We've covered extensively at Townhall how Democrats and their allies in the media have gone after Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-MO) line of questioning when it comes to Judge Ketanji Jackson Brown's sentencing of sex offenders who prey on children. Worse than the so-called fact-checkers, though, is how The Onion has gotten involved. While they are a satire site, their framing of Sen. Hawley is still beyond the pale.
"Josh Hawley Slams Ketanji Brown Jackson For Letting Pedophiles Like Himself Walk Free," the headline reads.
Josh Hawley Slams Ketanji Brown Jackson For Letting Pedophiles Like Himself Walk Free https://t.co/zMyobXOc6Q pic.twitter.com/bBjiuJgOo6
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 22, 2022
The text is even worse. At one point, it suggests that Hawley was looking at child porn while questioning Judge Jackson. Emphasis is added:
WASHINGTON—Calling attention to the U.S. Supreme Court nominee’s “extremely troubling” record, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) slammed Ketanji Brown Jackson Tuesday for letting pedophiles like himself walk free. “There should be no room for leniency when it comes to sentencing depraved child sex offenders like me,” said Hawley, who grilled the judge for failing to lock him securely behind bars in a super-maximum security prison where “dangerous freaks” like him belonged. “This country isn’t safe with people like me roaming around out there. Frankly, it’s sickening that I’m even allowed in this room, let alone public office. I’m literally looking at child porn on my phone right now, and what’s she doing? Just sitting there.” At press time, Hawley added it showed a disturbing lack of judgment that Jackson would even listen to him speak.
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What happened to how The Onion was supposed to be funny? To joke that a sitting senator of any party is a pedophile and looks at child porn is a step too far.
People were quick to express their outrage, as our friends at Twitchy noticed, with many pointing out how Twitter has been censoring The Babylon Bee, another satire site.
If the Babylon Bee wrote this they would be locked out of Twitter. But the DNC humor is allowed.
— Life Explorer ?????? (@LeoNYC) March 22, 2022
@TwitterSupport I’m sure you guys will be banning this satire site now right?
— Dan (@dbrady1221) March 23, 2022
I hope legal checked this out beforehand
— (((John))) is mad on the Internet (@tehoriman) March 22, 2022
The Tuesday article from The Onion came hours before an intense back-and-forth between Sen. Hawley and Judge Jackson, during which she defended her record on sentencing sex offenders, which included giving an 18-year-old offender three months of jail time.
Absolutely BRUTAL questions from @HawleyMO to Judge Jackson as he recites her own words back to her:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 22, 2022
"Judge, he was 18. These kids are 8. I don't see in what sense they're peers." pic.twitter.com/Xk9gZO4rtU
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) took issue with Judge Jackson's record as well.
Sen. @tedcruz calculates exactly how lenient Judge Jackson has been on child pornography offenders:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 22, 2022
"Do you believe the voice of the children is heard when 100% of the time you're sentencing those in possession of child pornography to far below what the prosecutor's asking for?" pic.twitter.com/t6c1gWN8hG
Her record has been scrutinized by other senators throughout the week, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
GRAHAM: "The best way to deter people from getting on a computer and viewing thousands and hundreds...of children being exploited and abused...is to put their ass in jail, not supervise their computer usage!" pic.twitter.com/xuDTkUY587
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 23, 2022
Judge Jackson: "In comes the internet...with one click you can receive, you can distribute tens of thousands. You can be doing this for 15 minutes and all of a sudden, you are looking at 30, 40, 50 years in prison."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 23, 2022
Graham: "Good! Good! Absolutely! Good!" pic.twitter.com/iiuxnNu2NE
Judge Jackson: We should "be rational" with people who have received or distributed "thousands of images" of child pornography. pic.twitter.com/qLz8MreMQT
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 23, 2022
The Onion has also targeted Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in their coverage of the hearings.
“Judge Jackson, I’m struggling to understand how you expect to serve on the the highest court in the land without having spent a single day as a Supreme Court justice,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). pic.twitter.com/oC9aaeAauM
— The Onion (@TheOnion) March 22, 2022
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