Amy Coney Barrett says Trump offered her nomination 3 days after Ginsburg's death
Barrett speaks after being nominated to the US Supreme Court by President Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House. Photo:; Olivier Douliery/AFP
Amy Coney Barrett said in a questionnaire released by the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that President Trump offered her the Supreme Court nomination on Sept. 21, five days before he announced the pick to the public.
Why it matters: According to the questionnaire, Trump offered Barrett the nomination just three days after Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, suggesting that the president knew early on that Barrett was his pick. Minutes after offering Barrett the nomination, however, Trump told reporters that he had not made up his mind and that five women were on the shortlist.
Flashback: Axios' Jonathan Swan reported in March 2019 that Trump had told confidants he was saving Barrett "for Ginsburg."
What she's saying: Barrett said in the questionnaire that White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows initially called her on Sept. 19, and then again on Sept. 20 to invite her to Washington. Trump also called later that day to confirm the invitation, she wrote.
- "I had meetings with President Trump, Vice President Pence, Mr. Cipollone, and Chief of Staff Meadows in Washington on Monday, September 21, 2020. The President offered me the nomination on that day, and I accepted, subject to finalizing the vetting process," she added.
Worth noting: Barrett revealed in the questionnaire that from 2000 to 2001, she represented the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an affiliate of an exiled Iranian opposition group called MEK, as it petitioned to be removed from the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations. The designation was ultimately removed by the Obama administration in 2012.
Go deeper: Where Amy Coney Barrett stands on the biggest issues