Monday morning prior to the start of Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, ABC, CBS, and NBC shoveled White House talking points that reveled over Jackson’s “historic nomination” and the “legal and political gauntlet” ahead and fretted Republicans are ready to “attack” with “fireworks” That could cause an alarm. “a political bounce”Biden for President
NBC’s TodayThey went beyond and above (just like they They did so with the Barrett nominatingThe interview lasted approximately five minutes and covered what Team Biden had to say to the world. Echoing other journalists, co-host Craig Melvin emphasized her “historic” nature while senior Capitol Hill correspondent Garrett Haake said the “legal and political gauntlet” she’ll face “could be her last job interview ever.”
Haake was then a spokesman for Republicans, setting the stage. “raising concerns about what they claim are overly lenient sentences in child predator cases”Democrats “hop[e] to highlight the qualification of President Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee, Harvard educated, nine years as a federal judge, and experience as a public defender.”
Haake brags before Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), referring to her leniency regarding child sex predators convicted in prison, that Republicans cannot do it. “empathy”: “Judge Jackson’s allies disputing those claims in what could be a preview of contentious hearing days to come.”
Team Biden got even better news with this segment featuring Savannah Guthrie, co-host and Chief White House Correspondent Kristen Welker about what they called efforts “preparing for” “potential lines of attack from Republicans” (click “expand”):
GUTHRIE: We’ve heard some potential lines of attack from Republicans along the law enforcement line. Is Judge Jackson or the White House ready for it?
WELKER: Hi, Savannah. Good morning. We are informed that Judge Jackson had been working for this moment for several weeks. She even ran mock hearings with the White House counsel’s Office. On Saturday, she also walked through the hearing room. Officials now say she expects to be asked tough questions regarding everything. This includes her positions on abortion rights, affirmative actions and the push of some Democrats for more bench justices. It will now be examined her past, particularly her work as a public Defender and her less than one year tenure on the D.C. Circuit Court. No, as Garrett noted, some Republicans are signaling they’ll paint her as soft on crime. Already, the White House is rebutting that claim by noting her endorsement from major law enforcement agencies. It’s worth noting Judge Thomas Griffith was one of her presenters today. He’s a well known conservative jurist and it really underscores the White House’s strategy to present her as a bipartisan pick.
GUTHRIE: Some have said, Kristen, maybe this isn’t going to be as contentious as prior hearings. For one thing, it’s not going to change the ideological balance of the Court, perhaps the stakes are a bit lower, but it’s a Supreme Court fight. They’re always high
Welker, in a shift to Jackson’s opponents, offered a twist that looked as though it had been given to him by Andrew Bates.
Savannah could see some fireworks as a result of the potential 2024 Presidential hopefuls sitting on the Judiciary Committee.[T]Savannah is the question. If there are contentious issues, can the President receive the political lift he seeks from this historic choice with the midterms coming up?[.]
Similar things were also syrupy CBS MorningsGayle King (Democratic Party donor) is co-host.
Although leaders of both political parties want civility in the process, Republicans see a way to attack them. Nikole is present in the room where it all will happen. There’s no Hamilton in there. However, it is the room that it all will take place.
Killion carried water for Senate Democrats as she had this eye-rolling back-and-forth with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) as a foil to Hawley (click “expand”):
KILLION [TO DURBIN]: Is this one any different?
DURBIN – It’s different.
KILLION: Dick Durbin, a senator from Illinois, chairs the Judiciary Committee. [TO DURBIN]This is a great question: What kind of pressure do you feel in order to achieve your goals?
DURBIN : If you feel something, please let me know. This is how I’d like it to be done. Also, I think that the committee isn’t being held on trial. However, the committee’s being closely watched.
KILLION – Republican Josh Hawley said he wanted to use the hearings for Jackson’s sentencing case.
HAWLEY [on FNC’s Hannity, 03/17/22]The person who is a sex predator, child sex predator, and has let them off the hook.
JEN PSAKI [on 03/17/22]: The attack we have seen in the past few days is based on factsual errors and taking Judge Jackson’s record out of context.
Let’s move on to the superficial Good Morning AmericaT.J. Holmes, ABC’s co-host, wooed. “the historic hearings” Also available: “a new Monmouth University just out suggest[ing] Americans back her appointment by a two-to-one margin.”
One would be curious to know her actual name ID and what impact that would have on her chances of winning.
Congressional correspondent Rachel Scott was, like Killion, in the hearing room and used to even pointed to Jackson’s seat and that “60 members of the public will also rotate in and out…to witness history unfold.”
Scott noted Monday will consist of openings statements prior to “an intense round of questioning” on Tuesday and Wednesday in which “her record will be in the spotlight.”
“The White House already having to defend her against Republican attacks claiming that she is soft on crime and attacking her record as public defender,” Elle added.
Monday’s White House propaganda was brought to you by advertisers such as CarMax (on NBC), Ensure (on CBS), and Progressive (on ABC). Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
For ABC, CBS and NBC transcripts from March 21 click here.
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