GOP lawyer praises Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson praised the Supreme Court’s leading liberal justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on Friday while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“She is an extraordinarily, able, talented person. She remains so to this day,” Olson said when asked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) if Kavanaugh should have condemned President Trump’s attacks on the judiciary. 

{mosads}Olson, who served in the George W. Bush administration, noted that Trump had called on Ginsburg to resign during his campaign, saying on Twitter in 2016 that “her mind is shot” and that she “has embarrassed all.”

Olson, who turned down an offer to join Trump’s legal team, told Blumenthal Friday that he can only speak for himself. 

“I deplore statements criticizing the integrity our intelligence of members of our judiciary across the board,” he said. “As for Justice Ginsburg, I have to say she is someone I have the hugest respect for. She is hero in this country.”

Kavanaugh refused to comment on Trump’s remarks during the hearing, saying he wasn’t going to be drawn into a political controversy.

Blumenthal criticized Kavanaugh on Friday for having refused on Thursday to say what then-Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch said during his own confirmation hearing last year. In his hearing, Gorsuch, who now sits on the high court, said attacks on the judiciary are “disheartening and demoralizing.”