Senate Democrats Prioritize Radical Judges Over National Security

Last Week, The Senate Armed Services Committee Approved Its Version Of The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act

“The Senate version of the fiscal 2025 defense authorization bill would authorize roughly $25 billion more for national defense than the Biden administration requested … The bill … was favorably reported to the full Senate … on Thursday. According to an executive summary released by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the bill would provide a total of $923.3 billion for national defense. That includes $878.4 billion for the Defense Department plus $33.4 billion for nuclear programs within the Department of Energy and $11.5 billion for defense-related activities outside the committee’s jurisdiction.” (“Senate NDAA Bill Would Boost Defense Topline By $25 Billion,” CQ News, 6/14/2024)

·       “Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services committee, succeeded in persuading a bipartisan majority on the committee to join his crusade to increase the Pentagon’s spending authority substantially … By a 22-3 vote on Friday, the committee advanced a version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes a $25 billion plus-up …” (“Senate Committee Ignores Budget Caps As It Advances $923 Billion Defense Policy Bill,” Washington Examiner, 6/17/2024)

But Instead Of Turning To This Crucial Legislation At A Time Of Significant Worldwide Security Challenges For America, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Is Pushing Instead To Confirm Radical Judicial Nominees

Last week, Sen. Schumer filed cloture on the nomination of Mustafa Kasubhai to be United States District Judge for the District of Oregon. (Congressional Record, S.4076, 6/13/2024)

On Monday, Sen. Schumer filed cloture on the nomination of Nancy Maldonado to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit. (Congressional Record, S.4107, 6/17/2024)

Judge Mustafa Kasubhai, Whom Schumer Wants The Senate To Vote On This Week, Has A History Of Making Radical Ideological Pronouncements That Call Into Question His Ability To Rule Impartially

SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “Unfortunately, the Democratic Leader has decided that instead of taking up the critical annual defense authorization, the Senate will dedicate floor time this week to the latest in the Biden Administration’s parade of unfit nominations to the federal bench. The latest example is a judge nominated to the federal district court in Oregon named Mustafa Kasubhai. Judge Kasubhai’s record and judicial philosophy put him well outside the mainstream. The nominee has bragged about his lack of commitment to standard jurisprudential practices. During his time as a magistrate judge, he said, ‘We have to set aside conventional ideas of proof when we are dealing with the interpersonal work of equity, diversity and inclusion.’ Now, if by ‘conventional ideas of proof’ he is referring to things like clear evidence or sworn witnesses and their testimony, then I think I tend to prefer conventional ideas.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 6/17/2024)

·       LEADER McCONNELL: “Unfortunately, this only scratches the surface. Judge Kasubhai also sounds like a committed Marxist. He’s authored an article promoting the integration of Marxist theory into property law, and claimed that the notion of scarcity of natural resources was a myth promoted by a privileged elite.  He’s heaped high praise on the disgraced racist prophet known for insisting that, ‘the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.’ As many of our colleagues know I was fortunate to be here in Washington when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. And I don’t recall Dr. King calling for retribution. In fact, his name has become nearly synonymous with the exact opposite. But apparently, this is just one more subject on which Judge Kasubhai would prefer to leave ‘conventional ideas’ behind. Well, when it comes to judicial nominations, I subscribe to conventional wisdom: A judge’s job is to follow the law, not the passing fads of woke politics. So I’ll urge our colleagues to join me in rejecting this nomination.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 6/17/2024)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), Senate Judiciary Committee Member: “Judge Kasubhai, I think your fellow nominees [on this panel] owe you a debt of gratitude because many Biden nominees have been extreme, but your record is so far out of the mainstream that you have attracted virtually all of the questions.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 10/04/2023)

Judge Kasubhai Is Strangely Focused On ‘Pronoun Usage’

He Directs Lawyers In His Courtroom To Use ‘Identified Pronouns’

As a Magistrate Judge, Judge Kasubhai incorporates his pronoun requirements into his case management orders and into the ‘courtroom rules’ posted on his judge information page for the Oregon District Court. (“United States Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai (he/him),” U.S. District Court, District of Oregon Website, Accessed 6/17/2024)

·       “Pronoun Usage: The parties and counsel are encouraged to advise the Court of their pronouns and honorifics (such as Mx., Ms., or Mr.). People appearing before this Court may provide their pronouns and honorifics in writing or orally when appearing for conferences, hearings, or trials. Attorneys are encouraged to identify their pronouns and honorifics in their signature lines when submitting documents for filing. Parties and counsel are instructed to address each other in all written documents and court proceedings by those previously identified pronouns and honorifics.” (“United States Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai (he/him),” U.S. District Court, District of Oregon Website, Accessed 6/17/2024)

·       Judge Kasubhai even includes pronouns with his name in the full listing of judges on the Oregon District Court website. (“Our Judges,” U.S. District Court, District of Oregon Website, Accessed 6/17/2024)

·       “Kasubhai has developed a tip sheet for his own courtroom. ‘I’d like each of you to introduce yourselves by giving me your full name. Please be sure to give me your honorific, such as Ms., Mx., or Mr., so that I can respectfully address you throughout our time together,’ the guidelines say.” (“Biden Judicial Nominee Dreams of a Day Supreme Court Justices Disclose Pronouns in Court,” Washington Free Beacon, 10/05/2023)

Judge Kasubhai Dreams Of A Day When Circuit Courts And The Supreme Court Will ‘Include Their Pronouns’

“President Joe Biden’s nominee for the federal bench in Oregon dreams of a day when Supreme Court justices disclose their pronouns on legal rulings, a practice he says will show the federal judiciary’s ‘authentic commitment to equity and inclusion.’ Mustafa Kasubhai, who currently serves as a federal magistrate, laid out his vision for the usage of pronouns in the judiciary in a 2021 essay, ‘Pronouns and Privilege.’ Kasubhai describes his courtroom practice of encouraging attorneys, defendants, witnesses, and jurors to state their pronouns during legal proceedings. He touts disclosure of his own pronouns (he/him) in the signature line of emails and legal opinions. It’s a practice he hopes will one day be embraced by higher courts. ‘Imagine how powerful a statement it could be when Ninth Circuit Court judges do this. And dare I dare to imagine when U.S. Supreme Court justices include their pronouns?’” (“Biden Judicial Nominee Dreams of a Day Supreme Court Justices Disclose Pronouns in Court,” Washington Free Beacon, 10/05/2023)

·       “In his 2021 essay, Kasubhai asserts his embrace of pronouns derives from a ‘responsibility to find ways to ensure access to our courts.’ To deny courtroom participants that access is to make them ‘feel unsafe,’ Kasubhai writes. ‘That is horrifying,’ Kasubhai adds.” (“Biden Judicial Nominee Dreams of a Day Supreme Court Justices Disclose Pronouns in Court,” Washington Free Beacon, 10/05/2023)

“Kasubhai’s embrace of pronouns could raise concerns that he has a predetermined view of the hot-button issue, which has become the subject of numerous federal legal fights. An Oregon woman recently sued the state human services department in federal court over its requirement that adoptive parents support and respect adoptive children’s sexual and gender identity. The woman claims that statute violates her religious beliefs.” (“Biden Judicial Nominee Dreams of a Day Supreme Court Justices Disclose Pronouns in Court,” Washington Free Beacon, 10/05/2023)

Judge Kasubhai Praised The Notorious Work Of Ibram X. Kendi, A Popularizer Of Deeply Controversial ‘Antiracist’ Theories, And Even Advocated For Pushing Kendi’s ‘Ideas A Bit Further’

While serving as a Magistrate Judge, Judge Kasubhai publicly praised radical author Ibram X. Kendi as “an amazing historian and author” during a 2020 speech. (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Kasubhai Questions for the Record, 10/2023)

·       In notes prepared for a 2019 speech to the University of Oregon Law School’s incoming class, Judge Kasubhai endorsed Ibram X. Kendi’s belief that it “is not enough to be not a racist. Rather you must be anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-homophobic.” In the same speech notes he wrote that he would “like to push some of lbram’s ideas a bit further.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Kasubhai Questions for the Record, 10/2023)

IBRAM X. KENDI: “The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” (“Ibram X. Kendi Defines What It Means To Be An Antiracist,” Penguin Books UK Website, 6/09/2020)

·       “‘Capitalism is essentially racist; racism is essentially capitalist,’ [Kendi] writes.” (The New York Times Magazine, 7/15/2020)

In An Interview, Judge Kasubhai Appeared To Be Applying Kendi-Like Ideas, Suggesting That White Oregonians Should ‘Confront Their Own Racism,’ And Implying That Denials Of Racism Are Further Proof Of Racism

JUDGE KASUBHAI: “More specifically to the point of racism in our legal profession (and in Oregon), it quickly became apparent to me that we must meet the challenge of becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable about talking about race. Oregon is pre-dominantly a white state because of past practices and official policies that excluded Black, Indigenous and other people of color. That fact leaves very little opportunity for white Oregonians to confront their own racism face to face with people of color in real time. I have met many legal professionals who purportedly hold the ideals of diversity and equity close to their hearts, but who also become very defensive when talking about racism. The truth is, white privilege in Oregon insulates so many in our state from ever having to deal with the issue. Some lawyers and judges have told me over the years that they just don’t see racism in Oregon, and when examples and experiences are shared, they still won’t believe it. This kind of denial makes real conversations nearly impossible and allows racism to go unchecked.” (Sarah Malik and Hon. Mustafa T. Kasubhai, “Is There A Place For Us? On Being A Muslim American In Oregon’s Legal Community,” Oregon State Bar Bulletin, February/March 2021)

In That Same Interview, Judge Kasubhai Endorsed The Ideas Of ‘Unconscious Bias,’ And Spoke Of ‘Unconscious Bias Work In The Courtroom’

JUDGE KASUBHAI: “[B]oth our profession and specifically the courts need to acknowledge the significant impact of unconscious bias in litigation and our decision-making. Jury instructions admonish jurors from employing bias in their deliberations; these instructions have generally referred to explicit biases. But there is a large body of research on the existence and impact of unconscious bias relating to race, sex, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic status and body type that drive decisions. This research should be applied to educating jurors, attorneys and judges on the effects of unconscious bias in decision-making…. If we describe and validate the phenomenon of unconscious bias, then we can then bring this bias to the surface of our awareness.” (Sarah Malik and Hon. Mustafa T. Kasubhai, “Is There A Place For Us? On Being A Muslim American In Oregon’s Legal Community,” Oregon State Bar Bulletin, February/March 2021)

JUDGE KASUBHAI: “The next step is to help lawyers and judges learn how to be comfortable with the uncomfortable task of talking about this kind of bias with jurors in voir dire. Unconscious bias work in the courtroom will also help our profession improve equity, diversity and inclusion in our ranks.” (Sarah Malik and Hon. Mustafa T. Kasubhai, “Is There A Place For Us? On Being A Muslim American In Oregon’s Legal Community,” Oregon State Bar Bulletin, February/March 2021)

Perhaps Pushing Some Of Kendi’s ‘Ideas A Bit Further,’ Judge Kasubhai Said, ‘We Have To Set Aside Conventional Ideas Of Proof When We Are Dealing With The Personal And Interpersonal Work Of Equity, Diversity And Inclusion’

JUDGE KASUBHAI: “We have to set aside conventional ideas of proof when we are dealing with the personal and interpersonal work of equity, diversity and inclusion.” (Sarah Malik and Hon. Mustafa T. Kasubhai, “Is There A Place For Us? On Being A Muslim American In Oregon’s Legal Community,” Oregon State Bar Bulletin, February/March 2021)

Judge Kasubhai Keeps Suggesting That Citizens Of Oregon Are Prejudiced And He Explained That His Appointment As A Muslim American Magistrate Judge Made Him ‘Fully Appreciate How Islamophobic Our Nation Is’

JUDGE KASUBHAI: “It is isolating to be a Muslim American lawyer or judge in Oregon, and to be clear, there is prejudice and discrimination.” (Sarah Malik and Hon. Mustafa T. Kasubhai, “Is There A Place For Us? On Being A Muslim American In Oregon’s Legal Community,” Oregon State Bar Bulletin, February/March 2021)

JUDGE KASUBHAI: “I was shocked to learn that when I joined the federal bench, I had become the first Muslim American federal judge in the country, ever. I thought that over the centuries in which Muslims were also Americans in this country, I surely couldn’t be the first. But I had failed until that moment, I think, to fully appreciate how Islamophobic our nation is.” (Sarah Malik and Hon. Mustafa T. Kasubhai, “Is There A Place For Us? On Being A Muslim American In Oregon’s Legal Community,” Oregon State Bar Bulletin, February/March 2021)

Though Judge Kasubhai Denies That He Praised Marxist Ideas, He Wrote Of Rejecting ‘This Model Of Scarcity’ And ‘A Creative Struggle Towards Redefining Property’

JUDGE KASUBHAI: “First, the world is wide enough for all of us. Privilege derives its power from the belief in scarcity. Scarcity of money, natural resources, food, and power itself. The desire to control it all drives privilege. I want to suggest to you that equity, the ideal of equity rejects this model of scarcity.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Kasubhai Questions for the Record, 10/2023)

SEN CRUZ: “[Y]ou said, and I wrote it down, ‘I have not praised Marxist ideas.’ … [S]o let’s go to something you wrote. An article that is entitled, ‘Centralized Property Theory.’ … [I]n the in the article you write you say, ‘property is not simply a relationship between an owner and an object of ownership. Property is primarily a complex relationship between people, and secondarily regards the objects people exploit. Historically three paradigms have dominated European notions of property. Locke appealed to the notion that labor points to who has the right to exploit property. Bentham relied on utility to dictate who has rights based on how the property is exploited. And Marx was plainly disgusted with the alienation that property imposed and its establishment of an us-and-them and haves-and-have-nots. Each theory alone denies important components of human experience. Among them are the ability to work the need for personal privacy and boundaries, and uniquely diverse desires which spin us all in differing life directions. However, the process towards integrating all three may provide a framework for relationships that enhances each unique self. The aspiration towards intimate knowing the intimate knowing of oneself and others, is a creative struggle towards redefining property.’” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 10/04/2023)

Schumer Is Also Pushing The Senate To Vote On Judge Nancy Maldonado, Who Has A Record Of ‘Staggering Unproductivity,’ And ‘Struggled To Answer Basic Questions’ About Her Own Assault Weapons Definition

LEADER McCONNELL: “Judge Nancy Maldonado, a trial judge nominated to the Seventh Circuit, has distinguished herself with sheer incompetence. Thanks to reforms put in place by then-Judiciary Committee Chairman Biden, federal courts keep track of how many fully briefed motions have been sitting without a decision for at least six months—a report often known among judges in Chicago as the ‘Biden list.’ It was a good reform, because justice delayed is justice denied. And as it turns out, Judge Maldonado has by far the largest number of motions pending for more than six months among the judges of the Seventh Circuit, with 125. She would need to rule on one of these motions every workday for the next six months just to clear her existing Biden backlog. There’s only a handful of judges in the country who are this far behind on their work. Judge Maldonado’s Biden backlog puts her beyond the 99th percentile of all district judges nationwide in terms of slowness.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 6/04/2024)

·       LEADER McCONNELL: “Well, the Biden list requires judges to explain why they’re so far behind. Judge Maldonado blames her record on, quote, ‘complexity of the case,’ ‘voluminous transcripts/briefs to be read,’ and ‘heavy civil and criminal caseload.’ Does the President think his nominee will face less complex cases on the court of appeals? Lighter caseloads? Less voluminous transcripts or briefs? Why on earth would our colleagues consider giving new and greater responsibilities to a judge who’s clearly struggling with the ones she’s already got? Or, for that matter, why would they consider promoting someone whose instinct is to pass the buck? I wish I were making this up: When our colleagues asked Judge Maldonado about her case backlog in written questions, she blamed her clerks! That’s probably cold comfort to prisoners seeking relief for inhumane treatment or litigants paying months of legal fees awaiting her decisions. Apparently, it’s not the woman with a judicial commission who’s responsible for justice delayed – it’s the 25-year-old brand-new lawyers on her staff! But passing the buck is what Judge Maldonado does.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 6/04/2024)

Joe Biden Wrote The Law Creating The Metric That Demonstrates Judge Maldonado’s Shortcomings

“Three decades ago, then-Senate Judiciary Chair Joe Biden crafted a law making the speed of federal judges’ work on civil cases more transparent…. With the aid of his then-chief counsel and current chief of staff Ron Klain, Biden wrote a 1990 law that ended up having a ‘peer pressure’ effect, as described by one judge at the time, by encouraging federal judges to speed up their work and clear their dockets. Dubbed the Civil Justice Reform Act, the proposal required judges to divulge several metrics about how many motions in civil cases remain pending after six months and how many cases are pending after three years. To this day, the semi-annual disclosures required by the law are so closely associated with the former Delaware senator that they are still sometimes referred to as the ‘Biden reports.’” (“How A 1990 Law Biden Helped Pass Gives Us A Clue About His SCOTUS Pick,” Politico, 2/23/2022)

·       “Biden … was seeking to make it easier to determine which judges were sitting on civil cases in an otherwise opaque federal court universe.” (“How A 1990 Law Biden Helped Pass Gives Us A Clue About His SCOTUS Pick,” Politico, 2/23/2022)

‘You Are Probably The Least Productive Member Of Your District Court, Isn’t That Right?’

“Republicans during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing cited data showing that U.S. District Judge Nancy Maldonado ranked seventh highest nationally among district court judges with civil motions pending without a ruling for over six months.” (“Senate Republicans Grill 7th Circuit Nominee On Her Trial Court Backlog,” Reuters, 3/20/2024)

·       “Her 125 motions pending were detailed in a semi-annual report the judiciary produces pursuant to the Civil Justice Reform Act that details the extent to which federal judges have not ruled on long-pending motions in civil cases.” (“Senate Republicans Grill 7th Circuit Nominee On Her Trial Court Backlog,” Reuters, 3/20/2024)

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE RANKING MEMBER LINDSAY GRAHAM (R-SC): “I think that you have 125 motions pending before you that you were assigned October 3^rd, 2022. Some of these motions have been briefed since 2021. You have the third highest number of pending motions out of anybody nominated for the District Court in this Congress. … Why such backlog?” (Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 3/20/2024)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA), Senate Judiciary Committee Member: “You are probably the least productive member of your district court, isn’t that right?”
JUDGE NANCY MALDONADO: “Well, I have not considered myself in those terms, Senator.”
SEN. KENNEDY: “Well, let me explain what I mean. You have 125 motions pending that you’ve declined to decide. That’s more than any other district judge in the entire Seventh Circuit. In fact, you rank seventh highest nationally, do you not?”
MALDONADO: “I am not familiar with those statistics, Senator Kennedy.” (Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 3/20/2024)

·       SEN. KENNEDY: “There’ve been 68 district judges confirmed in the 117^th Congress. In terms of motions pending for more than six months, you rank number three. You all came up at the same time, you all had the same problems with COVID. You’re the third worst. You really think that of all the district judges in the Seventh Circuit, you’re the one that ought to be promoted?” (Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 3/20/2024)

Judge Maldonado Also ‘Struggled To Answer Basic Questions About Assault Weapons’ During Her Confirmation Hearing

“A Biden-nominated judge struggled to answer basic questions about assault weapons during a Wednesday Senate confirmation hearing. U.S. District Judge Nancy Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois faced some uncomfortable moments as President Biden’s pick for the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit when questioned about a brief she signed that defended Illinois state ban on ‘assault weapons’ that was challenged in 2012.” (“Biden-Nominated Judge Can’t Define Assault Weapons In Confirmation Hearing,” The Washington Times, 3/20/2024)

“Sen. John Kennedy during the hearing asked Judge Maldonado to define what she meant by ‘assault weapons.’ ‘You said, “Assault weapons may be banned because they’re extraordinarily dangerous and are not appropriate for legitimate self-defense purposes.’ Tell me what you meant by ‘assault weapons”?’ the Louisiana Republican asked.” (“Biden-Nominated Judge Can’t Define Assault Weapons In Confirmation Hearing,” The Washington Times, 3/20/2024)

·       “Judge Maldonado said she didn’t write the brief, that she was just local counsel and is not ‘a gun expert.’ The ban on semi-automatic assault weapons was upheld in Illinois.” (“Biden-Nominated Judge Can’t Define Assault Weapons In Confirmation Hearing,” The Washington Times, 3/20/2024)

·       “‘So you submitted a brief, an appellate brief, you signed it, and you don’t know what … and you said, “Abolish assault weapons,” and you don’t know what you wanted them to abolish?’ Mr. Kennedy said.” (“Biden-Nominated Judge Can’t Define Assault Weapons In Confirmation Hearing,” The Washington Times, 3/20/2024)

·       “The judge said she doesn’t ‘remember the exact definition of assault weapons.’ ‘I was not responsible for researching the content,’ she said.” (“Biden-Nominated Judge Can’t Define Assault Weapons In Confirmation Hearing,” The Washington Times, 3/20/2024)

Another Biden Nominee, Judge Sarah Netburn, ‘Faces A Rocky Path To Confirmation After Republicans Exposed Her Decision To Move A Sex Offender Who Is A Transgender Woman To A Women’s Prison’ Against The Recommendation Of The Bureau Of Prisons

LEADER McCONNELL: “Soon the Judiciary Committee will consider promoting a magistrate in New York, Sarah Netburn, to the district court after a less than judicious committee process. Judge Netburn’s hearing was a contentious affair. You should go watch it. My friends, the junior Senators from Louisiana and Texas, had the Judge dead to rights on her judicial activism from the bench. She was clearly prepared for their line of questioning. But by the end, she wilted under the withering fire from my colleagues. That’s when the acting chairwoman of the Committee got involved. After Republicans were finished questioning Judge Netburn, she invited the nominee to defend herself. Her defense, of course, flatly contradicted her written opinion as a judge. Committee Republicans rightly objected. It’s one thing to give a nominee the chance to rehabilitate herself, but giving her the last word as she lied to the Committee is a different matter entirely.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 6/13/2024)

·       LEADER McCONNELL: “It sounds an awful lot like the way another nominee, Adeel Mangi, explained his policy views to liberal interest groups only after the Committee was finished questioning him. Judge Netburn got the last word, here. As the Junior Senator from Louisiana said, it looks an awful lot like a coverup. Apparently, it’s not enough for Senate Democrats to rubber stamp radicals to the courts. They desperately don’t want the American people to know about it. Well it’s not working. The Judiciary Committee has received almost a hundred letters—from liberals! – opposing Judge Netburn’s activism! The cat is out of the bag. So I would urge my colleagues to pay attention to what happens in the Judiciary Committee as Judge Netburn’s nomination moves forward.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 6/13/2024)

Judge Netburn Recommended ‘That A Biological Male, Who Has Apparently Transitioned And Identifies As A Female, Be Transferred To A Female Prison Despite Previous Convictions For Raping Children’

“Judge Sarah Netburn, nominated by President Biden to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, faces a rocky path to confirmation after Republicans exposed her decision to move a sex offender who is a transgender woman to a women’s prison.” (“Biden Nominates Judge Who Put Transgender Rapist In Women’s Prison,” The Washington Times, 5/28/2024)

·       “A President Biden judicial nominee was grilled … over a 2022 recommendation that a biological male, who has apparently transitioned and identifies as a female, be transferred to a female prison despite previous convictions for raping children and possession of child pornography.” (“Senators Grill Biden Judicial Nominee Over Transgender Inmate Transfer Request Despite Sex Crimes Convictions,” Fox News, 6/14/2024)

·       “Biden nominated Netburn to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, one of the most prestigious and busiest federal courts in the country.” (“Biden Judicial Nominee Takes Heat Over Recommendation For Transgender Inmate, Answer On Sex,” Fox News, 6/13/2024)

“Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana, and Ted Cruz of Texas, questioned U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn, who was nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, over why she recommended William McClain, who goes by July Justine Shelby, be housed with female inmates in a federal prison.” (“Senators Grill Biden Judicial Nominee Over Transgender Inmate Transfer Request Despite Sex Crimes Convictions,” Fox News, 6/14/2024)

Judge Netburn ‘Disregarded The Recommendation Of The Bureau Of Prisons And Ordered Prison Officials To Move’ The Inmate To A Women’s Prison

“Judge Netburn, who has served as a magistrate judge for 12 years, disregarded the recommendation of the Bureau of Prisons and ordered prison officials to move July Justine Shelby, who was imprisoned under the name William McClain, to a women’s prison.” (“Biden Nominates Judge Who Put Transgender Rapist In Women’s Prison,” The Washington Times, 5/28/2024)

·       “The prisoner served 24 years in prison for raping a 17-year-old girl and molesting a 9-year-old boy. The prisoner landed in prison again after being convicted in 2017 of distributing images of child sexual abuse involving an infant and a young girl.” (“Biden Nominates Judge Who Put Transgender Rapist In Women’s Prison,” The Washington Times, 5/28/2024)

·       “Judge Netburn called the Bureau of Prison’s concerns ‘overblown’ and based on fear, not evidence.” (“Biden Nominates Judge Who Put Transgender Rapist In Women’s Prison,” The Washington Times, 5/28/2024)

“The Federal Bureau of Prisons currently has in custody more than 1,400 prisoners who are transgender women, many of them convicted sex offenders deemed a ‘high-security’ risk.  In 2023, Bureau Director Colette S. Peters testified that ‘fewer than 10’ transgender women prisoners are incarcerated with women.” (“Biden Nominates Judge Who Put Transgender Rapist In Women’s Prison,” The Washington Times, 5/28/2024)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA), Senate Judiciary Committee Member: “And Ms. Shelby said, I don’t want to go to a male prison. I want to go to a female prison. And the Board of Prisons said, what planet did you parachute in from? You’re going to a male prison with this kind of record. And you sent him to a female prison, didn’t you? You said that the Board of Prisons was trying to violate Ms. Shelby, former Mr. McClain’s, constitutional rights, didn’t you?” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 5/22/2024)

SEN. KENNEDY: “The Board of Prisons didn’t agree with you. Let me -- I’m going to run out of time here. You’re really a political activist, aren’t you?”
JUDGE SARAH NETBURN: “I am not, sir.”
SEN. KENNEDY: “But your record demonstrates otherwise.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 5/22/2024)

·       “[Sen. Kennedy] noted that Shelby, who was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York, had been convicted for molesting a 9-year-boy and raping a 17-year-old girl, as well as sending child porn to other sex offenders.” (“Senators Grill Biden Judicial Nominee Over Transgender Inmate Transfer Request Despite Sex Crimes Convictions,” Fox News, 6/14/2024)

SEN. CRUZ: “[I]n fact, I’m going to give you some quotes from your order because Senator Kennedy is right. This is not a judge’s order. This is a political activist. By the way, the beginning of your order says, at birth, people are typically assigned a gender. I’m going to say that would astonish a lot of Americans. A lot of Americans think you go to the hospital, a baby is born and you -- congratulations, you have a little boy, a little girl, the assigned gender -- I know you went to Brown, but it sounds like it’s in a college faculty lounge with no bearing on reality. The Bureau of Prisons argued what I’m saying right now that if you put this person in a female prison, there will be a risk of sexual assault to the women.” (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 5/22/2024)

Current And Former Female Inmates Wrote To The Senate Judiciary Committee To Express Their Alarm At Judge Netburn’s Nomination

“Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), Independent Women’s Voice (IWV), and the Independent Women’s Law Center are opposed to Sarah Netburn’s nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. They oppose the nomination because Judge Netburn recommended that a biological male convicted of rape and child molestation be transferred to a federal women’s prison.” (Press Release, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, 6/11/2024)

“Current and former female inmates sounded the alarm over gender-inclusive prison housing policies in recent letters to the Senate Judiciary Committee after Ted Cruz interrogated a Biden judicial nominee who transferred a transgender-identifying male child rapist to a women’s prison.” (“Female Inmates Sound Alarm Over Dangers Of ‘Gender-Inclusive’ Prison Housing,” National Review, 6/12/2024)

·       “‘As a former inmate in the California state prison system, I share your concern about how women’s rights are being pushed aside compared to the interests of men who are self-identifying as women and gaining entry to facilities meant for women,’ former female inmate Amie Ichikawa wrote to the committee in a letter sent by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and obtained by National Review.” (“Female Inmates Sound Alarm Over Dangers Of ‘Gender-Inclusive’ Prison Housing,” National Review, 6/12/2024)

·       “‘Most incarcerated women have already experienced sexual trauma and violence during our lives,’ she added. ‘We are trying to heal and prepare to be productive citizens after serving out our sentences. Having men in our prison systems disrupts all of this. We fear for our safety.’” (“Female Inmates Sound Alarm Over Dangers Of ‘Gender-Inclusive’ Prison Housing,” National Review, 6/12/2024)

·       “‘We have further loss of privacy as we are forced to share intimate spaces with a man,’ current female inmate at CCWF Alissa Kamholz wrote in her letter. ‘We watch as some prisons are victims of abuse and others willingly engage in sexual acts in our shared space. This isn’t right. This isn’t fair.’” (“Female Inmates Sound Alarm Over Dangers Of ‘Gender-Inclusive’ Prison Housing,” National Review, 6/12/2024)