Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson completed her second day of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, moving her closer to a confirmation vote by the full Senate in the coming weeks despite GOP attempts to score points during her hearings.
The tenor of Wednesday's questions took on a nastier tone from Republicans on the dais as they relentlessly pressed Jackson over her handling of seven child pornography cases during her tenure as a district judge (The Hill). Leading the charge were Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), two lawmakers with presidential aspirations.
As The Hill's Jordain Carney details, Hawley asked Jackson multiple times if she regretted a three-month sentence that she gave in one of the cases, saying that he viewed it as a "slap on the wrist."
"What I regret is that in a hearing about my qualifications to be a justice on the Supreme Court, we've spent a lot of time focusing on this small subset of my sentences," Jackson said after Hawley asked multiple times if she regretted it.
Hawley was among a group of senators who asked about the subject, including Cruz and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). However, tensions were at their highest between the GOP and Democrats, with the latter accusing the minority party of using the hearings as campaign fodder ahead of the midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race.
On multiple occasions, Cruz tangled with Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), with Durbin at one point cutting off the Texas senator after he attempted to go over his allotted 20 minutes to keep questioning Jackson.
"You have to follow the rules," Durbin shot back (The Hill).
However, the GOP concerns over Jackson's handling of the child pornography cases is not expected to go away. Ten Senate Republicans on the panel signed a letter to Durbin calling for copies of the pre-sentencing reports related to the relevant cases. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) was the lone GOP senator who did not sign on.
The Illinois Democrat declined the request, saying that obtaining the pre-sentencing reports would be unprecedented for the panel.
"It's merely a fishing expedition in dangerous territory. ... This has never happened in the history of this committee," Durbin said.
Cruz indicated to PBS News that he may boycott the committee's vote if the reports are not provided. Durbin on Wednesday set a committee vote for April 4 (The Hill).
Barring any last-minute developments, today is set to be the final day of hearings for Jackson's nomination and will feature a number of legal experts, chosen by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, to testify about her qualifications for the court (The Associated Press).
The Associated Press: Takeaways: Joy, tears, culture wars dominate Jackson hearing.
The Hill: Jackson tears up as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) addresses her historic nomination.
Politico: "It's bullshit": Democrats reject that Jackson is soft on crime.
The Hill: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) knocks GOP attacks on Jackson: "There's no 'there' there."
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UKRAINE CRISIS: President Biden and European leaders are in Brussels today to fortify an alliance that has not pushed Russia out of Ukraine using the pain of sanctions, has not triggered a mass uprising in Russia against the governance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has not persuaded China and other Russian allies to declare enough is enough with Putin's war — and is costing economies in Europe and the United States dearly in rising oil prices.
Today's heroes remain the Ukrainian people, who continue fleeing across borders by the millions, battling the Russian military amid bombed-out urban moonscapes and pleading with the West to do more, and do it fast, if their independent democracy is to survive.
Biden today brings to meeting rooms in NATO headquarters new U.S. sanctions against Russia's lawmakers, a checklist of how he hopes European partners will remain glued together and intelligence warnings that the world needs to be prepared should Putin decide to use chemical, biological or tactical nuclear weapons to drive Ukraine and the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky to surrender.
The New York Times: U.S. makes contingency plans in case Russia uses its most powerful weapons.
NATO is worried enough about Putin's mindset, military miscues while executing his invasion of Ukraine and Russia's mounting casualty statistics that the alliance expects agreement today to use battle groups to fortify NATO's easternmost flank (Washington Examiner and The New York Times). Biden will end his week in Poland, where a humanitarian and refugee crisis weighs on leaders there.
The Associated Press: Between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in a month in Ukraine, NATO estimated on Wednesday. In comparison, 15,000 Russian forces died in Afghanistan during a decade-long conflict.
Western military analysts suggest Russia will struggle to maintain its current war plan without fortifications and adjustments. Russia would also be challenged to maintain a prolonged occupation of Ukraine, should Moscow seize Kyiv, according to analysts (Bloomberg TV and NPR).
Zelensky, who will address the emergency gathering of NATO, European Union and Group of Seven leaders, continues to hold out hope for successful cease-fire and peace talks with Moscow. He asked Biden earlier this month not to sanction oligarch Roman Abramovich on the theory that Putin's friend might serve as a helpful intermediary to bring an end to Putin's invasion (The Wall Street Journal).
The Hill: Biden talks up more sanctions, NATO unity.
CNN: In a statement today, the United States criticized Russia's decision to reopen and artificially prop up its stock market, halted since February, calling it "not a real market and not a sustainable model."
The Hill: Five things to watch for in Brussels.
The U.S. on Wednesday formally declared that the Russian military has committed war crimes in Ukraine, according to a written statement by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the U.S. government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine," he said. A formal United Nations investigation of alleged war crimes by Russia is ongoing at the same time that NATO leaders fear Moscow will choose to violate international law by using banned weapons against Ukrainian forces and civilians (The Associated Press).
Russia on Wednesday declared U.S. diplomatic personnel in Moscow persona non grata, or unwelcome. A total number of Americans to be expelled was not specified. The move was in response to Washington's expulsion of 12 personnel from the Russian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, as well as a Russian employee of the U.N. secretariat (CNN).
The Hill: International sanctions, trade and financial blockades amid public pressure on multinational companies to exit Russia voluntarily produced slow responses thus far.
The Hill: Biden navigates pressure to increase domestic oil production amid rising petroleum prices, which jumped 5 percent on Wednesday to more than $121 a barrel.
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