A spokesman for Gorsuch said Gorsuch did make those remarks. So who are you going to fire?

Last edited Thu Feb 9, 2017, 10:24 AM - Edit history (1)

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A spokesman for Gorsuch later confirmed to CNN that the judge used the terms "disheartening" and "demoralizing" to describe Trump's tweets during his meeting with the Blumenthal.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/318646-trump-blumenthal-misrepresents-what-gorsuch-told-him

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..........something happened today that will make his confirmation process considerably interesting than I'd anticipated.

As you probably saw, Gorsuch today said that Trump's attacks on a federal judge and the federal judiciary were "demoralizing and "disheartening." But he didn't exactly say that. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Gorsuch said that when he met with him in his Senate office. We don't have to worry about their being any dispute over what was said because Ron Bonjean, a longtime DC Republican communications guy who is representing Gorsuch for the confirmation process, confirmed that Gorsuch had said this in his conversation with Blumenthal.

But saying this in private and then having a spokesperson confirm is quite different from saying it himself public. The fact that one happened and the other didn't was no accident - something that is clear from the description of these events in Roll Call ...

“He certainly expressed to me that he is disheartened by the demoralizing and abhorrent comments made by President Trump about the judiciary, but I will be asking for more specific and forthcoming responses to those kinds of questions before I determine how I will vote,” Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal said in a statement that he asked Gorsuch to make his statement about Trump's comments publicly, but Gorsuch declined.

"If he wants the American people to believe that he is truly independent, Judge Gorsuch must tell them in no uncertain terms that President Trump’s attacks are not just disappointing – they are abhorrent and destructive to our Constitutional system – and he must condemn them publicly,” Blumenthal said.

I fully expect that we will now see Democrats make almost the entirety of Gorsuch's confirmation process into a review and critique of President Trump's behavior in office, treatment of the judiciary, respect for the rule of law, reliance on executive orders and more - with a particular emphasis on the difference between what Gorsuch is willing to say in private and what he is willing to say in public, especially under oath.

No judge with integrity can look kindly on what we've seen from President Trump. So I take his remarks at face value. This afternoon many observers said that this was also good politics for Gorsuch and his nomination. While I agree with that judgment as far as it goes, the logic assumes a President who is in control of his emotions and faculties. Neither of which are the case.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-gorsuch-confirmation-just-got-much-more-interesting

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