New Kavanaugh allegation stirs outcry
Dem candidates call for justice’s impeachment
WASHINGTON — Several Democratic presidential candidates on Sunday lined up to call for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the face of a new, uninvestigated, allegation of sexual impropriety when he was in college.
Kavanaugh was confirmed last October after Senate hearings over a sexual assault allegation from his high school years. The New York Times now reports that he faced a separate allegation from his time at Yale University that the FBI did not investigate. The latest claim mirrors one offered during his confirmation process by Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate who claimed he exposed himself to her during a drunken party.
When he testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, he denied all allegations of impropriety .
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said after the new report that “Brett Kavanaugh lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly to the American people.” She tweeted: “He must be impeached.”
A 2020 rival, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, tweeted that “Confirmation is not exoneration, and these newest revelations are disturbing. Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached.”
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke tweeted, “We know he lied under oath. He should be impeached.” He accused the GOPrun Senate of forcing the FBI “to rush its investigation to save his nomination.”
Their comments were similar to those of Julian Castro, a former U.S. housing secretary. “It’s more clear than ever that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath. He should be impeached and Congress should review the failure of the Department of Justice to properly investigate the matter.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont didn’t refer to impeachment a tweet Sunday, but said he would “support any appropriate constitutional mechanism” to hold Kavanaugh “accountable.”
Sen. Cory Booker tweeted: “This new allegation and additional corroborating evidence adds to a long list of reasons why Brett Kavanaugh should not be a Supreme Court justice. I stand with survivors and countless other Americans in calling for impeachment proceedings to begin.”
Democrats control the House, which holds the power of impeachment. If the House took that route, a trial would take place in the Senate, where Republicans now have a majority, making it unlikely Kavanaugh would be removed from office.
Trump, who fiercely defended Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation process, dismissed the latest allegation as “lies.”