Last week, Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer requesting the Senate investigate whether Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch lied under oath on their viewpoints of Roe v. Wade.
This comes after both justices ruled with the conservative majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jacksons Women’s Health Organization, which overturned a 50-year precedent and stripped pregnant people’s federal right to an abortion.
Despite both justices stating under oath that Roe was settled precedent in their confirmation hearings, years later, the justices said that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”
In the letter, Ocasio-Cortez and Lieu call the justices’ statements misleading and demand the Senate take a position.
“Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch directly lied to Senators,” they said in the letter to Schumer. “We respect the right of individual Justices to have their own views on various constitutional issues. But we cannot have a system where Justices lie about their views in order to get confirmed.”
Notably, poll after poll has shown the American public has less and less confidence in the court. More specifically, one week before the SCOTUS decision on Roe, 75 percent of Americans said they didn’t trust the court – a record low in the United States.
“Our Constitutional Republic requires that the Justices of the third branch of government tell the truth during their confirmation hearings,” the representatives said. “Their power comes from a public willing to believe in their integrity. Justices who lie to the American people in order to get confirmed shred the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.”
Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Kennedy is a passionate reporter, avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and loves to travel.
