Senate Judiciary Committee Archives

Senate GOP Releases Post-Election Report on Trump-Justice Dept, Contradicting Findings from Dems

October 8, 2021October 7, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday released their review of President Trump’s management of the Justice Department after the 2020 presidential election, concluding the former president’s fears about election fraud were based on “legitimate concerns” – one day after Democrats who lead the chamber said their findings show Trump tried to install a loyalist atop the agency to investigate unfounded fraud claims.

The GOP’s 140-page review, titled, “In their own words: A factual summary of testimony from senior Justice Department officials related to the events from December 14, 2020, to January 3, 2021” offers starkly different conclusions from those reached by chamber Democrats.

Senate Judiciary Committee to Review Supreme Court’s ‘Abuse’ of Shadow Docket

September 5, 2021September 4, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Supreme Court’s use of the so-called “shadow docket” — a method of issuing brief late-night rulings on key cases like the Texas abortion law.

“The Supreme Court must operate with the highest regard for judicial integrity in order to earn the public’s trust,” Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, who is also the Senate majority whip, said in a statement. “This anti-choice law is a devastating blow to Americans’ constitutional rights — and the Court allowed it to see the light of day without public deliberation or transparency.”

Stacey Abrams Spars with Republicans over Whether Georgia’s Elections Law Is Racist During Senate Hearing

April 22, 2021April 21, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee sparred with Stacey Abrams Tuesday during a hearing on Democrats’ voting rights bill and election reforms that Republicans have introduced in states across the country.

The hearing consisted of testimony from officials on opposite sides of the issue, including Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens and Jan Jones, the Republican speaker pro tempore of the Georgia House, but most questions from lawmakers on both sides were directed towards Abrams. Democrats largely focused on GOP-led policies that they likened to those from the Jim Crow era, while Republicans blasted the comparison and said that the bills’ goals were to make it harder to cheat, not to vote.

Ohio Prosecutors Support Bill to Force Convicted Rioters to Pay for Damages

March 9, 2021 The Center Square

Last summer, millions of dollars in taxpayer money were spent in response to protests that turned violent throughout Ohio. A bill proposed in the Ohio Senate looks to make sure those responsible will pay for it.

Senate Bill 41, currently being discussed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, calls for restitution from those who are convicted of property damage during riots, including vandalism. The restitution would pay the expenses of police and emergency crews who have to respond to riots. The bill also allows the government to take possession of any property left behind by those who end up convicted.

State Senator Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, is sponsoring the bill. Lou Tobin, the Executive Director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, offered his support before the committee recently.

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Barrett to Full Senate

October 23, 2020October 22, 2020 The Center Square

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to advance U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to the full Senate.

The vote was 12-0, with all 10 Democratic members of the committee choosing to boycott the vote.

Barrett Urges Senate Judiciary Committee Not to Assume She Will Judge Like Scalia

October 14, 2020October 13, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett urged the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday not to assume that she will judge like the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Supreme Court nominee repeatedly emphasized to senators in Tuesday’s hearing that though Scalia was one of her mentors and an “eloquent defender of originalism” and that Scalia’s “philosophy is mine,” that doesn’t mean she would always reach the same conclusions as Scalia.

Senator Lindsey Graham Teases: The FBI ‘Lied Their Ass Off’ to Congress About the Steele Dossier

July 27, 2020July 26, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday teased the release of evidence showing that the FBI “lied their ass off” to Congress regarding the reliability of the Steele dossier, which the bureau used as part of its investigation of the Trump campaign.

“I will tell you next week what I found,” the South Carolina Republican said in an interview on “Fox Sunday Futures” with Maria Bartiromo.

Klobuchar Under Pressure for Support of Trump’s Judicial Nominees

December 24, 2019December 30, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is facing increased scrutiny over her past support of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees.

Commentary: Trump’s Disruptive Energy vs. the Deep State

November 25, 2019November 24, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

For the last 56 years, this time in November has been an occasion—at first pious and lachrymose, latterly perfunctory—to commemorate the assassination of John F. Kennedy. That event was certainly a cultural cataclysm. America was a changed place after November 22, 1963.

Senate Sets Date For FISA Abuse Hearing

November 19, 2019November 18, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Dec. 11 to examine the findings from a Justice Department inspector general’s investigation into the FBI’s alleged abuse of the foreign intelligence surveillance court during the Trump investigation, the committee said on Monday.

Senator Lindsey Graham: Obama Officials Worried About Being ‘Exposed’ by Declassification

May 28, 2019May 27, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Chuck Ross Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham asserted Sunday that the former government officials opposing declassification of Russia probe documents “are worried about being exposed.” In an interview on “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace, Graham also argued Democrats are unconcerned with whether the FBI misled the…

Graham Promises ‘Judges, More Judges, Then Some More Judges’ in Colorful CPAC Address

March 1, 2019February 28, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Jason Hopkins Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the newly-minted chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) attendees that his panel will move on judicial confirmations at an ambitious clip. “Judges, more judges, then some more judges,” Graham joked in a Thursday…

Top Takeaways From William Barr’s AG Confirmation Hearing

January 17, 2019January 16, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Fred Lucas William Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee he wouldn’t be intimidated by anyone, including President Donald Trump, who nominated him to serve as attorney general. “I am not going to do anything that I think is wrong, and I will not be bullied into doing anything…

Klobuchar Gears Up For Another Confirmation Battle As Presidential Rumors Swirl

January 13, 2019January 12, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) issued a statement Wednesday night after she and her Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee were apparently denied meetings with President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, William Barr. Barr is set to testify before the committee this week, but it is already shaping up…

AG Nominee Lambasted Mueller Tactics in Private Memo to Rosenstein

December 21, 2018December 20, 2018 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Kevin Daley Attorney General nominee William Barr sent a memo to the Department of Justice criticizing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, particularly those aspects of the probe relating to obstruction of justice in June. The unsolicited document, whose existence was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, argues…

Klobuchar Refuses to Answer Whether She Would Prosecute Kavanaugh

October 5, 2018October 4, 2018 Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) dodged questions Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union about whether or not she would prosecute Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over the multiple sexual-assault allegations he is facing. Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made headlines last week during her questioning of Kavanaugh…

Senate Democrats Inadvertently Admit President Trump Can Order and Conclude FBI Investigations

October 2, 2018October 2, 2018 Admin

by Robert Romano The Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 28 advanced to the Senate floor for a vote the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. But, retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) did so conditionally, saying he would only support Kavanaugh on the floor if the FBI is…

Commentary: The Bizarre World Of Christine Blasey Ford

September 30, 2018September 29, 2018 Admin

by CHQ Staff The past ten days of ritual defamation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh revealed the depth and sophistication of the Far-Left Democrats’ smear machine, but yesterday’s hearing revealed the truly bizarre world of Christine Blasey Ford, the high priestess of the ritual. In this bizarre world, Christine Blasey…

Rand Paul Calls For Investigation Into Who Doxxed Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans

September 30, 2018September 29, 2018 Admin

by Molly Prince Sen. Rand Paul called for an investigation Friday to determine and punish who published the personal information of three Republican senators during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who accused him of sexual assault. “Yesterday there was…

Commentary: Kavanaugh Is Right; We Now Have Good Reason to Fear for the Future

September 29, 2018September 28, 2018 Admin

by Jeffery Rendall If the United States republic ultimately burns to ashes people will likely remember yesterday, September 27, 2018, as the beginning of the end. Or, in the alternative, if the political system somehow reforms itself citizens may look back fondly on that date as the reemergence of…

Klobuchar Continues to Lead Charge Against Kavanaugh While Staying Quiet on Ellison Allegations

September 27, 2018September 26, 2018 Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) remains a key opponent to the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is now facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. On Wednesday, Kavanaugh faced yet another allegation, this time with the accuser saying he witnessed her being “gang raped.” President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court…

Opening Statements by Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Accuser Christine Blasey Ford Before The Senate Judiciary Committee Today

September 27, 2018September 26, 2018 Admin

Judge Brett Kavanaugh and accuser Christine Blasey Ford will present two different versions of the truth regarding Ford’s uncorroborated allegations Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982 before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. President Trump nominated Judge Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court in July, and the Senate Judiciary Committee…

Minnesota’s U.S. Senators Klobuchar and Smith Join Obstructionist Democrat Colleagues in Undermining SCOTUS Nomination Hearings

September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Anthony Gockowski

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s first hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh got underway Tuesday, but some Democratic senators are already calling for its adjournment, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN). At the center of Tuesday’s chaotic start is a mountain of documents pertaining to the…

Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearings to Begin September 4

August 12, 2018August 11, 2018 Admin

by Fred Lucas The confirmation hearings for federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to become the next Supreme Court justice will begin on Sept. 4 and last three to four days, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced Friday. Grassley’s announcement comes as Senate Democrats sought to…

Mitch McConnell Is Ready To Play Hardball To Get Kavanaugh Confirmed

July 22, 2018July 21, 2018 Admin

by Kevin Daley Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told senior Republicans that he will schedule Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote on a date just before the November elections if Democrats demand access to the full scope of records the judge produced in the George W. Bush administration. Democrats are…

Commentary: Liberals’ Misleading Spin on Senate Republicans’ 2016 Supreme Court Confirmation Approach

July 2, 2018July 1, 2018 Admin

by Thomas Jipping Recent remarks by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., show the script that the left will be using to oppose President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee to fill the vacancy from the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. The most prominent point so far is that the Senate should wait…