Sen. Ben Sasse on Thursday accused the American Bar Association of giving one of President Trump’s judicial nominees a low score because the man had defended Nebraska’s late-term abortion ban when he was the state’s chief deputy attorney general.
The ABA rated Leonard Grasz, nominated to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as “not qualified,” which is its lowest rating for judicial nominees.
“The ABA’s over-the-top portrayal of Grasz as unqualified relies very largely on the fact that as chief deputy attorney general of Nebraska he defended our state’s partial birth abortion laws just before other states followed Nebraska’s lead,” Mr. Sasse said.
During Mr. Grasz’s confirmation hearing earlier this month, he alleged the organization gave him the poor review after asking about his personal stance on abortion, while negatively referring to conservatives and Republicans as “you people.”
The ABA has denied that claim, and said the judicial pick received a low score based on peer reviews who said he couldn’t separate his personal bias from the law.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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