On the eve of Thursday’s hearing in which both Brett Kavanaugh and Dr. Christine Blasey forward will testify under oath, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons blasted Republicans for already damaging the reputation of the Supreme Court.
In an interview with MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow, Sen. Coons, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said if GOP senators cared about the integrity of the court, they would conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh.
“These are compelling and very disturbing allegations by each of the additional women who have come forward and I would think in the interest of the integrity of the Supreme Court … they should want the FBI to investigate,” the Democratic senator said.
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Sen @ChrisCoons blasts Republican for not thoroughly investigating the Kavanaugh allegations. #ctl #p2 #Maddow pic.twitter.com/lA9EevSBha
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) September 27, 2018
Sen. Coons said:
Sen. Grassley who’s the chairman of the committee is driving forward, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he intends to have Judge Kavanaugh seated on the court by next week. I frankly have not heard any indication that they’re softening on their position that we will have all the evidence we need to make a final vote here on Judge Kavanaugh. I strongly disagree. These are compelling and very disturbing allegations by each of the additional women who have come forward and I would think in the interest of the integrity of the Supreme Court, frankly even in Judge Kavanaugh‘s interest to have a chance for him to present any more evidence that he might have to clear his name, they should want the FBI to investigate. I certainly feel strongly that without the FBI looking at the corroborating evidence that Dr. Ford has come forward with, folks that she disclosed, this history, this alleged violent, terrifying sexual incident she had with Judge Kavanaugh as a teenager. Without those being examined, corroborated and put in front of the committee, we’re really not doing our job and this is really not a full and fair process.
Republicans are damaging the court’s reputation
No matter what happens going forward, the Republicans have already done great damage to the reputation of the Supreme Court by putting partisan politics above a thorough vetting process.
They have shown that, to them, character doesn’t matter when choosing a SCOTUS justice. All that matters is that they get a judge that will tow the party line.
If they get their wish and successfully ram through Kavanaugh‘s lifetime appointment to the court, it will forever stain the reputation of the Supreme Court.
It sets up a likely scenario in which Kavanaugh – a man who now has five sexual assault allegations against him – can make landmark decisions about the rights of millions of women.
It’s too late to undo all the damage Republican senators have already done throughout his process, but if they want to avoid inflicting more, they should either call for a full and fair FBI investigation or pull Brett Kavanaugh‘s nomination altogether.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
