Barrett to Sen. Coons: I won’t be a ‘pawn’ for Trump if he challenges the election

The judge said she wanted to make as clear as possible that she would be her own woman.

• By Philip Ewing/NPR

(Washington) — Amy Coney Barrett told Democrats Tuesday that she would take recusal seriously if any case reaches the Supreme Court involving President Trump’s election — then stated more strongly that she would not be Trump’s “pawn.”

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons revived the question about an election dispute during his portion of the hearing on Tuesday afternoon. The judge said she wanted to make as clear as possible that she would be her own woman.

“I do assure you of my integrity,” she continued, “and I do assure you that I would take that question very seriously.”

The federal recusal statutes, which Barrett and Coons discussed, contemplate a judge absenting herself from a case if she has a conflict — a relationship with one of the parties in the case, for example — or the appearance that the judge can’t be fair.

Democrats have criticized appointees they consider too loyal to Trump personally and not to their duties, such as Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, whom critics call the president’s factotum within the spy world.

Ratcliffe vowed at his confirmation hearing, in tones like those used by Barrett on Tuesday, that he was his own man and that he would discharge his duties accordingly.

Coons and Democrats, however, are leery following Trump’s comments and past practices. Barrett, meanwhile, has restated over and over that she isn’t willing to talk in detail about how she might rule if confirmed; all she can do, she said, is promise she’ll reach decisions the right way.