Republicans Cast Second Circuit Nominee as Soft on Crime (2)

Alison Nathan, a federal appeals court nominee overseeing the sex-trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell as a federal trial court judge, faced Republican questions at a Senate confirmation hearing about how she’s handled criminal cases.

Nathan, who has served on the Southern District of New York for ten years, is now nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Her role overseeing the trial of Maxwell, alleged to have enabled Jeffrey Epstein, didn’t come up during her appearance before the Senate Judiciary
Committee Wednesday.

Instead, Republicans—including Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Josh Hawley (Mo.)—focused on ...