U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is being asked to investigate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for her attendance at the recent Grammy Awards marked by an abundance of anti-ICE rhetoric.
Jackson attended because of her nomination for narrating the audiobook version of her memoir Lovely One.
However, Jackson allegedly clapped as speakers blasted U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as sharp criticism of the agency became the go-to left-wing theme of the night.
Now, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is urging Chief Justice Roberts to look into the matter to determine whether Jackson’s actions violate the high court’s Code of Conduct requiring her to recuse herself from certain cases.
“While it is by no means unheard of or unusual for a Supreme Court justice to attend a public function, very rarely — if ever — have justices of our nation’s highest Court been present at an event at which attendees have amplified such far-left rhetoric,” Blackburn wrote to Roberts Thursday in a letter published in its entirety by Fox News.
Blackburn went on to cite the “ICE-OUT” pins many artists wore at the show and the anti-ICE comments by presenters and awards recipients. She zeroed in on one Grammy winner opening his acceptance comments by stating, “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ‘ICE out.”
That comment belonged to the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, the NFL’s controversial pick for the Super Bowl halftime show who received thunderous applause for reciting the slogan.
Blackburn also cited the comment made by singer Billy Eilish, who commented, “No one is illegal on stolen land,” as well as “Fuck ICE.”
“These statements were just two of many polarized, highly charged anti-law enforcement sentiments from that evening,” Blackburn wrote. “It is important to note that Justice Jackson was present in the audience throughout the event.”
On Wednesday, New York Post columnist Miranda Devine reported Justice Jackson was “laughing and clapping in the audience with a bunch of virtue-signaling luvvies ranting ‘F-ICE’ every time they got on stage.”
Blackburn wrote to Roberts, “I urge you to conduct a thorough investigation into Justice Jackson’s attendance at this event and whether her presence at such an event complies with the obligation that a Supreme Court justice ‘act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.’”
Blackburn’s didn’t stop there, with the Tennessee senator warning against a double standard when it came to Jackson, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden.
She wrote:
Congressional Democrats and the legacy media have spent years smearing Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices as corrupt, partisan, and having engaged in conduct that violates the Court’s Code of Conduct. In one particularly egregious example, Senators Durbin and Whitehouse sent you a letter urging you to ‘take appropriate steps to ensure that Justice Alito will recuse himself in any cases related to the 2020 presidential election and January 6th attack on the Capitol’ simply because Justice Alito’s wife flew a Revolutionary War-era flag outside of their home.
Blackburn added, “Similarly, Senate Democrats spent months claiming — falsely — that Justice Thomas violated the Court’s ethics code because he went on vacation with a long-time friend.”
The senator called those “baseless” “smear campaigns” by congressional Democrats “amplified by the mainstream media” in a “pathetic attempt to influence the decision-making process of the Court.”
Blackburn continued, “Unlike these meritless claims against Justice Alito and Justice Thomas, there are serious questions regarding Justice Jackson’s participation in such a brazenly political, anti-law enforcement event and her ability to remain an impartial member of the Supreme Court.”
The Senator said court rules call for Jackson to recuse herself on relevant law enforcement decisions.
“Following Justice Jackson’s participation in such a partisan and inflammatory event, an investigation into her ability to remain impartial with respect to immigration matters that come before the Court is urgently needed,” Blackburn wrote.
She concluded, “I urge you to initiate an investigation into Justice Jackson’s attendance at this event and if her participation in any way would require recusal from matters that will come before the Court.”
As Breitbart News reported, Brown’s nomination in 2022 raised eyebrows when President Joe Biden cited her race and gender as a black woman as one of the main reasons for picking her.
There’s also some history between Blackburn and Jackson.
During her confirmation hearing in 2022 when transgender debates were raging, the senator famously asked her, “Can you provide a definition for the word ‘woman’?”
“I can’t,” Jackson said, later adding “I’m not a biologist.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.