Wed, Oct 03, 2018 page7

• Questions raised on testimony of Brett Kavanaugh

  • AP, WASHINGTON
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Democrats are raising new questions about the truthfulness of Brett Kavanaugh’s sworn testimony to the US Senate, shifting tactics against US President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee as they await the results of the FBI’s background investigation into sexual misconduct allegations.

  US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Kavanaugh of delivering a “partisan screed” during a Judiciary Committee hearing last week.

  He said Kavanaugh seemed willing to “mislead senators about everything from the momentous to the mundane” to ensure his ascension to the Supreme Court.

  “The harsh fact of the matter is that we have mounting evidence that Judge Kavanaugh is just not credible,” Schumer said on Monday.

  Not so, argued US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, contending the Democrats are simply looking to “move the goalposts” to prevent Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

  He pledged that the full US Senate would begin voting on Kavanaugh’s nomination this week.

  “The time for endless delay and obstruction has come to a close,” McConnell said.

  Kavanaugh’s confirmation hinges on a handful of key Republican and Democratic senators who have not yet fully tipped their votes.

  One of them is Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who was greeted by hundreds of liberal protesters, victims of sexual assault among them, during an appearance in Boston on Monday.

  Flake and US senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were last week instrumental in holding up Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote. They forced the White House to open a supplemental background investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against the judge.

  The votes of the three Republicans and those of Democratic US senators Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp will largely determine whether Kavanaugh is confirmed.

  Flake said he would ensure it is a “real investigation” by the FBI as Democrats demanded that Trump give them a full readout of his instructions to the agency.

  “It does us no good to have an investigation that just gives us more cover,” Flake said.

  Meanwhile, Heitkamp said that Trump himself called for a “broader” FBI investigation into the allegations.

  “I’m waiting to see what the results are,” she said.

  Kavanaugh has emphatically denied Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her at a gathering when they were teenagers.

  He has also denied an accusation from Deborah Ramirez, a classmate at Yale, who said he exposed himself to her at a dorm party more than 25 years ago.

  A third claim by Julia Swetnick accuses Kavanaugh of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women at parties in the early 1980s.

  Kavanaugh denies that as well.

  Democrats have seized on Kavanaugh’s indignant, emotional testimony before the Judiciary Committee to question whether he has the temperament for a lifetime appointment at the nation’s highest court.

  In particular, Democrats have homed in on his contention that the allegations against him are an “orchestrated political hit” funded by left-wing groups.

  Democrats are also questioning Kavanaugh’s honesty, particularly over statements he made about his drinking in high school and college.

  Kavanaugh testified that while he enjoys drinking beer, and often did so in high school, he never drank to excess.

  Former classmates have stepped forward to challenge Kavanaugh’s testimony about his drinking.

  Charles “Chad” Ludington, who said he was a friend of Kavanaugh’s at Yale University and now teaches at North Carolina State University, called Kavanaugh “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker.”
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Napoli’s title hopes shaken by late Genoa equalizer

  • 2

    Privately owned city in Kenya taking on corrupt officials

  • 3

    MOE to encourage foreigners to work in Taiwan

  • 4

    Kane tastes first title as Bayern bid farewell to Mueller

  • 5

    Taiwan celebrates V-E Day for first time