STORY TO TELL.
>> THANK YOU, MY FRIEND, HAVE A
GREAT SHOW TONIGHT.
>> THANK YOU, ALI, THANK YOU.
SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY HAS SEEN
IT ALL.
AND HE'S NEVER SEEN ANYTHING
LIKE WHAT HE SAW TODAY IN THE
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE.
SENATOR LEAHY IS THE LONGEST
SERVING MEMBER OF THE SENATE
AND THE LONGEST SERVING MEMBER
OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE AND
FORMER CHAIR OF THE JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE.
HE'S ATTENDED MORE SUPREME
COURT CONFIRMATION HEARING THAN
ANYONE ELSE IN THE SENATE.
AND HE WAS OUTRAGED BY WHAT HE
SAW IN THE HEARING THIS MORNING,
WHEN REPUBLICAN LINDSEY GRAHAM
VIOLATED THE TIME OF THE
SENATOR SPEAKING, NOT BY A
MINUTE OR TWO, WHICH IS COMMON,
BUT BY A FULL TEN MINUTES, IN
ADDITION TO THE 20 MINUTES THAT
EACH SENATOR WAS ALLOWED TO
SPEAK.
AND IN THOSE TEN MINUTES,
LINDSEY GRAHAM LAUNCHED A RAGE FILLED --
FILLED --
>> AND YOU HAD A REPUBLICAN
MEMBER WHO WENT WAY OVER THE
TIME ALLOTTED.
AND IGNORE THE RULES OF THE
COMMITTEE.
AND BADGERED THE NOMINEE WITH WOULD NOT EVEN LET HER ANSWER
WOULD NOT EVEN LET HER ANSWER
THE QUESTIONS AND AND I'VE
NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
I'VE BEEN HERE 48 YEARS.
HERE WE HAVE A HIGHLY RESPECTED,
RESPECTABLE NOMINEE AND TO BE
TREATED THAT WAY, I DON'T KNOW
WHAT THE MOTIVATION MIGHT BE,
WHAT THE POLITICAL MOTIVATION
IS, BUT IT'S THE BADGERING OF
THIS WOMAN, AS SHE IS TRYING TO
TEST FLY, I THOUGHT IT WAS
OUTRAGEOUS.
>> PAT LEAHY HAS NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE IT.
AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN PAT LEAHY
SO OUTRAGED.
LINDSEY GRAHAM VOTED FOR JUDGE
KETANJI BROWN-JACKSON LAST YEAR
IN HER CONFIRMATION TO THE
SECOND MOST IMPORTANT COURT OF
THE COUNTRY, THE D.C. CIRCUIT
COURT OF APPEALS.
EVERY SINGLE OBJECTION THAT
LINDSEY GRAHAM RAISED TODAY TO
JUDGE JACKSON'S RECORD WAS IN
HER RECORD WHEN LINDSEY GRAHAM
VOTED TO CONFIRM HER LAST YEAR
WITHOUT SAYING A WORD ABOUT
THOSE ISSUES.
CHAIR DICK DURBIN MAY HAVE
ALLOWED LINDSEY GRAHAM TO SEIZE
CONTROL OF THE HEARING FOR TEN
FULL MINUTES, IN VIOLATION OF
THE RULES, BECAUSE THE CHAIRMAN
HOPES THAT BY INDULGING LINDSEY
GRAHAM, HE CAN WIN LINDSEY
GRAHAM'S VOTE.
THAT IS AGAIN, FOR KETANJI
BROWN-JACKSON.
DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THAT IS
GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT IF IT DOES
HAPPEN, WHICH SEEMS EXTREMELY
UNLIKELY, THEN CHAIR DURBIN DID
THE RIGHT THING TODAY.
ANYTHING FOR A VOTE.
DICK DURBIN IS THE CHAIRMAN OF
THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE BECAUSE
DEMOCRATS LOST CONFIDENCE IN 88
YEAR OLD DIANE FEINSTEIN'S
ABILITY TO RUN LEADERSHIP
HEARINGS LIKE THIS.
SO, SHE WAS BESIDE IN FAVOR OF
DICK DURBIN.
THE ABILITY TO RUN A HEARING IS
NOT BASED ON AGE, AS SENATOR
PATRICK LEAHY SHOWED WHEN HE
JUMPED IN TO SHOW DICK DURBIN
HOW TO SHUT DOWN INTERRUPTIONS
FROM REPUBLICAN SENATORS.
>> --
--
>> --
>> MISTER CHAIRMAN.
>> I KNOW THE JUNIOR SENATOR
FROM TEXAS.
I USED TO GET ON TELEVISION.
BUT MOST HAVE BEEN HERE A LONG
TIME, WE TRY TO FOLLOW THE
RULES.
AND I CAN VERY EASILY HAND YOU
A LETTER TO GO TO THE RECORD,
HE IS SAYING THIS TO DO AND
HELP SENATOR HAWLEY.
LET'S GET BACK TO --
>> SENATOR HAWLEY DID NOT WRITE
THE LETTER.
>> REPUBLICANS SPENT THE DAY
SAYING THAT THEY DON'T THINK
THAT THE PRISON SENTENCES THAT
JUDGE JACKSON GAVE TO
DEFENDANTS WHO POSSESSED CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY WERE LONG ENOUGH.
LINDSEY GRAHAM SAID THAT THE
LIGHTEST SENTENCE THAT JUDGE
AXING GAVE, WHICH WAS THREE
MONTHS, SHOULD HAVE BEEN 50
YEARS.
THAT'S IT.
THAT'S WHAT THE REPUBLICANS
SPENT THE DAY SAYING, SOMETHING
THAT TOOK ME LESS THAN A MINUTE
TO SAY JUST NOW, BUT IT IS
LITERALLY A ONE SENTENCE
OBJECTION THAT THEY HAVE TO
JUDGE JACKSON.
IT CAN BE SPOKEN IN ONE
SENTENCE.
THEY DON'T THINK HER SENTENCES
FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY WERE LONG ENOUGH.
HER SENTENCES WERE WITHIN THE
NORM FOR FEDERAL JUDGES AROUND
THE COUNTRY.
BUT THESE REPUBLICAN SENATORS
DON'T BELIEVE THOSE SENTENCES
WERE LONG ENOUGH.
--
SAID HOW LONG ANY OF THOSE
SENTENCES SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
THE POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR
PRESIDENT ON THE COMMITTEE
SPENT THE DAY INTERRUPTING
JUDGE ACCIDENT, NOT ALLOWING
HER TO FINISH ANSWERS AND
SENATOR TOM COTTON SAID THAT HE
DID NOT BELIEVE ONE OF HER
ANSWERS AND WAS ACCUSING JUDGE
JACKSON OF LYING UNDER OATH.
REPUBLICANS WERE TREATING THE
HEARING, AS THEY DO EVERY EVENT
THAT HAS CAMERAS, AS A CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING EVENT.
FUNDRAISING EVENT.
and installed new wipers to
, THROUGH IT ALL, JUDGE KETANJI
BROWN JACKSON PERSEVERED.
SHE LEARNED HOW TO PERSEVERE
WHEN FACING CHALLENGES A LONG
TIME AGO.
CORY BOOKER IS ONE OF THE MOST
BIPARTISAN DEMOCRATIC SENATORS,
AND PUBLICLY REFERS TO --
AS FRIENDS.
HE PUBLICLY COMPLIMENTS
REPUBLICAN SENATORS AND CORY
BOOKER HAD NO QUESTIONS, REALLY,
TODAY, HE JUST OFFERED AN
EXTRAORDINARY, AND
EXTEMPORANEOUSLY OUT OF REMARKS
IN WHICH HE COMMENDED JUDGE
JACKSON FOR CLIMBING THE
MOUNTAINS SHE CLIMBED, TO BE
NOW JUST ONE STEP AWAY FROM THE
TOP OF THE JUDICIAL MOUNTAIN IN
THE UNITED STATES.
WE WILL BRING YOU MOST OF WHAT
SENATOR BOOKER HAD TO SAY LATER
IN THIS HOUR.
WE ARE JUST GOING TO ROLL THAT
VIDEOTAPE LATER AND LET YOU SEE
THAT MOMENT.
THE MOMENT THAT FIRST BROUGHT
JUDGE KETANJI BROWN-JACKSON
TODAY, TEARS OF APPRECIATION
FOR THE PEOPLE WHO SENATOR
BOOKER SAID MADE THIS DAY
POSSIBLE.
BUT THAT WASN'T THE LAST TIME
THAT JUDGE JACKSON FOUGHT BACK
TEARS TODAY.
THE JUNIOR SENATOR FROM
CALIFORNIA, ALEX PADILLA, IS
THE SECOND MOST JUNIOR THE
TRAGIC MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE
AND SO HE ALWAYS SPEAKS TOWARDS
THE END OF THE HEARINGS.
ALEX PADILLA'S PARENTS CAME TO
CALIFORNIA FROM MEXICO AND
WATCH THEIR SON GO OFF TO
COLLEGE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF
THE COUNTRY AT MIT, THE MOST
SELECTIVE SCIENCE ORIENTED
UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD.
HE TOLD JUDGE JACKSON TODAY
THAT, JUST AS SHE WAS
DISCOURAGED BY SOME FROM
APPLYING TO HARVARD, HE WAS
DISCOURAGED BY SOME OF HIS HIGH
SCHOOL TEACHERS FROM APPLYING
TO MIT.
AND THEN HE ASKED HER WHAT SHE
SAYS TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO DOUBT
THAT THEY CAN ACHIEVE WHAT SHE
HAS ACHIEVED.
>> I HOPE TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO
TRY TO FOLLOW.
TO FOLLOW THIS PATH.
BECAUSE I LOVE THIS COUNTRY. BECAUSE I LOVE THE LAW.
BECAUSE I LOVE THE LAW.
and installed new wipers to
... BECAUSE I THINK IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT WE ALL INVEST.
INVEST IN OUR FUTURE.
AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THE
FUTURE.
AND SO I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT
THEY CAN DO AND BE ANYTHING.
AND I WILL JUST SAY THAT I WILL
TELL THEM WIDEN ANONYMOUS
PERSON SAID IT TO ME ONCE.
I WAS WALKING THROUGH.
HARVARD YARD, THROUGH THEY, ARE
MY FRESHMAN YEAR.
AS I MENTIONED, I WENT TO
PUBLIC SCHOOL.
AND I DID NOT KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT HARVARD UNTIL MY DEBATE
COACH TOOK ME THERE TO ENTER A
SPEECH COMPETITION.
AND I THOUGHT, HEY, THIS IS A
GREAT OPPORTUNITY, A GREAT
UNIVERSITY, ONE OF THE ONLY
ONES I HAD SEEN, AND SAID MAYBE
WILL I I WILL APPLY WHEN I'M A
SENIOR.
BUT I GET THERE AND, WHOA, IT'S
SO DIFFERENT.
I AM FROM MIAMI, FLORIDA.
BOSTON IS VERY COLD.
[LAUGHS]
IT WAS ROUGH.
IT WAS DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING
I HAD KNOWN.
THERE WERE LOTS OF STUDENTS
THERE WHO WERE PREP SCHOOL KIDS,
LIKE MY HUSBAND.
WHO WE KNEW ALL ABOUT --
[LAUGHS]
NEW ALL ABOUT HARVARD.
AND THAT WAS NOT ME.
AND I THINK THE FIRST SEMESTER
I WAS REALLY HOMESICK, I WAS
REALLY QUESTIONING, DO I BELONG
HERE?
CAN I MAKE IT IN THIS
ENVIRONMENT?
AND ALWAYS WALKING THROUGH THE
YARD IN THE EVENING AND A BLACK
WOMAN I DID NOT KNOW WAS
PASSING ME ON THE SIDEWALK.
AND SHE LOOKED AT ME AND I
GUESS SHE KNEW HOW I WAS
FEELING.
AND SHE LEANED OVER, AS WE CROSSED, AND SAID, PERSEVERE.
CROSSED, AND SAID, PERSEVERE. I WOULD TELL THEM TO PERSEVERE.