The number two Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, sent out a tweet yesterday that may have destroyed Brett Kavanaugh’s chances of being confirmed. In the tweet, Durbin accused Kavanaugh of lying under oath during a Senate hearing. He also attached a letter he had sent Kavanaugh in 2007 which contains proof that Kavanaugh had lied.
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Here’s what Senator Durbin tweeted:
“In 2007 I sent Brett Kavanaugh this letter asking to explain his inaccurate and misleading testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. I’m still waiting for an answer.”
In 2007 I sent Brett Kavanaugh this letter asking to explain his inaccurate and misleading testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. I’m still waiting for an answer. pic.twitter.com/c7XoGJKDSj
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) July 10, 2018
Kavanaugh had to go through extensive Senate confirmation hearings to become a federal judge in 2006. In 2007 Durbin learned that Kavanaugh had lied during those hearings, so he wrote the judge a letter seeking answers, but Kavanaugh arrogantly ignored the Senator and never answered his questions.
Dick Durbin is not one to back down. He has threatened Donald Trump with impeachment, and he is the one who brought Trump’s “shithole countries” comments to the attention of the press.
Now that Trump has nominated Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, Durbin is reminding people of Kavanaugh’s shady past, and once again is demanding answers that Kavanaugh refused to give him many years ago.
When Dick Durbin accuses Brett Kavanaugh of being “inaccurate and misleading” it is another way for him to say that Kavanaugh lied under oath.
This means a powerful U.S. Senator has publicly accused a Supreme Court nominee of committing the crime of perjury, and he can prove it.
For proof, Durbin included with his tweet a copy of his letter to Kavanaugh which explains that the judge had lied to the U.S. Senate about his knowledge of the Bush White House’s detention and torture of enemy combatants.
Could this be the final nail in the coffin for Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination? It may not be enough by itself of course, but it is one more weapon that Democrats have to fight Kavanaugh’s appointment.
Immediately after Donald Trump announced that Kavanaugh was his choice to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Democrats in the Senate would strongly oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination.
We also reported that other Democrats were going to oppose Kavanaugh and promised “the fight of a lifetime” as they attempt to derail the nomination. We wrote how fierce the nomination battle may become:
“Even though Democrats can’t directly win by voting since they have just 49 of the 51 votes required to stop a nomination in the Senate, they do have options — and they have every intention of using them. In fact, the coming weeks may produce one of the fiercest Supreme Court fights in U.S. history.”
Many people in the media seem very confident that Kavanaugh’s approval by the Senate is a sure thing. However, there are unknown factors in the confirmation process, and we reported yesterday that if new revelations come out about Kavanaugh and Trump in the coming weeks then that could be very problematic. (See our article, “How The Mueller Probe Could Derail Kavanaugh’s Confirmation” for more information.)
Dick Durbin is not going to let people forget about Kavanaugh’s perjured testimony. Kavanaugh’s approval by the Senate is not a sure thing. Democrats like Dick Durbin and Chuck Schumer will be engaged in “the fight of a lifetime” to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination, and the fact that the judge lied under oath before the U.S. Senate should be considered and probably should be enough to make the Democrats’ efforts successful.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
