It has been a very eventful week in the Senate Judiciary Committee which has been holding hearings into the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. As we look back on all that has happened, one thing that perhaps has not received enough attention is the fact that Kavanaugh may be in real legal trouble. It’s possible that the nominee’s actions this past week, when coupled with his actions from many years ago, may result in multiple criminal charges of perjury against him.
A judge is not exempt from criminal laws, including perjury. It is conceivable that at some point in the future Kavanaugh could be investigated, charged and prosecuted for crimes, and if that happened he could possibly go to jail.
A Trump Administration Department of Justice wouldn’t do this, but a Democratically-controlled Congress could do it.
The other thing they could do, instead of seeking to throw Kavanaugh in jail, is to seek to impeach him from the Supreme Court (or from his current position as a federal judge). If they can prove he committed multiple counts of perjury he could be impeached and forced to leave the Court.
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On Thursday POLITICO reported:
“Three prominent liberal groups pushing to defeat Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination on Friday urged Democrats to seek a formal perjury investigation of him based on his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.
Demand Justice, MoveOn, and NARAL Pro-Choice America outlined their case in a letter sent as Kavanaugh’s marathon four-day hearing came to a close, with the Republican Senate still expected to confirm him by month’s end.
The trio of advocacy groups claim that five topics Kavanaugh addressed with Judiciary panel senators this week reveal inconsistencies with statements he made during confirmation hearings for his current appellate court position that “appear to rise to the level of perjury,†they wrote.â€
Then, on Friday, we found out that a PAC called The Democratic Coalition had actually filed a formal perjury complaint. The PAC released a statement saying that the complaint was filed with the U.S.Department of Justice and will also be filed in the District of Columbia federal District Court on Monday.
In a strange twist of fate, the statement asserted that their complaint of perjury against Kavanaugh will be reviewed by Chief Judge Merrick Garland. Garland was President Barack Obama‘s Supreme Court nominee who was denied confirmation hearings by Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans.
As Rachel Maddow pointed out, Democrats are seriously trying to stop Kavanaugh’s nomination and have a strategy for doing so.
This week they have exposed many of Kavanaugh’s past extremist views and rulings that he wanted kept secret. They have succeeded in getting the public’s attention, and putting Kavanaugh’s confirmation in doubt.
But they have also succeeded in getting Kavanaugh to perjure himself while under oath, AND they have also exposed that the right-wing judge had also committed plenty of perjury during his earlier confirmation hearings.
Although Judge Kavanaugh will probably be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice, he will not escape his potential legal jeopardy forever. Just as with Donald Trump, he is protected from accountability for his crimes only so long as Republicans are in power.
When Democrats take back control of the Senate, there is an excellent chance that Justice Kavanaugh could be impeached from the Supreme Court. When there is a new Democratic president, there is an excellent chance that Justice Kavanaugh could be prosecuted for his crimes.
What Senate Democrats are exposing this week is very important, and there may come a time when the smug conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh is held accountable for his reckless and arrogant violation of the law.
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.
