressive approach Tuesday, pushing to postpone the hearing and repeatedly interrupting the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman …” (“How Democrats Coordinated A Tense Start To Kavanaugh Hearing,” CNN, 9/04/2018)

  • “Democrats continued to insist on a vote on their motions as the hearing veered seriously off track for more than an hour …” (The Washington Post, 9/04/2018)
  • “[Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck] Grassley hadn’t even introduced Kavanaugh by name when [Sen. Kamala] Harris [D-CA] interjected … As Grassley tried to introduce Kavanaugh, [Sen. Amy] Klobuchar [D-MN] called for the hearing to be postponed as the two senators attempted to talk over each other. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., jumped in, asking that the hearing be adjourned, prompting loud cheers and applause in the room….” (“Potential 2020 Democrats Seize On Kavanaugh Senate Hearings,” The Associated Press, 9/04/2018)

‘A Nationwide Campaign To Disrupt The Confirmation Process’

Around 70 people were arrested ‘for outbursts and disruptions’ during each of the first 3 days of the Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination. (“Protesters Urged To Disrupt Brett Kavanaugh Hearings: ‘These Are Not Normal Times,’” USA Today, 9/05/2018; “Capitol Police Arrest 73 In Kavanaugh Protests Wednesday,” Washington Examiner, 9/05/2018; “69 Protesters Arrested on Day 3 of Kavanaugh Hearing,” Roll Call, 9/06/2018)

“The protesters are part of a nationwide campaign to disrupt the confirmation process…. "My goal is for this nomination to not go through," said Alison Dreith, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, who was one of the people arrested Tuesday…. Dreith acknowledged that the numbers are on Kavanaugh’s side but said she and other protesters are hoping to bolster Democrats on the committee …” (“Shout, Arrest, Repeat: Inside The Kavanaugh Hearing Protests,” The Associated Press, 9/05/2018)

  • “Soon after the Kavanaugh hearings were scheduled, the Center for Popular Democracy Action worked with other advocacy groups, including the Women’s March, Ultraviolet and NARAL, to urge supporters to flood the capital, Epps-Addison said…. Rachel O’Leary Carmona, chief operating officer of the Women’s March, confirmed that her group had coordinated a plan to disrupt the hearings. That included offering lodging to traveling protestors and ‘jail and bail support,’ if necessary.” (“Protesters Urged To Disrupt Brett Kavanaugh Hearings: ‘These Are Not Normal Times,’” USA Today, 9/05/2018)

“‘This is well-organized and scripted. This isn’t chaos,’ Wong said outside the hearing rooms.” (“Meet The Protesters Interrupting Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearing,” CNN, 9/05/2018)

  • “Carla from Silver Spring, Maryland, who did not share her last name, donned her red cape and white bonnet on Tuesday and Wednesday to protest Kavanaugh’s nomination. She told CNN that their group was organized by Demand Justice, a liberal advocacy group…. She indicated that later in the day she planned to take off her outfit to go inside the hearing room to protest. ‘I’m hoping I get arrested,’ she said.” (“Meet The Protesters Interrupting Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearing,” CNN, 9/05/2018)

DEMAND JUSTICE’S BRIAN FALLON: “The protesters are all heroes.” (Brian Fallon, @brianefallon, Twitter, 9/04/2018)

 

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Related Issues: Judicial Nominations, Senate Democrats, Supreme Court