Penn Jillette: ‘Twitter has become more powerful than the courts’

Comedian and magician Penn Jillette emphasized during an interview that aired Thursday the importance of social media in shaping public opinion.

Jillette, speaking in a Hill.TV interview conducted early this month, addressed the topic of presumption of innocence amid allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“I’m really having a lot of trouble because you want to say, if it’s not a legal proceeding, you can say anything you want,” Jillette, who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist,” told Hill.TV’s Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on “Rising.”

“Yet it does seem like Twitter has become more powerful than the courts,” he continued. “It’s a learning process, and it’s going to be very, very messy until we’ve learned that.” 

Jillette’s comments came amid a contentious confirmation battle with three women accusing then-nominee Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in the 1980s.

A hearing in late September with Kavanaugh and his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, drew widespread attention and fueled social media engagement among many in the #MeToo movement.

President Trump weighed in multiple times on the developments during the confirmation fight, saying Kavanaugh was being treated like he was “guilty until proven innocent.”

Kavanaugh was confirmed to the court on Oct. 6.

— Julia Manchester