GOP senator corners Biden judicial nominee into crucial admission over assault weapons ban brief: 'I am not a gun expert'

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) exposed yet another Biden judicial nominee on Tuesday.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Kennedy asked U.S. District Judge Nancy Maldonado — a nominee for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals — about a legal brief she signed on behalf of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in 2012 supporting an assault weapons ban in Cook County, Illinois.

"You said, 'Assault weapons may be banned because they’re extraordinarily dangerous and are not appropriate for legitimate self-defense purposes.' Tell me what you meant by 'assault weapons,'" Kennedy asked.

At first, Maldonado tried to deflect by explaining that she did not actually write the brief, she only signed it.

"If you signed a brief, you're testifying to the court that everything in it is true, right?" Kennedy pressed.

"Yes," Maldonado affirmed.

"So, they're your words in terms of the court, right?" the senator followed up.

"Well — you're correct, Sen. Kennedy," Maldonado admitted.

Kennedy then asked his question again, eliciting a telling admission from Maldonado.

"I am not a gun expert," she said.

"But you were giving the court advice about — say, 'Ban assault weapons.' You told the court you were an expert. Just tell me what you wanted to ban," Kennedy followed up.

Maldonado, however, could not answer the question. She claimed she could not remember the "definition" of assault weapon per the statute that was litigated, while deflecting criticism by insisting that she did not actually write the brief that bore her signature.

Earlier in the hearing, Kennedy grilled Maldonado over what he perceived as alarming unproductiveness.

According to Kennedy, Maldonado currently has 125 pending motions, the highest of any district judge in the 7th Circuit and the seventh-highest of all U.S. district judges.

"You really think of all the other district judges in the 7th Circuit, you’re the one that will be promoted?" Kennedy confronted.

Maldonado, however, only offered excuses: the COVID-19 pandemic, a high workload, and a backlog of cases.

"I stand by my record," she said.

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