Pakistani American Adeel Mangi’s Confirmation to Federal Appeals Court in Jeopardy Amid Opposition From Two Democrat Senators
- While Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada is concerned about his affiliation with the Alliance of Families for Justice, Sen. Joe Manchin cited lack of bipartisan support for the nominee as his reason.
Pakistani American lawyer Adeel Mangi’s chances to become the first Muslim appointed to a federal appeals court seem to be over. Two Senate Democrats are now opposing the nomination, along with the growing criticism and pushback from the GOP. Since his notation last November to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, the 46-year-old has been facing a “malicious” line of questioning about his views on Israel, terrorism, and antisemitism.
So far, the opposition came from the Republicans, but this week Democratic Senators Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced that they would not be supporting Mangi’s nomination, almost making it certain that he might not have the simple majority needed to be confirmed.
Republicans have described him as an antisemite and have attempted to link him to Hamas and other terrorist groups. They have criticized him for his involvement in the Rutgers Law School Center for Security, Race, and Rights, condemning its decision to host an event on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that featured as a speaker Sami Al-Arian, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy to provide services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
For Cortez Masto, his affiliation with the Alliance of Families for Justice is “deeply concerning,” she said in a statement. Mangi serves as an advisory board member to the New York-based criminal justice reform group, which advocates on behalf of families affected by mass incarceration “This organization has sponsored a fellowship in the name of Kathy Boudin, a member of the domestic terrorist organization Weather Underground, and advocated for the release of individuals convicted of killing police officers,” she said. “I cannot support this nominee.”
Manchin, on the other hand, said he “opposes Mangi,” because henceforth, he will support only judicial nominees who have at least one GOP vote,” an NBC report said. “I don’t think he has any bipartisan support, and I’ve just come to the conclusion I’m not going to continue to go down this path,” he told media outlets on March 21, the NBC report said. “I believe so strongly in bipartisanship, I believe so strongly in preserving the filibuster, and here we go down this path, lifetime appointments — I just say, enough’s enough.”
On the Republican side, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who is not on the Judiciary Committee, told NBC she “hadn’t looked into Mangi and wasn’t ready to take a position.” She said she will “base her decision on various factors, including his judicial experience.” Similarly, Judiciary Committee ranking member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). told NBC doesn’t see any Republicans voting for Mangi.
“I think they ought to pull this one,” Graham said, “If you look the way I’ve voted, I’ve voted for a high percentage. This is a bridge too far.”
While White House and Senate Democrats have said they weren’t giving up Mangi’s nomination, Politico notes “They have a ton of work to do.” The publication also reported two other Democrats — Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin —- who “declined to say they’d back the pick in interviews earlier this week.
In a statement to Politico, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Biden is proud to have nominated Mangi for the post. Urging Senate Democrats to ignore “a malicious and debunked smear campaign” against his nomination, he said, “every Senate Democrat should side with the qualities that make America exceptional — which Mr. Mangi embodies — not the hateful forces trying to force America into the past.”
Right from his first confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December, “Republican senators did not ask him about his legal background or judicial philosophy,” Lydia Polgreen writes in an opinion piece in The New York Times. Sen. Ted Cruz (D-Texas) asked Mangi whether he condemned the atrocities of Hamas terrorists, “ she notes, adding that the nominee has “no connection to Hamas or Palestinians other than the fact that he is Muslim, along with 1.8 billion other people across the globe.”
Several law enforcement groups, including the National Sheriffs’ Association and the National Association of Police Organizations, have come out opposed to Mangi, citing his association with the Alliance of Families for Justice.
Mangi serves as an advisory board member to the New York-based criminal justice reform group, which advocates on behalf of families affected by mass incarceration. Republicans and the law enforcement groups opposed to Mangi have portrayed it as an association that advocates for “cop-killers to be freed from prison,” as the head of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association put it in a letter.
In response, Mangi denounced terrorism and antisemitism. He said the advisory board of the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights “met once a year and focused on academic research on areas such as Religious Land Use and the Institutionalized Persons Act.” He reiterated that he “did not conduct research on events, speakers or people that have nothing to do with me.”
Despite Mangi’s stand, opposition from the Republican Senators has led to a broader attack on him. The Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), a conservative judicial advocacy organization launched a digital ad campaign blasting him. The ad titled “Stop Antisemitic Adeel,” highlights his “refusal in his hearing to condemn the hateful and anti-American views of the center, [Rutgers Law School Center for Security, Race, and Rights]” JCN said in a statement. “The ads airing in Montana and Pennsylvania also urge Senators Jon Tester and Bob Casey to vote ‘no’ on Mangi’s nomination to prevent him from a lifetime appointment on the federal court,” it adds. “While Mangi served on its board of advisors, the center taught students to hate Israel and America and to support global terrorism, blaming America for the 9/11 terrorist attacks — and most recently blaming Israel for the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th.”
According to Polgreen, “abandoning Mangi’s nomination would be an unconscionable act at any time, but especially perilous for Democrats in the current political climate, when tens of thousands of Democratic primary voters in key states are expressing their outrage at Biden’s policy in Gaza by voting uncommitted.” Meanwhile,” the right is using the attacks on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza as a means to imply that any Muslim could be pro-Hamas or antisemitic,” she continues. “If Democrats acquiesce, they will set a dangerous precedent.”
Waleed Shahid, a veteran Democratic operative who has helped spearhead the uncommitted movement told Polgreen that “by allowing the far right to frame Mangi’s historic nomination with bogus Islamophobic smears and divide-and-conquer Senate Democrats, we aren’t just losing a nominee; we’re surrendering the entire debate on our core values of multiracial democracy and religious freedom.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), one of the leading Mangi backers, took the Senate floor to defend Mangi’s “remarkable career and awe-inspiring character.” He praised Mangi, noted the support he’s received from legal and advocacy groups (including Jewish groups), and castigated Republicans for the line of attack they’ve chosen. “What American has to defend their condemnation for the 9/11 attacks?” Booker said. “What American has to declare that they don’t support terrorism? What American? Adeel Mangi, who happens to be a Muslim American. This is disgusting. This reeks of old-style attacks to appeal to fear to smear someone’s character based upon who they are, based upon their faith.” He later told Politico he’s “concerned about the outrageous attacks that are happening to him that have nothing to do with fact.”
Similarly, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) defended Mangi on the floor. He described the nominee as “a highly qualified nominee with incredible credentials and more than two decades of litigation experience.” But, Durbin noted that “he has gone through scrutiny unlike anything I have ever seen,” he said. “Unfortunately, many of the questions that have been raised about Mangi and his background have created suspicions in people’s minds that his religion is the reason for the questioning,” he said. “Treatment of this highly qualified nominee has sometimes reached an all-time low.”
Several groups have supported Mangi and blasted the criticism against him, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which combats antisemitism,
(Top photo, screengrab PBS/New Hour)