Mcconnell: No nominee agenda
GOP senator denies claims Kavanaugh might halt Russia probe
WASHINGTON — The Senate’s top Republican pushed back forcefully Thursday on warnings from Democrats that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh might be willing to thwart the Russia investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell said on the Senate floor that Democrats are reading too much into writings from Kavanaugh, in which he said investigations of sitting presidents are a distraction. Mcconnell called the claims “outlandish” and a “conspiracy theory” and said Democrats are throwing “catnip for their far-left base.”
Kavanaugh wrote a decade ago that investigations of presidents can hurt their ability to govern. He had firsthand experience, having served on the Kenneth Starr team that investigated President Bill Clinton.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has called Kavanaugh’s views on dealing with potential executive wrongdoing “dangerous.”
At least one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said she plans to ask Kavanaugh about his views on handling presidential misconduct.
“He doesn’t say that presidents shouldn’t be punished. He says it should be deferred or that impeachment is the appropriate remedy,” Collins said Thursday. She noted the changed stance from earlier in his career. “I’m interested in that it shows his views evolved, which I think is a reasonable learning experience.”
Kavanaugh, who has served on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit since 2006, was tapped by Trump to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.
No date has yet been set for confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as reams of paperwork are being compiled on the judge’s record.
Republicans, who hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, are eager to have Trump’s nominee confirmed by the start of the court’s term in October.