Tipsheet

Now Democrats are Questioning the 'Circumstances' Around Amy Coney Barrett's Adoptions

Cortney O'Brien
Cortney O'Brien  |  September 26, 2020 3:15 PM

We expected to hear more attacks about Amy Coney Barrett's Catholic faith in the coming weeks, as a rehashing of Sen. Dianne Feinstein's interrogation in 2017 when Barrett was President Trump's 7th Circuit Court of Appeals nominee. Now that Trump is hours away from announcing her as his Supreme Court nominee, nothing is apparently off limits.

Bill Maher left nothing to the imagination as to how he feels about the nominee. He called her a "f***ing nut" during his monologue Friday night, before calling her a "speaking in tongues" Catholic.

But there's a new line of attack that may be too cruel for words. Democrats now appear to be questioning the "circumstances" surrounding Barrett's two adopted children from Haiti.

“Some adoptions from Haiti were legit. Many were sketchy as hell,” suggested Democratic activist and former Capitol Hill staffer Dana Houle in a now-deleted tweet. “Would it matter if her kids were scooped up by ultra-religious Americans, or…when there was family in Haiti?”

John Brougher, the managing director of Tom Steyer's NextGenAmerica, also decided to make a racial issue out of it.

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"As an adoptee, I need to know more about the circumstances of how Amy Coney Barrett came to adopt her children, and the treatment of them since," Brougher wrote on Twitter. "Transracial adoption is fraught with trauma and potential for harm, and everything I see here is deeply disturbing."

On Brougher's Twitter account he notes that he was once associated with former Texas state senator Wendy Davis, who once launched an unsuccessful run for governor after gaining fame for an 11-hour filibuster against a pro-life bill. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) wondered if Davis was going to speak out on Brougher's controversial take.

Barrett beamed about her seven children during her 2017 confirmation hearings. She introduced Vivian as her 13-year-old "miracle" who was born in Haiti and came home with her and her husband Jesse at just 14 months old. She was so weak at the time they were told that she may never walk or speak normally.

"Today she is a track star and I can assure you she has no trouble talking," Barrett warmly joked. 

John Peter joined their family in 2010 when he was three years old after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. 

Of course, there are some critics who wonder how Barrett can dare to have any children at all.

See below for the only correct response to that hot take.