Some social media users are asking if Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's former law clerk flashed a white-power symbol during the first day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Some on Twitter were accusing Zina Bash of briefly making what they called a white-power sign by making an “OK” sign. The other three fingers, some say, make the “w” signal that stands for “white.”
Zina Bash, who clerked for Judge Kavanaugh and also worked in the Trump administration as a special assistant on regulatory reform and legal and immigration policy, now works as a senior counsel for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Her husband, John Bash, is the United States attorney for Western Texas. John Bash defended his wife with a series of tweets late Tuesday calling the comments about a white supremacy symbol repulsive.
"Everyone tweeting this vicious conspiracy theory should be ashamed of themselves," John Bash wrote. "We weren't even familiar with the hateful symbol being attributed to her for the random way she rested her hand during a long hearing."
Zina Bash’s name began trending on social media Tuesday afternoon after several Twitter personalities accused her of making the symbol.
Actor Tom Arnold called out Zina Bash's husband, saying, "straight up gave the White Power sign to camera today for Steven Miller & her buds watching #KavanaughConfirmation on tv."
The Washington Post reported that Mark Pitcavage, a researcher who studies extremism, "shared the feelings of many when he dismissed the controversy in a statement on Twitter."
"Out of all the things you should be legitimately concerned about regarding the Senate confirmation hearings in Washington, DC, today for Judge Kavanaugh," he wrote, "handshakes and handsigns ought not be among them. Actual serious constitutional issues are at stake."
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