Tag: brett kavanaugh

Kavanaugh Accuser Wants FBI Investigation Before She Will Testify

Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in California, has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her and trying to remove her clothing while he was drunk at a suburban Maryland party in 1982 when they were both high school students, allegations Kavanaugh has called “completely false.”

Washington: A woman who has accused President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of sexual assault decades ago wants her allegations to be investigated by the FBI before she appears at a US Senate hearing, her lawyers said on Tuesday.

The development further roiled a confirmation process that once seemed smooth for Kavanaugh, whose confirmation to the lifetime post could consolidate the conservative grip on the top US court.

Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in California, has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her and trying to remove her clothing while he was drunk at a suburban Maryland party in 1982 when they were both high school students, allegations Kavanaugh has called “completely false.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the nomination, had called a hearing for Monday to examine the matter, and the White House had said Kavanaugh was ready to testify.

In a letter to the committee’s chairman, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, Ford’s attorneys said an FBI investigation needed to come first.

“A full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions,” the lawyers wrote. A copy of the letter was posted on the committee’s website.

Grassley said there is no reason to delay Ford’s testimony and an invitation for her to appear before the committee on Monday stands.

“Dr Ford’s testimony would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events. Nothing the FBI or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what Dr Ford tells the committee, so there is no reason for any further delay,” Grassley said in a statement.

Democrats, already fiercely opposed to the nominee, have also been seeking an FBI investigation, a request that Republicans have rebuffed. Trump and other Republicans said they did not think the FBI needed to be involved.

A hearing would represent a potential make-or-break moment for the conservative federal appeals court judge’s confirmation chances, as Trump pursues his goal of moving the federal judiciary to the right.

“The Supreme Court is one of the main reasons I got elected President. I hope Republican Voters, and others, are watching, and studying, the Democrats Playbook,” Trump tweeted late on Tuesday.

Republicans control the Senate by only a narrow margin, meaning any defections within the party could sink the nomination and deal a major setback to Trump.

Earlier on Tuesday, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the committee’s Republicans, said the panel would vote on the nomination next week whether or not Ford testified. A vote in committee would be a precursor to action in the full Senate.

“If she does not want to come Monday, publicly or privately, we’re going to move on and vote Wednesday,” he told Fox News Channel.

Trump stands by nominee

In a statement on Monday, a representative for the Justice Department said the FBI had followed protocol forwarding information about the allegation to the White House.

“The FBI’s role in such matters is to provide information for the use of the decision makers,” the statement said.

Trump earlier on Tuesday stepped up his defence of Kavanaugh and expressed sympathy toward his nominee, who met with officials at the White House for a second straight day, although not with the president.

“I feel so badly for him that he’s going through this, to be honest with you,” Trump told a news conference. “This is not a man that deserves this.”

“Hopefully the woman will come forward, state her case. He will state his case before representatives of the United States Senate. And then they will vote,” Trump added.

Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, appeared to cast doubt on Ford’s allegations.

“We just don’t know what happened 36 years ago and there are gaps in her memory. She doesn’t know how she got there, when it was, and so that would logically be something where she would get questions,” Cornyn told reporters.

Cornyn’s fellow Republicans have generally avoided criticising Ford, instead castigating Democrats for not revealing her allegations earlier.

The confirmation fight comes just weeks before the November 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress from Trump’s fellow Republicans, which would be a major blow to the president’s agenda.

A demonstrator against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who refused to give her name, holds a sign reading “Men Who Don’t Listen 2 Women Cannot Lead Our Nation,” as she protests outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in the wake of a woman’s accusation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 17, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Mike Segar

‘Hate mail, harassment, death threats’

Ford detailed her allegation in a letter sent in July to Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s top Democrat. The letter’s contents leaked last week and Ford identified herself in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday that included details about the alleged assault.

In a statement, Feinstein, said the committee should accede to Ford’s wishes and postpone Monday’s hearing.

“A proper investigation must be completed, witnesses interviewed, evidence reviewed and all sides spoken to. Only then should the chairman set a hearing date,” she said in a statement.

Lisa Banks, an attorney for Ford, told CNN her client was dealing with “hate mail, harassment, death threats” and that her immediate focus was protecting herself and her family.

Democrats have objected to the proposed hearing format, with Feinstein arguing there should be more than just two witnesses, possibly to include people in whom Ford previously confided. The committee’s Democrats said witnesses should include Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge, who Ford has said witnessed the alleged incident.

A lawyer representing Judge sent a letter to Grassley saying Judge did not want to speak publicly about the matter.

“In fact, I have no memory of this alleged incident. Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Dr Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr Ford describes,” the letter quoted Judge as saying.

Judge is the author of a 1997 memoir titled “Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk,” which recounts his experiences as a teenage alcoholic.

One Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, said Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination.

“I believe Dr Ford. I believe the survivor here,” Blumenthal said. “She has come forward courageously and bravely, knowing she would face a nightmare of possible and vicious scrutiny.”

The showdown has echoes of current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ contentious confirmation hearings in 1991 involving sexual harassment allegations lodged against him by a law professor named Anita Hill.

Thomas, the court’s second black justice, was ultimately confirmed, but only after a nasty televised hearing in which Hill faced pointed questions from Republican senators and the nominee said he was the victim of “a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks.”

(Reuters)

US Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegation

The New Yorker magazine reported on Friday that Democrat Feinstein’s office received a letter detailing a woman’s alleged encounter with Kavanaugh

Washington: US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday denied an allegation of sexual misconduct dating back to when he was a high school student, and a senior Republican senator said there was no reason to delay his confirmation to the court.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Thursday she received information about Kavanaugh from a person she declined to identify, and that she had referred the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The New Yorker magazine reported on Friday that in July, shortly after President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh, Feinstein’s office received a letter detailing a woman’s alleged encounter with Kavanaugh while they were high school students.

It said the woman had accused Kavanaugh of trying to force himself on her at a party, holding her down and covering her mouth with his hand, but that she was able to free herself. Neither Feinstein nor the magazine identified the woman.

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation,” Kavanaugh, 53, said in a statement put out by the White House on Friday. “I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

Democrats have fought Kavanaugh‘s nomination and are seeking to delay his confirmation.

A spokesman for the committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley, on Friday said the planned committee vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation would proceed next Thursday as scheduled.

“Judge Kavanaugh has undergone six FBI full-field investigations from 1993 to 2018,” he said in a statement. “No such allegation resembling the anonymous claims ever surfaced in any of those 6 FBI reports.”

Feinstein’s office did not immediately respond to a request on Friday for comment.

A conservative federal appeals court judge nominated by Trump to the lifetime position on the nine-member high court, Kavanaugh made no major missteps in questioning by senators during his confirmation hearing last week.

Trump’s fellow Republicans control the Senate by a narrow margin. With no sign yet of any Republicans planning to vote against Kavanaugh, he seems poised to win confirmation despite Democratic opposition.

In party-line votes, the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday rejected motions by Democratic senators seeking access to more documents relating to Kavanaugh‘s service in the White House under Republican President George W. Bush more than a decade ago.

A final Senate confirmation vote is likely by the end of the month.

(Reuters)

Chaos Reigns in the US Senate Hearing on Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s Supreme Court Pick

The Democrats complained about Republicans withholding documents about the nominee’s past White House service while demonstrators voiced concern about what they saw as the threat posed by Brett Kavanaugh to abortion rights, healthcare access and gun control.

Washington: Chaos engulfed the US Senate confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick, as Democrats on Tuesday complained bitterly about Republicans withholding documents about the nominee’s past White House service and shouting protesters were arrested in droves.

More than seven hours went by during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing before Kavanaugh, the conservative federal appeals court judge Trump selected for a lifetime job on the top US judicial body, got to deliver his opening statement.

Kavanaugh, nominated by a president who has often criticized the federal judiciary, told the senators that “a judge must be independent, not swayed by public pressure. Our independent judiciary is the crown jewel of our constitutional republic.”

With Democratic senators repeatedly interrupting the committee’s Republican chairman Chuck Grassley at the outset of the hearing, the session quickly became a ruckus. US Capitol police said 61 protesters were removed from the room and charged with disorderly conduct, along with nine more outside the hearing.

Democrats decried the withholding of the documents and sought to have the proceedings adjourned, as Grassley struggled to maintain order.

“This is the first confirmation for a Supreme Court justice I’ve seen, basically, according to mob rule,” Republican Senator John Cornyn said, a characterization Democrats rejected.

“What we’ve heard is the noise of democracy,” Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said.

Protesters, mostly women, took turns yelling as senators spoke, shouting, “This is a travesty of justice,” “Our democracy is broken” and “Vote no on Kavanaugh.” Demonstrators voiced concern about what they saw as the threat posed by Kavanaugh to abortion rights, healthcare access and gun control.

Democratic Senator Cory Booker appealed to Grassley’s “sense of decency and integrity” and said the withholding of the documents by Republicans and the White House left lawmakers unable to properly vet Kavanaugh.

“We cannot possibly move forward. We have not had an opportunity to have a meaningful hearing,” Democratic Senator Kamala Harris said.

Grassley deemed the Democrats’ request to halt the hearing “out of order” and accused them of obstruction. Republicans hold a slim Senate majority and can confirm Kavanaugh if they stay united. There were no signs of Republican defections.

Trump blasted the Democrats on Twitter, saying the hearing was “truly a display of how mean, angry and despicable the other side is” and accusing them of “looking to inflict pain and embarrassment” on Kavanaugh.

If confirmed, Kavanaugh, 53, is expected to move the court – which already had a conservative majority – further to the right. Senate Democratic leaders have vowed a fierce fight to try to block his confirmation. Democrats signalled they would press Kavanaugh on abortion, gun rights and presidential power when they get to question him starting on Wednesday in a hearing due to run through Friday.

Democrats have demanded in vain to see documents relating Kavanaugh’s time as staff secretary to former Republican President George W. Bush from 2003 to 2006. That job involved managing paper flow from advisers to Bush. Republicans also have released some, but not all, documents concerning Kavanaugh’s two prior years as a lawyer in Bush’s White House Counsel’s Office.

Republicans have said Democrats have more than enough documents to assess Kavanaugh’s record, including his 12 years of judicial opinions as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., September 4, 2018. Chip Somodevilla/Pool Credits: Reuters

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his Supreme Court confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., September 4, 2018. Chip Somodevilla/Pool Credits: Reuters

‘Last line of defence’

Kavanaugh sat, fingers intertwined, quietly staring ahead at committee members as protesters in the audience screamed while being dragged out of the room. He occasionally jotted notes on paper.

When he finally got to speak, Kavanaugh called the Supreme Court “the last line of defence for the separation of powers (in the US government), and the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution.”

“The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution,” added Kavanaugh, who also paid tribute to his family and the justice he is nominated to replace, the retiring Anthony Kennedy.

Republican Orrin Hatch accused Democratic senators of political opportunism, noting, “We have folks who want to run for president,” though he did not mention any by name. There has been speculation Booker and Harris might consider 2020 presidential runs.

Hatch grew visibly irritated as protesters interrupted him.

“I think we ought to have this loudmouth removed,” Hatch said.

As the hearing paused for a lunch break, Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland, Florida high school mass shooting in February, tried to talk to Kavanaugh but the nominee turned away. Video of the encounter was shared widely on social media.

“I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence,” Guttenberg wrote on Twitter afterward.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said security intervened before Kavanaugh could shake Guttenberg’s hand.

The Democratic frustrations that boiled over on Tuesday had been simmering for more than two years. Democrats have accused Senate Republican leaders of stealing a Supreme Court seat by refusing to consider former Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominee to the high court, Merrick Garland in 2016, allowing Trump to fill a Supreme Court vacancy instead.

Republicans last year also reduced the margin for advancing Supreme Court nominations from 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate to a simple majority in order to force through the confirmation of Trump’s first high court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

The Senate is likely to vote on confirmation by the end of September. The court begins its next term in October.

The hearing gave Democrats a platform to make their case against Kavanaugh ahead of November’s congressional elections in which they are seeking to seize control of Congress from Republicans.

Liberals are concerned Kavanaugh could provide a decisive fifth vote on the nine-justice court to overturn or weaken the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion nationwide.

Kavanaugh is likely to be questioned about his views on investigating sitting presidents and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign.

(Reuters)

Trump Nominates Conservative Judge Kavanaugh for US Supreme Court

Though some Democrats promise a serious effort in the Senate to block his appointment, the narrow Republican majority in the Senate can ensure it.

Washington: President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court on Monday (July 9) as he aimed to entrench its conservative control for years to come, but the federal appeals court judge faces a tough confirmation fight in the bitterly divided Senate.

While some Democrats promised a stern effort to block the 53-year-old Kavanaugh – who has served 12 years on the most influential US appeals court – Trump‘s fellow Republicans control the Senate by a narrow margin and can ensure confirmation if they avoid defections from their ranks.

If confirmed, Kavanaugh would replace long-serving conservative justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on June 27 at age 81. Kavanaugh became Trump‘s second lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest judicial body in his 18 months in office.

Kavanaugh is a well-known figure in Washington and has been involved in some of the biggest controversies of the past two decades. He helped investigate Democratic former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s working for independent counsel Kenneth Starr. He was on Republican George W. Bush’s team in the contentious Florida recount fight in the 2000 presidential election, then served as a senior official in Bush’s White House.

“Throughout legal circles he’s considered a judge‘s judge, a true thought leader among his peers,” Trump, who named conservative justice Neil Gorsuch to the court last year, told an applauding audience in the White House East Room.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 9, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Jim Bourg

“He’s a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. And just like justice Gorsuch, he excelled as a legal clerk for justice Kennedy,” Trump added, saying Kavanaugh “deserves a swift confirmation and robust bipartisan support.”

The appointment will not change the ideological breakdown of a court that already has a 5-4 conservative majority, but nevertheless could move the court to the right. Kennedy sometimes joined the liberal justices on key rulings on divisive social issues like abortion and gay rights, a practice his replacement may not duplicate.

Kavanaugh has amassed a solidly conservative judicial record since 2006 on the influential US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the same court where three current justices including Chief Justice John Roberts previously served. Some conservative activists have questioned whether he would rule sufficiently aggressively as a justice.

Like the 50-year-old Gorsuch, Kavanaugh potentially could serve on the high court for decades. Trump‘s other leading candidates for the post were fellow federal appellate judges Thomas Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge and Amy Coney Barrett.

“My judicial philosophy is straightforward: a judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history, and tradition and precedent,” Kavanaugh said during the ceremony in which he emphasized his family and his Roman Catholic faith.

Kavanaugh survived a protracted confirmation fight after Bush picked nominated him to the appeals court in 2003. Some Democrats accused him of excessive partisanship, and it took three years before the Senate eventually voted to confirm him.

Republicans hold a slim 51-49 Senate majority, and with ailing senator John McCain battling cancer in his home state of Arizona they currently can muster only 50 votes. Senate rules still leave Democrats with scant options to block confirmation by themselves, though Trump must prevent Republican defections.

Moderate Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski said they could carefully vet Kavanaugh before deciding how to vote. Democratic senators serving in Republican-leaning states including Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota made similar remarks, though top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer blasted Trump‘s pick.

U.S. President Donald Trump introduces his Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 9, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Leah Millis

‘Rights and freedoms’

“In selecting judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, President Trump has put reproductive rights and freedoms and healthcare protections for millions of Americans on the judicial chopping block,” Schumer said.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who earlier in the day accused the “far left” of “scare tactics” to try to thwart the nomination, called Kavanaugh “a superb choice.”

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Kavanaugh was informed on Sunday night he would be the nominee, adding that “what really tipped the scales was the consistency” the judge had shown on the appeals court. The official said the White House reached out to every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold confirmation hearings, and that only Democrat Kamala Harris “refused to engage.”

Trump last year appointed Gorsuch, who has already become one of the most conservative justices, after Senate Republicans in 2016 refused to consider Democratic former President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland to fill a vacancy left by the death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia. As a result, Democrats have accused Republicans of stealing a Supreme Court seat. Gorsuch restored the court‘s conservative majority.

Kavanaugh worked for Starr, whose investigation of Clinton helped spur an effort by congressional Republicans in 1998 and 1999 to impeach the Democratic president and remove him from office. Kavanaugh in 2009 changed his tune on the Starr probe, arguing that presidents should be free from civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions and investigations while in office.

Trump defeated Clinton’s wife, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 presidential election and has disparaged both Clintons.

Democrats in the past also have pointed to Kavanaugh‘s work for Bush during the 2000 recount fight, a controversy that was resolved only after the conservative-majority Supreme Court sided with Bush over Democratic candidate Al Gore, settling the election outcome.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh talk during an announcement event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 9, 2018. Credit: Reuters/Jim Bourg

The new justice can be expected to cast crucial votes on other matters of national importance including gay rights, gun control, the death penalty and voting rights. The court could also be called upon to render judgment on issues of personal significance to Trump and his administration including matters arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia-related investigation and several civil lawsuits pending against Trump.

(Reuters)