The White House has chosen some real doozies for office. But this one may take the cake.
And now this Biden nominee was caught committing horrific acts against America’s most vulnerable.
Until today, a Florida judge nominated by President Joe Biden for a high federal court position had failed to reveal at least two child s*x-related cases in which his lenient verdicts had been overturned.
Embry Kidd, a judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, is under fire from Republicans for omitting the two instances on his nomination questionnaire, which was secretly amended this week to address the issue.
In May, Biden nominated Kidd to fill a seat on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.
“Not only is this becoming a pattern, the content of these belatedly-disclosed cases is concerning,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, told the Washington Examiner.
“With all due respect, these cases should have been disclosed. It is hard to provide advice and consent on a judicial nominee when the nominee doesn’t disclose highly relevant cases.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who is also concerned about the newly revealed information, told the Washington Examiner that he did not “consent” to Kidd’s appointment as Florida’s junior senator.
“President Biden continues to nominate judges who are totally unfit for the federal bench in his continued efforts to weaponize our judiciary,” Scott said.
“The Biden administration’s decision to advise nominees like Judge Kidd to not disclose bad rulings regarding child s*x predators, some of which were later rightfully reversed by the supervising district judge, is disgusting, dangerous, and right on brand for this lawless administration.”
The hostility over Kidd’s disclosure failure reflects how Republicans continue to quarrel with the Biden administration over judicial nominations.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s questionnaire contains a section requesting nominees to submit a narrative and citations for any earlier court opinions “reversed by a reviewing court” or where “judgment was affirmed with significant criticism of your substantive or procedural rulings.”
The goal of this part is for legislators to be able to thoroughly scrutinize nominees, many of whom have historical ties that are ripe for investigation and, in some cases, lead to rejection by the upper chamber.
During Kidd’s nomination hearing in early June, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) questioned him about specific cases he presided over.
“I expect that at least two or three of the decisions which you reached will be very controversial and raised in this committee. This is part of the process. I know that you are prepared for that,” Durbin told Kidd.
However, Durbin’s statements focused Republicans’ attention on two incidents that the GOP claims were incorrectly removed from Kidd’s questioning.
Senate staff investigators frequently utilize research resources like Westlaw or LexisNexis to find information on cases, but U.S. v. D’Haiti and U.S. v. King were oral rulings, thus they are not indexed in these databases, and Republicans were unaware of them.
U.S. v. D’Haiti involved a case in which the defendant, a male cheerleading coach at a Central Florida high school, was arrested in 2022 for possessing child p*rnography, according to court documents. In one occasion, the defendant reached up and fondled a minor’s sports bra.
However, according to court documents, Kidd decided to release the defendant in July of that year because of his “high character,” “ties to the community,” and “lack of criminal history.” One month later, a district judge overturned the ruling based on new evidence and sentenced the defendant to pretrial detention.
Where does the Biden administration find these people? Do they run in the same social circles?
If so, what else are they hiding?
Stay tuned to the Conservative Column.
