Politics

GOP Senator Accuses Biden Nominee Vanita Gupta Of Lying Under Oath During Confirmation Hearing

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
Font Size:

Texas Sen. John Cornyn on Thursday accused Vanita Gupta, the nominee for associate attorney general, of lying under oath regarding her past position on the legalization of hard drugs, which the Republican says should disqualify her from office.

“I believe Ms. Gupta’s deception, her lack of remorse, her dishonesty when it comes to answering straightforward questions disqualifies her for the office of associate attorney general,” Cornyn said in a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting.

Cornyn was focused on Gupta’s remarks during her March 17 confirmation hearing when asked about her position on drug legalization.

“I have never advocated for decriminalization of all drugs, and I do not support decriminalization of all drugs,” Gupta told Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley during the hearing. (RELATED: GOP Senator Presses Vanita Gupta Over Investment In Chemical Company That Makes Key Heroin Ingredient)

During the hearing and again on Thursday, Cornyn pointed to an editorial that Gupta wrote for The Huffington Post in 2012 in which she expressed support for decriminalizing all drugs.

“States should decriminalize simple possession of all drugs, particularly marijuana, and for small amounts of other drugs,” Gupta and a co-author wrote in the Huffington Post piece.

“To me, the most important word in that quote is ‘never,'” said Cornyn, referring back to Gupta’s answer on March 17.

“Because as you can see it’s simply a misrepresentation of what she said in 2012.”

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 15: Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) makes a statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the fourth day of Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on October 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away in September. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on the fourth day of Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on October 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

“Then she lied about it, to you, to me, under oath,” the Republican continued, adding that, Gupta “was unequivocal in her statement that she opposes the decriminalization of all drugs.”

Gupta indicated later on in the March 17 hearing that she has changed her position on legalization of some drugs beyond marijuana.

She said that experiences with family members and during a stint in the Obama Justice Department led her to change her views on the issue.

Democrats defended Gupta against the GOP onslaught on Thursday.

“How many of us have not changed a position on any major issue, and certainly on this issue,” Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the judiciary panel, said after Cornyn’s remarks.

“I’m struggling to understand the fierce opposition of Republicans to this nominee,” said Durbin, who called Gupta an “extraordinary” nominee.

“Yet she continues to be labeled as soft on crime or wanting to defund police, and there’s no truth to that whatsoever,” Durbin said.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel