Written by by HAROLD HUTCHISON at dailycaller.com
United States District Judge Nancy Maldonado of the Northern District of Illinois struggled to respond when asked by Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana to define the term “assault weapons” during a Wednesday confirmation hearing.
Maldonado, nominated by President Joe Biden for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, signed a brief defending a ban on “assault weapons” that was challenged in Illinois state courts in the 2010s, according to vettingproject.org. Kennedy cited from her writings when asking her if she could define what an “assault weapon” was.
“You said, ‘assault weapons may be banned because they’re extraordinarily dangerous and are not appropriate for legitimate self-defense purposes,’” Kennedy said. “Tell me what you meant by assault weapons.”
“Just to clarify there, I was local counsel,” Maldonado said, later claiming she did not write the brief Kennedy cited, but that she signed the brief due to a requirement from the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Illinois Supreme Court ultimately upheld the ban on the semiautomatic firearms in a 2012 ruling.
“Tell me what you meant by assault weapons,” Kennedy said.
“I am not a gun expert,” Maldonado responded.