Candace Owens Rails Against Ketanji Brown Jackson Appointment: 'No Defense'

Candace Owens has spoken out against Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court, accusing the judge of having a "long record of leniency toward pedophiles."

During the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearings, Senator Josh Hawley grilled Jackson, alleging that she had a "pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes, both as a judge and as a policymaker."

Conservative commentator Owens reiterated the Republican lawmaker's claims on Twitter on Tuesday, reacting to his questions about a case involving an 18-year-old defendant.

"This is wild," Owens tweeted. "This woman CANNOT be elected to the highest court in the land. Where are the mothers and fathers outraged over her LONG record of leniency toward pedophiles?! #KetanjiBrownJackson."

Actor Harry Shearer responded to Owens' tweet by questioning her use of the word "elected."

The Candace host shot back: "Oh well. Now that you've pointed out that I accidentally said 'elected' instead of 'appointed' I guess we can sweep her entire record of leniency toward pedophiles under the rug.

"Honestly, wtf is wrong with you guys? There is NO DEFENSE for monsters that rape children."

She added: "If I were *appointed* to the Supreme Court—the people the even defend people who rape children would have the book thrown at them. I don't vote Democrat so I don't have the glass-half-full perspective on pedophilia."

In the clip that Owens shared alongside her first tweet, Hawley is seen saying that Jackson gave an 18-year-old a three-month sentence for viewing sex acts between children aged around a decade younger.

Fact checks, including by the Associated Press and The Washington Post, have found Hawley's characterization of Jackson's record to be misleading.

Jackson has disputed the accusations that she has been lenient in child porn cases, saying on the second day of the hearings: "As a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, I was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth.

"These are some of the most difficult cases that a judge has to deal with, because we're talking about pictures of sex abuse of children. We're talking about graphic descriptions that judges have to read and consider when they decide how to sentence in these cases."

Jackson—who is the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court, fulfilling a campaign pledge made by President Joe Biden—went on: "There's a statute that tells judges what they're supposed to do.

"Congress has decided what it is that a judge has to do in this and any other case when they sentence. And that statute doesn't say, look only at the guidelines and stop. The statute doesn't say, impose the highest possible penalty for this sickening and egregious crime.

"The statute says, calculate the guidelines, but also look at various aspects of this offense and impose a sentence that is, quote, sufficient, but not greater than necessary to promote the purposes of punishment.

"And in every case, when I am dealing with something like this, it is important to me to make sure that the children's perspective, the children's voices are represented in my sentences."

After explaining that she routinely tells defendants at sentencing the impact that their actions have had on victims, Jackson added: "Then I impose a significant sentence and all of the additional restraints that are available in the law. These people are looking at 20, 30, 40, years of supervision.

"They can't use their computers in a normal way for decades. I am imposing all of those constraints because I understand how significant, how damaging, how horrible this crime is."

Jackson's confirmation to the Supreme Court would be historic, but it would not shift the ideological balance of the nation's highest court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority.