Donald Trump Jr. tweeted “pedophiles must be rejoicing at the prospect” of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, nodding to one of the most contentious topics in Jacksons hearing: her past alleged leniency in child porn offender cases.
“Pedophiles across the country must be rejoicing at the prospect of having Judge Jackson as a continued advocate for them sitting on the Supreme Court,” Trump Jr. wrote on Wednesday. “I literally cannot believe Democrats and even a handful of weak RINOs are seemingly OK with this. Parents, it’s time to speak up!”
Pedophiles across the country must be rejoicing at the prospect of having Judge Jackson as a continued advocate for them sitting on the Supreme Court. I literally cannot believe Democrats and even a handful of weak RINOs are seemingly OK with this. Parents, it’s time to speak up!
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 23, 2022
Jackson’s sentencing record of child porn offenders first became a topic of discussion last week after Sen. Josh Hawley post a Twitter thread detailing her rulings, interviews, articles, and speeches, and accusing her of having an “alarming pattern when it comes to Judge Jackson’s treatment of sex offenders, especially those preying on children.”
Hawley specifically drew attention to several cases in which Jackson sentenced child porn offenders below federal guidelines, as well as below the sentence length requested by prosecutors. For instance, Hawley tweeted about the case United States v. Sears: “the sex offender distributed more than 102 child porn videos. He also sent lewd pictures of his own 10-year-old daughter.”
“The Guidelines recommended 97-121 months in prison. Judge Jackson gave him 71 months,” Hawley continued.
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Hawley also noted Jackson advocated for “drastic change” in how the law treats sex offenders “by eliminating the existing mandatory minimum sentences for child porn,” among other findings.
Jackson has faced intense scrutiny and questioning from several Republican senators, and has repeatedly explained her reasoning for sentencing below federal guidelines.
“But the way that the guideline is now structured based on that set of circumstances is leading to extreme disparities in the system because it’s so easy for people to get volumes of this kind of material now by computers,” she said during day two of her confirmation hearing. “It’s not doing the work of differentiating who is a more serious offender in the way that it used to. So, the commission has taken that into account, and perhaps more importantly, courts are adjusting their sentences in order to account for the changed circumstances — but it says nothing about the court’s view of the seriousness of this offense.”
KBJ: “With one click, you can distribute tens of thousands [of child porn]. You can be doing this for 15 minutes and all of a sudden, you are looking at 30, 40, 50 years in prison.”
Graham: “Good!” pic.twitter.com/znnVcyWNoO
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 23, 2022
In an exchange with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on day three of her hearing, Jackson again said she sentenced well below the federal guidelines because she does not believe the current guidelines properly apply to technological developments.
“In comes the internet. On the internet with one click, you can receive, you can distribute tens of thousands [of child sex abuse images]. You can be doing this for 15 minutes and all of a sudden, you are looking at 30,40,50 years in prison —” she said before Graham cut in.
“Good…I hope [they] go to jail for 50 years if you’re on the internet trolling for images of children in sexual exploitation,” Graham said.
Democrats have been all but silent on the issue, except when attempting to defend Jackson’s record. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), over the course of the hearing, leapt to Jackson’s defense several times and even interrupted GOP senators while they questioned her about her record. Some establishment Republicans have been unsupportive, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) calling the line of questioning “off course.”
Trump Jr. called out Democrats in another tweet on Wednesday, asking when Democrats became so “pro-pedophile.”
When did Democrats become so pro-pedophile? Has it always been so or is it a more recent trend made easier by technology? At any other time in American history the mere defense of these perversions would be far more than disqualifying… now it’s not even shameful to them. https://t.co/n6rdj4gqAG
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 23, 2022
“When did Democrats become so pro-pedophile? Has it always been so or is it a more recent trend made easier by technology? At any other time in American history the mere defense of these perversions would be far more than disqualifying… now it’s not even shameful to them,” he tweeted in response to a post from Human Events Senior Editor Jack Posobiec.
Jackson on Wednesday would not say she “regrets’ a short sentence given to a convicted child pornography offender, but said she did “regret” that senators focused on these cases in her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.