President Donald Trump reacted to a report that his pick for the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, expressed regret that the president was casting doubt on the judiciary.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters on Capitol Hill that Gorsuch “expressed to me that he is disheartened by the demoralizing and abhorrent comments by President Trump about the judiciary” during a private meeting.
In recent days, Trump has questioned the court proceedings surrounding his executive order for immigration and travel restrictions from high-risk countries in the Middle East.
In response, Trump cast doubt on the report on Twitter, questioning Blumenthal’s credibility.
“Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie), now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?” asked Trump.
The New York Times caught Blumenthal in 2010 lying about serving in Vietnam, when in fact he never went to war in that country. Instead, he received multiple military deferments to pursue his studies at Harvard.
Former Senator Kelly Ayotte, who is assisting Gorsuch’s confirmation, said in a statement that Trump’s Supreme Court nominee spoke generally, and not in response to a specific political issue.
“While he made clear that he was not referring to any specific case, he said that he finds any criticism of a judge’s integrity and independence disheartening and demoralizing,” Ayotte said.
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