Kavanaugh's Post-9/11 Decisions Prove His Commitment to the Rule of Law

RNLA Executive Director Michael Thielen wrote today in the Daily Caller about how Judge Brett Kavanaugh's personal experiences on and after 9/11 and his subsequent actions demonstrate his independence and his respect for the rule of law:

In response to questions from Senators Lindsay Graham and John Cornyn, Brett Kavanaugh described how he was at the White House that Tuesday morning, in the West Wing, when the second World Trade Center Tower was hit and the world realized that this was not an accident but a deliberate act of terrorism. . . . Kavanaugh recounted how . . . the focus of President George W. Bush on September 12 was that this sort of attack would not happen again, and how he was with Bush every day from 2003 to his confirmation in 2006, seeing firsthand the former president’s commitment to preventing another terrorist attack.

Brett Kavanaugh favored a race-neutral approach to protecting Americans against a future terrorist attack and specifically rejected racial profiling just four months after 9/11:

Security measures that might seem unthinkable to us now, including racial profiling, enjoyed widespread support among people, politicians and government staff alike. Brett Kavanaugh had the integrity and moral courage to stand against the popular fervor to provide security at almost any cost and only support security measures that were correct both legally and morally.

After joining the D.C. Circuit, Judge Kavanaugh overturned the conviction of Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard and driving because the conviction violated the Constitution's prohibition on ex post facto laws (in Hamdan v. US):

When Sen. Cornyn wondered how Judge Kavanaugh could possibly do that, he responded, “The rule of law applies to all who come before the courts of the United States.” He said even enemy combatants and non-citizens are entitled to “equal justice under law.”

Mr. Thielen concluded:

As we pause this week to remember the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11, the lives lost and the heroic sacrifices of many Americans on that morning seventeen years ago and in the years since, let us not forget that respect for the rule of law is what sets us apart from so many other places where terrorism flourishes and what makes us a target for violent extremists in the first place. . . . America is great because a judge who experienced the effects of and response to terrorism firsthand can follow the Constitution, even when it compels an unpopular result in favor of a terrorist.

On this day and every day, let us remember that the "rule of law and respect for the Constitution creates the freedom that protects us all."  By protecting that freedom, we honor the memory and sacrifice of those who died on September 11, 2001, and all who have given their lives since to protect us from the threat of terrorism.