Durbin Slams Assistant Attorney General Nominee For Inflammatory, Discriminatory Tweets In Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing

Durbin Slams Assistant Attorney General Nominee For Inflammatory, Discriminatory Tweets In Senate Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing

"I cannot understand how you can do a real job and continue to post every day this continuing dialogue that you have over the years. It just seems to me inconsistent with serving the public," Durbin told Konstantinos Ligris, who has been nominated to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs

WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Daniel Desmond Domenico, nominated to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit, and Konstantinos Ligris, nominated to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. Pointing toward Judge Domenico's record of siding with the Trump Administration's mandatory detention policy of immigrants even if they have no criminal record, Durbin first pressed Judge Domenico about his views on the Fifth Amendment before grilling Mr. Ligris on his history of inflammatory and discriminatory tweets.

Durbin began by asking Judge Domenico about his history of greenlighting the President's cruel deportation agenda against immigrants. While the Trump Administration has detained tens of thousands of immigrants, more than 70 percent without criminal records, district court judges-appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents-have consistently held that mandatory detention is both illegal and unconstitutional. However, in alignment with President Trump's policies, Judge Domenico has repeatedly allowed the detention of immigrants without a bond hearing, regardless of the person's criminal history or lack thereof.

"Do you believe that the guarantees of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment to due process are limited to citizens of the United States?" Durbin began his questioning of Judge Domenico.

Judge Domenico answered that he does believe that due process clauses primarily apply to citizens but there are some protections for people who have been in the United States for a certain amount of time.

In reply, Durbin read aloud part of the Fifth Amendment: "'No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process.' It doesn't say 'citizen.' It says 'person.' Does that make a difference?"

Judge Domenico explained that he does think there is a distinction, saying that there are disputes about how the application of due process clauses may be limited in cases related to noncitizens.

Durbin then pressed Judge Domenico on his repeated rulings to allow for the detention of immigrants despite most judges ruling against the Trump Administration's immigration policies.

"According to Politico's analysis, judges have ruled against the Administration's policy almost 14,000 times and even a majority of Trump-appointed judges have ruled against the Administration. You, however, are an outlier, which even you have acknowledged in several of your opinions denying habeas petitions. In your opinions, you have embraced the Trump Administration's position that it can detain any immigrant without a bond hearing-no matter how long they have been in the United States and even if they have no criminal history… why should anyone have confidence that you can be a neutral arbiter presiding over challenges to this Administration's actions? That you could treat immigrants in a fair manner?" Durbin asked.

Judge Domenico defended his rulings.

"For you to be in the position that you are and deny consistently opportunities for people to have bond and to be released if they are no danger, but to rule consistently against immigrants is not a good thing to encourage on the bench," Durbin concluded his questioning of Judge Domenico.

Video of Durbin's questions for Judge Domenico is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions for Judge Domenico is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions for Judge Domenico is available here for TV Stations.

Durbin then questioned Konstantinos Ligris, who is nominated to lead the Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice (DOJ). Durbin grilled Mr. Ligris about his inflammatory and discriminatory tweets that attacked police officers, the Jewish community, and political leaders. In 2024, Mr. Ligris tweeted, "Any jew who votes for Biden needs to have their head examined." In response to a social media post discussing Senator Tim Kaine's objections to pardoning January 6 insurrectionists, Mr. Ligris tweeted, "suck it up bro." Further, he has repeatedly called members of Congress "thugs."

"Mr. Ligris, you attempted to delete thousands of posts from your X account. You hit the delete button, but it didn't work. It turns out they were saved in an archive. I can't imagine how you can defend some of the things you have been posting for years, some of the things you have written," Durbin said.

"And then there is this awful tweet that's a matter of public record now, in light of [the position] you are seeking here. Ligris referred, in 2024, to police officers as 'dumb as dirt' when writing [the tweet] 'Breach of peace…typical cop…dumb as dirt.' And now you are seeking a position to work with police departments all over the United States and to give to these officers who risk their lives for you and me, officers who you've referred to as 'dumb as dirt,' you're going to be allocating federal funds? How could you do that?" Durbin pressed Mr. Ligris.

Mr. Ligris claimed that he was not familiar with the context of his own social media posts.

"That's it? At least address the 'dumb as dirt' comment. Say something about it. I hope you say that you made a mistake, you should not have said something like that about law enforcement officers. You want to work with police departments across the United States and this is a matter of record that you think they're 'dumb as dirt'? Clear the record now. Apologize to them. Say something," Durbin urged Mr. Ligris.

Mr. Ligris answered he does not believe that law enforcement officers are not "dumb as dirt," and he repeated that he would need to see his own tweets in context to understand his decision behind tweeting such inflammatory remarks.

"You better set some time aside because there are so many posts, hundreds of posts. I cannot understand how you can do a real job and continue to post every day this continuing dialogue that you have over the years. It just seems to me inconsistent with serving the public," Durbin countered.

"I don't know why you were chosen for this position. You are obviously loyal to the President to some extent, but in terms of dealing with police departments based on this, giving away millions of dollars to law enforcement, it just seems inconsistent to me," Durbin concluded his questioning of Mr. Ligris.

Video of Durbin's questions for Mr. Ligris is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions for Mr. Ligris is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions for Mr. Ligris is available here for TV Stations.

-30-