Dianne Feinstein Caught On Hot Mic Bringing Up Amy Coney Barrett’s Religion Again
By NBP Staff | October 15, 2020, 14:15 EDT
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein attributed U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s pro-life position to her religion during a candid hot-mic moment.
Feinstein can be heard saying of Barrett, “She’s been pro-life for a long time. So I suspect with her, it is deeply personal and comes with her religion.”
An audio clip of Feinstein’s comments appears below:
https://twitter.com/tregp/status/1316759703310028802
Democrats have been careful not to bring up Barrett’s Roman Catholicism during the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings this week, focusing instead on Obamacare and other area of attack.
Feinstein, who is the ranking Democratic member of the committee, drew widespread criticism during Barrett’s confirmation hearing in September 2017 for a lower-court federal judgeship for suggesting that Barrett’s commitment to Catholic teaching might make it impossible for her to be an impartial judge.
During the confirmation hearing in September 2017, Feinstein said:
“Why is it that so many of us on this side have this very uncomfortable feeling, that, you know, dogma and law are two different things. And I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different. And I think in your case, Professor, when you read your speeches the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for for years in this country.”
Critics said Feinstein and other Senate Democrats (notably Dick Durbin of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii) engaged in using a religious test for office, which is prohibited by Article VI of the United States Constitution.