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Trump judicial pick facing scrutiny over 'extreme views' in past writings

  

Category:  Op/Ed

Via:  vic-eldred  •  5 years ago  •  7 comments

Trump judicial pick facing scrutiny over 'extreme views' in past writings
Senate Judiciary ranking member Dianne Feinstein and committee member Kamala Harris cited two articles the committee found on March 1. In one, Kenneth Lee defended The Cornell Review for publishing a parody of Ebonics.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



One of President Donald Trump’s judicial picks is about to come under a harsh spotlight for controversial writings on sexual assault, race, AIDS and the LGBT community.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary committee, and committee member Kamala Harris, criticized the writings of Kenneth Lee, Trump’s nominee to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a joint statement Monday, saying the writings demonstrate "extreme and troubling views on race."

In their statement, Feinstein and Harris cited two articles the committee found on March 1. In one article, Lee defended The Cornell Review for publishing a parody of Ebonics.

"If the Oakland School Board provides politically correct, feel-good nonsense to poor urban blacks, Cornell University does the same for middle-class and affluent blacks," Lee wrote during his time as an undergraduate at Cornell.   "The university has justly garnered a notorious reputation for championing racial group-think and multicultural dogma."

Feinstein and Harris blasted Lee for not providing the articles to the committee earlier.

"Failure to turn over controversial writings that demonstrate extreme views on important issues like affirmative action and voting rights has been disqualifying for previous nominees, including Ryan Bounds to the Ninth Circuit," the California senators wrote. "It should also be disqualifying here."

Lee, a former associate counsel to President George W. Bush and currently a partner at the law firm Jenner & Block, is among several Trump judicial nominees who to face criticism over past writings. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pulled Bounds’ nomination last year amid opposition from Republican Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida   over articles he wrote mocking multiculturalism.

And most recently, the president’s   pick to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the nation’s second highest court, Neomi Rao, came under bipartisan scrutiny for penning op-eds in college on date rape and sexual assault that implied victims were partially to blame.

Among the writings Senate Democrats plan to highlight during Lee's confirmation hearing   is an article he wrote while an undergrad   at Cornell in which he defended a professor accused of sexual assault by four   women, according to a Democratic aide.

In the article, Lee wrote that “if a lecherous professor grabs a student’s breast, the last thing she would do is continue to accompany him on another trip … just so she can hold on to a part-time job.” Lee alleged that two of the women accusing the professors only brought forward their accusations after they took a class on human sexuality, implying that they were oversensitive and misconstrued the professors’ “kindly acts.”

Democrats may also grill Lee over   his college writings on AIDS and LGBT people. In an articlein The Cornell Review, Lee wrote that “homosexuals generally are more promiscuous than heterosexuals” and that to avoid AIDS “one has to only abstain from drug-use and promiscuity.”

“So simple, yet so hard to grasp,” Lee wrote.

Senate Democrats are also expected to grill Lee on a 1999 article he wrote while at Harvard Law School, calling “deeply flawed” a statistic that 1 in 4 girls is a victim of rape or attempted rape. Lee cited Christina Hoff Sommers, a philosopher on feminism, who has criticized the methodology behind the statistic.

But Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) did not appear concerned about the writings Monday.

"I'm not overly worried about it," he said.

But conservative legal advocates are defending Lee.

“Liberals are smearing Ken Lee, hoping he will be judged solely on the basis of immature college writings,” said Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network. “But as a professional, Ken has earned praise and admiration from across the political spectrum because he is a brilliant lawyer whose commitment to public service demonstrates that he is just the kind of person who should be serving on the Ninth Circuit."

One   conservative advocate who supports the nominee said that Lee has "an intense record of defending inner city minorities" on police brutality as well as some death row work.

"I think that the pattern that is emerging in the Senate is if there are college writings that could be construed as somewhat sensitive the critical question is what does the rest of your life look like," the advocate said, adding that in Lee's case, "there's a demonstrated actual record of doing things that advance the cause and civil rights of minorities."
The supporter noted that in many of Lee's college writings he acknowledges the other side and includes qualifications.

Liberal groups, like Alliance for Justice, have also   rebuked   Lee’s writings on race, including an article he wrote for The Cornell Review as a freshman blasting a “victimization culture” in which everyone “scapegoats racism or reverse-racism for all our problems.” Lee also criticized affirmative action and ethnic-themed housing on campus.

“The same universities that enact affirmative action programs to foster diversity and mutual understanding also encourage self-segregation along ethnic lines,” Lee wrote in another article highlighted by AFJ.

Aides and advocacy groups expected Lee's confirmation hearing to take place Tuesday. But a spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee said the "administration did not turn over all of the routine nominations paperwork in time for Mr. Lee to be a witness at tomorrow’s hearing." Lee's advocate said that the delay had to do with an FBI background check that was not completed on time.

Even if Lee’s writings become an issue at his nomination hearing, it’s not clear they would be enough to doom him after the GOP padded its majority in 2018. Four Republicans would be needed to sink any nomination compared to two in the previous Congress.

As a judge on the 9th Circuit, Lee would hear several challenges to the Trump administration. Trump has repeatedly attacked the 9th Circuit for its decisions, calling the court a “complete & total disaster.” Most recently, Trump predicted the court would block his national emergency declaration.



By   MARIANNE LEVINE

 

03/04/2019 06:33 PM EST


Article is LOCKED by author/seeder
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Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Vic Eldred    5 years ago

The fact is that dems led by the two Senators from CA have fought every Trump pick for the 9th Circuit. They should have approved Rao. It's too bad about them.

Time to approve Lee

 
 
 
igknorantzrulz
PhD Quiet
1.1  igknorantzrulz  replied to  Vic Eldred @1    5 years ago
Time to approve Lee

ive only read this article 0n the pick, are you at least not interested to his responses...?

i'm not exactly an old prude who doesn't feel as some joking around is totally taboo, and fricken forget the absurd over the top pc crap, 

but i would need further evidence either way, and you should as well.

Some of Trumps picks, have been off the charts unqualified, and Trumpp is certainly not the barometer on about ANY issues these days

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.1.1  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  igknorantzrulz @1.1    5 years ago
ive only read this article 0n the pick, are you at least not interested to his responses...?

Of course I am.

Some of Trumps picks, have been off the charts unqualified

And many have been extremely qualified. Dems have been against all of them.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
1.2  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  Vic Eldred @1    5 years ago

Typical Feinstein qualification mantra, "If you can't find dirt, invent it!". There is always clueless public that will buy it.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2  Buzz of the Orient    5 years ago

When he was six years old he pulled the hair of the African American girl sitting in front of him in school.  RACIST!!!   CRUCIFY HIM!!!!

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
3  Sean Treacy    5 years ago

“If the Oakland School Board provides politically correct, feel-good nonsense to poor urban blacks, Cornell University does the same for middle-class and affluent blacks," Lee wrote during his time as an undergraduate at Cornell. "The university has justly garnered a notorious reputation for championing racial group-think and multicultural dogma."

The truth is his Best defense.

 
 

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