Democrats attack GOP candidate's record as defense attorney after defending Ketanji Brown Jackson
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is hoping to compete against Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in the November election.
Democrats are taking aim at a GOP gubernatorial candidate in Illinois using similar tactics Republican lawmakers used toward Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, who Democrats fiercely defended.
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) released an attack ad this week targeting Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who's competing in the GOP primary in hopes of defeating Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in November, highlighting his nearly 15-year stint as a criminal defense attorney, something the Chicago Tribune noted was being "ignored" by his "tough-on-crime campaign."
"For 15 years, Irvin has been a defense lawyer, profiting by defending some of the most violent and heinous criminals," the narrator in the ad says.
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The ad then lists Irvin's various defendants including "Domestic abusers and sexual assault," a "kidnaper who molested a child" and "reckless homicide."
"Even accused child pornographers," the narrator stressed, before adding "Richard Irvin has been getting rich by putting criminals back on our streets" and urging Illinois voters, "Tell Richard Irvin to stop pretending to be tough on crime and start supporting policies that keep people safe."
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, seen along the city riverfront on Feb. 3, 2022, is vying for the Republican nomination for governor. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS/ABACAPRESS.COM)
The effort by Democrats to go after Irvin for his record as a defense attorney is in stark contrast to the staunch defense they offered President Biden's Supreme Court nominee, who the GOP scrutinized with similar lines of attack.
Judge Jackson was grilled for her work as a public defender, particularly when serving clients-accused of terrorism detained at Guantanamo Bay.
During her confirmation hearing, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Il., offered a lay-up to Jackson by echoing those who celebrate the work of a defense attorney, something ingrained in the Constitution, before allowing the nominee to address her record.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., similarly touted how Jackson "took an oath to uphold the Constitution" and how her work with Gitmo detainees is "precisely the situation we want our best and our brightest lawyers to step into the fray however politically controversial, we have to make sure that we do not become unmoored from our core commitments of the rule of law."
A letter submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee by members of the Obama administration also wrote, "Capable advocates willing to defend the most reviled in society, without endorsing the crime, is a pillar of our system."
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during the second day of her confirmation hearing, Monday, March 21, 2022, to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democrats, as well as many members of the liberal media, also offered a full-throated defense of Jackson as she faced a barrage of attacks from Republicans over what they allege was her lenient sentencing of those convicted of child pornography possession.
Durbin called such attacks from Republicans "vicious" while Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. decried the "truly poisonous, cynical behavior that trolled through the absolute bottom of what the Senate has done in dark times past."
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Jackson appeared even "more dignified and even majestic" in the face of "shameful, really disgraceful" behavior from Republicans over two long days of questioning. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., described the attacks as "cruel and unfair."
The White House even accused Republicans of "QAnon-signaling," a talking point that was echoed by the media.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, listens as Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown speaks during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)
The Irvin campaign previously released a statement calling the DGA's ad "breathtakingly hypocritical on multiple levels," pointing to current DGA chair Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who was also a defense attorney and highlighting Pritzker's support for Judge Jackson's nomination.
"Instead of manning up, J.B. Pritzker is letting the Democratic Governors Association do his dirty work in maligning the strongest candidate to take him out this November," Irvin for Illinois campaign spokesperson Eleni Demertzis said in a press release. "J.B. Pritzker needs to take the silver spoon out of his mouth and fight his own battles."
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Irvin also fired back releasing two ads of his own, one of them accusing Pritzker of trying to "hijack the Republican primary."
The DGA did not immediately respond to Fox News' inquiries about accusations of hypocrisy. Fox News also reached out to the Irvin campaign for comment.
Fox News' Tyler Olson and Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.
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