Well, look at this. Another "disclosure failure," this one again relating to her thoughts on abortion from Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. CNN reports that she did not disclose two talks she gave to forced-birther student student groups in 2013 in her records submission to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
CNN reports that Barrett "gave the talks—a lecture and a seminar—in 2013 in her capacity as a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. The seminar was co-sponsored by the school's Right to Life club and constitutional studies minor, and the lecture was held by the law school's Jus Vitae club." CNN found the information by searching the university's social media and weekly faculty newsletters. Both of the talks, according to the advertisements for them, were about abortion court cases.
Oddly enough, a third publicized talk at Notre Dame that she gave on the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision was included in her paperwork. But that talk was removed by Notre Dame from YouTube several years ago, and suspiciously so, CNN reports: "Of 11 lectures publicized as available to watch on the school's event, only Barrett's was removed from YouTube." So, yeah, more covering up it appears.
While teaching at Notre Dame, she was also in the founding group of the university's chapter of the University Faculty for Life. While she was a member, the group "unanimously passed a resolution for a letter calling on the university to rescind an award given to then-Vice President Biden because of his beliefs on abortion." So that's fine. A Supreme Court nominee who has already expressed hostility to the man who might be president in 2021.
This omission, in a vacuum, might not be that big of a deal—forgetting talks you gave as a professor in the past decade is possible. But it's not just this failure to disclose. This very day NBC uncovered her failure to disclose her significant work as a lead attorney on a case that could prove politically difficult for her. She also filed to disclose signing on to a two-page ad in a newspaper declaring that she believes life begins at fertilization and that "barbaric legacy" of Roe demanded it be overturned.
It sure does seem like a concerted effort by Barrett to hide all of her extreme forced-birth beliefs from the Judiciary Committee and the American people (who are already opposed to her confirmation in nearly historic proportions). This drip-drip-drip of undisclosed information would have been enough in past confirmation processes to halt the nomination process. Even Chuck Grassley refused to advance two Trump nominees when they failed to provide full and complete background information to the committee.
The hearings are set to begin on Monday, October 12, with a final committee vote on October 22. Then Graham and McConnell want her confirmation vote on the floor before Halloween, so everyone can get home for GOTV weekend.
Published with permission of Daily Kos
