Will Senate Democrats cave to an Islamophobic smear campaign?

Adeel Mangi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 13, 2023 (Senate Judiciary Committee Screenshot)

On November 15, 2023, President Biden nominated Adeel Mangi to be a federal appeals court judge in the Third Circuit. Mangi's credentials are unimpeachable. He received his legal training at Oxford and Harvard and has spent more than two decades as one of the nation's most successful litigators, specializing in complex corporate matters. 

Mangi has also volunteered his time to litigate numerous high-profile civil rights cases, including "some of the most closely watched religious freedom cases of the Trump era, which involved two different Muslim communities denied permission to build mosques." He also "tried a lawsuit in 2020 involving the death of a mentally ill African-American inmate who was alleged to have been killed by white prison guards in a retaliatory beating." Mangi frequently represented cross-faith religious groups on a variety of issues, including "DACA, the border wall, and …LGBTQ+ civil rights."

Mangi's nomination is also historic. He would be the first Muslim American to serve on a federal appellate court. Since Mangi was nominated, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have insinuated that Mangi is anti-Semitic and sympathizes with terrorists. These Islamophobic tropes have reportedly convinced some Democrats to oppose Mangi, putting his nomination in jeopardy. 

As a federal appellate judge, Mangi would issue rulings about the application of the law in cases appealed to the Third Circuit. Mangi was not nominated to a position in the State Department or any other role that would involve setting or implementing foreign policy. Nevertheless, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spent most of Mangi's December 13 nomination hearing quizzing him about his personal views on foreign policy issues.

“Do you condemn the atrocities of the Hamas terrorists?” Cruz asked.

“The events of October 7 were a horror involving the deaths of innocent civilians,” Mangi replied. 

Unsatisfied, Cruz asked Mangi if he believed there was "any justification for those atrocities." 

Mangi answered unequivocally. "I have no patience ― none ― for any attempts to justify or defend those events," he said. 

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), not to be outdone, asked Mangi if he "celebrate[s] 9/11." 

Mangi addressed that smear directly. "I don't think anyone can feel more strongly about what happened on 9/11 than someone who was there…I was in New York. I saw what happened. It was my city," Mangi said. "I will condemn, without equivocation, any terrorism, any terrorist, any act of terrorism, or any defense of any act of terrorism." 

"Aggressive questioning unrelated to his professional expertise or qualifications"

The pretext for these questions was Mangi's role as an advisory board member for the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights, which is part of Rutgers Law School, from 2019 to 2023. The purpose of the Center is to "combat bigotry and discrimination and advance religious liberty through academic research." In this role, Mangi participated in an annual meeting where he advised the group on potential areas of academic research. 

Cruz, Kennedy, and others centered their criticism on an event held by the Center on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, which included several controversial speakers, including one, Sami Al-Arian, an activist who pled guilty to providing support to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Mangi told the committee that he did not attend the event, was not aware of it, and his "role on the advisory board did not extend to or include providing advice or approval on the selection of speakers, speaker events, lectures, or workshops." He reiterated that he "condemn[s] all forms of terrorism and any attempted justifications of any acts of terrorism." 

Many of these questions were also asked in writing by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT). "I am ready and prepared to be held accountable for any statement that I have ever made, any word that I have ever written, or any action that I have ever taken," Mangi wrote in response. "I have not been asked, however, about any such statement, word, or action. I am not and should not be held accountable for statements made by people I do not know at events that I was not involved with and only learned about during my appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee."

Mangi stepped down from the Center's advisory board in June 2023. But in written questions, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) included numerous inquiries about the events and social media activity that occurred months after Mangi resigned. 

Notably, Graham also cited criticism of the Center's 9/11 anniversary event by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). But the ADL collaborated with Mangi in his civil rights work and has blasted Graham and others on the Judiciary Committee for their "mistreatment" of Mangi. In a January 9 statement, the ADL said it was "compelled to speak out about the inappropriate and prejudicial treatment of" Mangi. The ADL said that "Mangi was subjected to aggressive questioning unrelated to his professional expertise or qualifications" and "was forced to provide responses to a wide range of inquiries regarding his views on global strategic considerations in a manner that inappropriately politicized these issues and raised serious questions regarding pretext and bias." The ADL concluded that "berating the first American Muslim federal appellate judicial nominee with endless questions that appear to have been motivated by bias towards his religion is profoundly wrong." 

The American Jewish Committee, the National Council of Jewish Women, and numerous other Jewish organizations also denounced the tactics used against Mangi. 

Are the smears working?

The Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), a right-wing dark money group, is amplifying the distasteful attacks by Cruz and other committee Republicans. JCN spent at least $50,000 on digital ads blasting "antisemite Adeel Mangi." The ads encourage moderate Democratic Senators to "vote NO on giving antisemite Adeel Mangi a lifetime position in our courts." 

These unscrupulous tactics appear to be working. Under Senate rules, judicial nominations cannot be filibustered. So, if Democrats remain united behind Mangi, he would be confirmed to the bench. But CNN reported last week that "[m]ultiple Democratic senators and their staff have privately warned the White House in recent days that there does not appear to be enough votes in the Senate." These Democratic Senators are attempting to tank Mangi's nomination anonymously. 

The White House told Popular Information it would continue pushing for Mangi's confirmation. 

"President Biden is proud to have chosen Adeel Mangi, an extraordinarily qualified nominee who is devoted to the rule of law, lived the American dream through hard work, proven his integrity, and would make history on the bench," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. "[T]he White House continues to fight for his confirmation and to repudiate the vicious hate and bigotry with which he has been targeted because of his Muslim faith. Senior staff are calling members on his behalf every day, and no Senator should cave to hateful, undignified lies."