Progressive group Demand Justice released a report Tuesday outlining what it called an “unprecedented” pattern from President Trump’s judicial nominees in which they repeatedly avoided directly affirming the results of the 2020 election.
The 10-page report, which was shared with The Hill, is based on a review of questionnaires submitted by 27 judicial nominees this year as part of their confirmation process. The review found that all 27 nominees were asked if Trump lost the 2020 election, and none affirmatively said Joe Biden won, instead referring to the certification process.
“It’s unprecedented for nominees to be so dishonest and misleading about simple, historical facts – and it is deeply concerning that Trump’s nominees are repeating such strikingly similar language simply to appease the president and avoid telling the truth,” Demand Justice President Josh Orton said in a statement. “Yet fifteen Democratic Senators still voted to confirm at least one of these nominees – which is simply unacceptable.”
The report also highlights how many of the nominees used similar language in their responses. Sixteen of the 27 nominees said Biden “served” as president. The report also found that 21 of the 27 judicial nominees described the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as a “political issue” and declined to weigh in further.
The president has repeatedly, through his actions and words, minimized the events of Jan. 6 and continued to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election. One of his first actions after taking office was to pardon nearly all the defendants facing charges related to the Jan. 6 riots. He repeatedly refers to the 2020 election as “rigged,” despite no evidence of widespread fraud.
Demand Justice, which has led liberal efforts to shape the federal judiciary, has in recent weeks signaled it will take a more aggressive approach to opposing Trump’s nominees, including by calling out Democrats who support those picks.
The group last month launched ads calling out Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) for their votes in favor of two of Trump’s judicial nominees who equivocated about the results of the 2020 election.
