CNN
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The federal district judge who first blocked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the so-called abortion drug mifepristone was the first to block two of Christian talk radio’s discussions about social issues such as contraception and gay rights during the Senate confirmation process. The interview was not revealed.
In a private radio interview, Matthew Kacsmarik called being gay a “lifestyle” and expressed concern that new norms for “people who are attracted to the same sex” could lead to conflict with religious groups. and called it the latest in a shift in gender norms, starting with “no-fault divorce” and “permissive policies on contraception.”
Mr. Kaczmalik, a federal district judge appointed by President Trump, appeared twice in 2014 on Chosen Generation, a radio show that offers a “biblical constitutional worldview,” and made unreported comments. At the time, Mr. Kaczmalik was serving as deputy general counsel for the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit religious freedom advocacy group known as the Liberty Institute before 2016. was made to appear on a radio show to discuss “homosexual issues”. According to the show’s host.
Federal judicial nominees receive a copy of nearly everything they have ever written or said publicly prior to the confirmation process, as the Senate Judiciary Committee assesses the nominee’s qualifications and personal opinions. Detailed documents must be submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Neither interview was included in documents Kaczmalik filed with the Senate during the judicial nomination process, which first began in 2017.
There were no radio interviews among the 22 media works disclosed by Mr. Kacmarik, which included three radio appearances and 19 written works.
A spokesperson for Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN that the interview is not included in the archived file for Mr. Kaczmalik’s confirmation, and that it contains information about his nomination. He said all documents submitted for the purpose were included.
In a statement to CNN, Kaczmalik said he couldn’t locate the interview when searching for media outlets to disclose it to, and that he doesn’t remember the interview.
“I searched all the media using the Department of Justice-OLP manual and couldn’t find this interview, nor did I recall this incident involving an appearance on a local radio show,” he told CNN. . “After listening to the audio file provided by CNN, I agree that its content is comparable to the legal analysis that appeared throughout my SJQ and was discussed extensively during my Senate confirmation hearing.” , the transcript provided by CNN appears to track the audio and, when quoted in full, accurately describes my responses during the call.”
The Washington Post reported last week that during the judicial nomination process in 2017, Kaczmarik removed his name from a pending legal review article that criticized protections for transgender people and people seeking abortions. However, this was an extremely unusual step for a judicial candidate.
Mr. Kacmarik did not respond to The Post’s request for comment, but a spokesperson for his former employer, First Liberty, said that although the final version was nearly complete, Mr. Kaczmarik’s name remained in the article. It argued that it was a “placeholder” and that Mr. Kachmarik had not provided a “substantive contribution.” According to the paper, it is the same as the one filed in Kacmarik’s name.
Mr. Kaczmarik subsequently submitted supplemental material to the commission in 2019 reflecting interviews and events he had participated in since 2017, but none of the 2014 radio interviews were included.
Democratic senators harshly criticized Kaczmarik’s positions on abortion and LGBTQ rights both during his 2017 nomination hearing and during written questions.
Mr. Kaksmarik worked at First Liberty, and one of his colleagues, General Counsel Jeff Mattia, was also nominated to be a federal judge. But Mater came under intense scrutiny in 2017 after comments made during his own confirmation process revealed he had once compared the United States to Nazi Germany about the “Korean generation.” The comment was made on the same radio program as Kacmarik, but the interview was not made public.
Mateer’s nomination was later revoked. Later, in 2019, the existence of Kacmarik was confirmed.
The interview was shared on social media by Kaczmalik’s employer at the time, Liberty Research Institute. According to the show’s radio host, guests from First Liberty appeared once a week on air and in the archives available online.
In a February 2014 interview, in response to a question about “homosexual issues,” Kacmarik said new social norms around “same-sex marriage” and “people who are attracted to the same sex” could lead to conflicts with religious groups. He expressed concern that this may be the case. .
“Let’s be clear: people who are attracted to the same sex are not personally or solely responsible for the atmosphere of the sexual revolution,” Kaczmalik said. “You know, it’s been a while. It happened after a no-fault divorce. It happened after we implemented a very permissive policy regarding contraception. The sexual revolution went through several stages. . We happen to be at a stage right now where same-sex marriage is at the forefront.”
“However, through progress or setbacks, there is an absolute gap between the traditional Judeo-Christian understanding of marriage and the revisionist, redefined view of marriage seen in last year’s Supreme Court opinion. “I think you can see five areas where significant conflicts arise,” he said before outlining areas such as tax-exempt status, adoption services, federal programs, and discrimination in universities.
He appeared on the show to discuss the federal government’s position on same-sex marriage and those who oppose it following the court’s ruling that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act. The host suggested, and Kacmarik agreed, that those opposed to same-sex marriage could be considered “hostile” enemies of the government, similar to al-Qaeda.
“Yes, I can speak from first-hand experience,” he said, citing his previous work at the Justice Department. “There is a very prevalent mindset in the federal government that characterizes opposition to same-sex marriage and related issues as irrational prejudice at best and a potential hate crime at worst,” he continued.
“For the government to get into this culture war, for the administration to declare that one side is destined to win, that they’re on the wrong side of federal history, this really has been felt throughout the federal government from top to bottom. You’ve been injected, and you’re on the other side,” he added.
Mr. Kaczmalik also appeared on the show in July 2014, when he passed the then-Barack bill that prohibited federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, which did not exempt faith-based organizations. We discussed the executive order signed by President Obama.
Kaczmarik linked the shift in Democratic Party positions on religious freedom issues to “the emergence of this very strong constituency in the LGBT community,” and said the Obama administration would fulfill its campaign promises. Kaczmalik said religious groups that contract with the federal government take risks under the executive order and face “real burdens” for opposing the “new sexual orthodoxy” on gay rights. He said he was deaf.
In a discussion about how religious groups would comply with the new rules, Mr. Kacmarik said the new rules were poorly written and that gays and lesbians who live “celibate” lives a “lifestyle”. He suggested that there was no distinction between people who
“If you look at the letter issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, they point out that the category of sexual orientation is problematic because it is not defined,” he said. “Most of the Abrahamic faith traditions believe that people who feel same-sex attraction but try to live celibate, and people who feel same-sex attraction and make it a lifestyle, and make that lifestyle sexual. These are two distinct categories that most Abrahamic faith traditions recognize.”