Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett defended a series of tweets during a confirmation hearing in front of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Willett, a nominee for the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, defended a series of tweets in front of the Senate committee. Willett, a longtime member of the Texas Supreme Court, has become a social media icon, due to his heavy presence on the website. Some in Texas have nicknamed Willett "Twitter Laureate."
During the hearing, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) pressed Willett on a series of tweets made by the judge. In particular, Leahy took issue with two tweets that he said reflected a bias on Willett's part toward members of the LGBT community.
Willett disagreed with Leahy's assessment, saying that he was attempting to add "levity" to the highly complex legal issues.
In response to a question by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) regarding whether he would continue using Twitter, if appointed to the bench, Willett said that he has not put much thought into the issue, but would most likely continue tweeting with a change in his account's content.
Also during the hearing, members of the Senate committee heard from James Ho. Ho is also a nominee for a spot on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
