The Hypocrisy Continues To Shock Me': Ashley Moody Calls Out Actions Of Left-Wing Judges

Good to be with you. Thank you for being here. Thank you to your family for being here, colleagues from the office, the Department of Justice that are here to support you. We are excited about your nomination and thank President Trump for making this important nomination. I'm guessing from some of my colleagues on this hearing that they forgot that there are some Democratic judges that were escorting people out of the courtroom in secrecy because they didn't believe with what law enforcement was trying to achieve and some Democratic appointed judges that are ignoring the Supreme Court orders at the moment. The hypocrisy continues to shock me. I've been here a hot second on this Judiciary Committee and I think it's important that we all go back to the ideal judge is one that is impartial, that has integrity and understands that their job is to apply the laws given to them through the representatives of the people faithfully and without prejudice. We are very excited about your nomination. And personally, let me just say, as a former federal prosecutor myself, I was grateful that someone with that background that both had extensive experience in federal courts, not only prosecuting within the district court, but in appeals as well, was being nominated. I believe those that are charged with the responsibility of taking cases brought to them by law enforcement and they are charged with pursuing justice in a court of law, which may mean someone's liberty is taken away, that is a very heavy responsibility and one that after they are charged with that does not take lightly. And I heard you previously explaining how you took that very seriously and you believe that justice is sometimes the consideration of making sure it's not heavy-handed when it wasn't intended to be. I thought it was interesting, one of my colleagues' remarks, they thought it was important to point out that someone described you as a partisan that wields the law as a weapon, when in fact you have spent a lot of time fighting against that, as many of us watched in horror as the justice system was turned into a political weapon. And I thought I might just give you, and I wanted to go back to who you are in your background. You've got thrown into the limelight in a very politically charged situation, not of your own making, but one that you are willing to fight against. And prior to that, I think it's important that not just my colleagues, but the American people understand your background. You clerked for a federal judge, you clerked district court judge, you clerked for an appellate judge, you served as an intern in different capacities, you were the lead prosecutor in numerous federal trials. I would like for you to take a moment and tell us how your background would repudiate all of the aspersions and accusations that have been charged against you this morning. Because again, as someone who has also served in that capacity, where you're given the responsibility to on behalf of the people, on behalf of the United States of America, seek justice and potentially removing, taking away someone's liberty, tell us about your background and how that bears on your respect for the court, its need to be impartial, and your background and how that will prepare you to faithfully apply the rule of law. Thank you, Senator. And I appreciate the kind words. I believe a very solemn obligation to accept a position on the federal bench, especially an appellate position, because of the obligation to enforce the rule of law without fear of favor and declare what the law is, but exercise restraint and not make policy decisions. And I think that I'm equipped to do that because over the course of my career, as you suggested, I have studied just about every single angle of a courtroom as a paralegal, a law clerk, a trial lawyer, and an appellate lawyer. If I were lucky enough to be confirmed, I would understand as an appellate judge what things look like at a trial, but I also understand from having been inside an appellate judge's chamber, having the privilege to do that, how the appellate decision-making process can work and what it's like to try to have to build consensus with a panel and a group of people. And I think all those things would sort of bear on my judgment and my practice if I'm lucky enough to be confirmed. But I think really the most important thing is the ability to exercise independent judgment in the face of great scrutiny and criticism. And I am doing my best to explain why I've endeavored to do that throughout my career today. I think there's one moment in my life where I was really called upon to do that and make a hard decision that I'm glad I did, and that was to join Mr. Blanche to help represent the president at a time when my friends and even some of the people in my family, my work colleagues told me that there was every reason to think I would get fired, I would be bankrupt, we would be indicted, all manner of evil and negative consequences were sort of foisted and thrown at Todd and I regularly as we had to make a decision that many others didn't have the courage to make to stand up for what was right. And people comment on that as some kind of political decision. That's not what that was in the summer of 2023. At that time, for me, and I think for Todd, that was a decision to fight for what was right and fight for the rule of law. And if I'm fortunate enough to become a judge, I will abide by that standard, applying the rule of law every single day. Senator Romathal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.