AP FACT CHECK: Republicans twist Jackson's judicial record

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the court of public opinion — like the Supreme Court nomination hearings coming this week — politicians ask questions of witnesses to score points for their side. In the court of law, judges ask questions to get answers.

That difference will be on display as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson fields loaded questions from Republicans and Democrats, the former mostly opposing her nomination, the latter favoring it.

But the distinction between political and judicial inquiry has already been lost as Republicans in the days before her hearings selectively cited her record to try to make a case against her. They are treating questions from her judge's life over the years as statements of opinion to portray her as an outlier not deserving of a seat on the high court.

Their assertions on this front don't stand up to scrutiny:

GOP SEN. JOSH HAWLEY OF MISSOURI: “Judge Jackson has opined there may be a type of ‘less-serious child pornography offender.' ... ’A ‘less-serious’ child porn offender?” — tweet Wednesday.

THE FACTS: She opined no such thing. She asked questions about it.

Jackson was vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission when it held a hearing on sentencing guidelines in 2012.

She told the hearing she was surprised at a Justice Department expert's testimony that, as she put it, some child-sex offenders may actually “not be pedophiles” but perhaps "loners" looking for like-minded company in child pornography circles. Being surprised by an assertion and wanting to know more are not the same as endorsing it.

“So I’m wondering whether you could say that there is a — that there could be a — less-serious child pornography offender who is engaging in the type of conduct in the group experience level?" she asked the expert witness. "They’re very...