Senator defends viral questioning of Trump pick: I ask questions I expect them to answer

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) defended his line of questioning to one of President Trump’s judicial nominees, saying he asks “questions that I expect them to be able to answer.”

A video of the Republican senator questioning judicial nominee Matthew Petersen on basic legal terms — and Petersen failing to answer — went viral Thursday.

{mosads}“I enthusiastically supported President Trump for president, and I still do. In the past year, I have supported nearly every one of President Trump’s picks, but I don’t blindly support them,” Kennedy told Yahoo News.

“I ask questions that I expect them to be able to answer. In doing so, I’m just doing my job,” he said. 

“That’s why we have a Madisonian-inspired separation of powers. We need checks and balances so that we can serve the American people well.”

Kennedy posed a series of questions on legal issues to Petersen during his Senate hearing to be confirmed as a district judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

He asked the nominee about topics like “motion in limine,” a basic legal term, and the Younger and Pullman abstention doctrines. Petersen was unable to answer the questions.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) posted video of the exchange on Thursday night.

MUST WATCH: Republican @SenJohnKennedy asks one of @realDonaldTrump’s US District Judge nominees basic questions of law & he can’t answer a single one. Hoo-boy. pic.twitter.com/fphQx2o1rc

— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) December 15, 2017