Democrats are calling for Thursday's vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to be delayed until sexual assault allegations against him can be investigated.
Their revitalized push against President Donald Trump's nominee comes after his accuser publicly identified herself as Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in California, and offered a chilling account of a high school incident where she alleged Kavanaugh attacked her.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the FBI should reconsider its decision and investigate before his nomination comes to a vote before the committee.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for Kavanaugh's Thursday's vote to be delayed
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, left, has also called for a delay
Brett Kavanaugh is President Trump's second nominee to the Supreme Court
'From the outset, I have believed these allegations were extremely serious and bear heavily on Judge Kavanaugh's character. However, as we have seen over the past few days, hey also come at a price for the victim. I hope the attacks and shaming of her will stop and this will be treated with seriousness it deserves,' she said in a statement on Sunday.
She concluded: 'It is in the hands of the FBI to conduct an investigation. This should happen before the Senate moves forward on this nomination.'
Additionally, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has called on Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to postpone Thursday's vote until the allegations are investigated.
'Senator Grassley must postpone the vote until, at a very minimum, these serious and credible allegations are thoroughly investigated. For too long, when woman have made serious allegations of abuse, they have been ignored. That cannot happen in this case,' he said in a statement.
'To railroad a vote now would be an insult to the women of America and the integrity of the Supreme Court,' he added.
But so far their cries have fallen on deaf ears.
A spokesperson for Grassley told The Washington Post: 'The vote hasn't been rescheduled.'
However, Grassley is working to schedule followup phone calls between Kavanaugh, Ford, and committee staff on both sides of the aisle.
'The Chairman and ranking member routinely hold bipartisan staff calls with nominees when updates are made to nominees' background files. Given the late addendum to the background file and revelations of Dr. Ford's identity, Chairman Grassley is working to set up such followup calls with Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford ahead of Thursday's scheduled vote,' he said in a statement Sunday evening.
However, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said he was willing to have Ford testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
'If (Christine Blasley) Ford wishes to provide information to the committee, I would gladly listen to what she has to say and compare that against all other information we have received about Judge Kavanaugh,' Graham said in a statement on Sunday.
'If the committee is to hear from Ms. Ford, it should be done immediately so the process can continue as scheduled,' he added.
And Sen. Jeff Flake told The Washington Post he doesn't think the committee should move ahead with its Thursday vote until they hear more from Christine Ford. 'For me, we can't vote until we hear more,' he said.
Grassley and other Republicans have questioned the timing of the allegations, noting they have come out days before Kavanaugh is up for a vote.
'It's disturbing that these uncorroborated allegations from more than 35 years ago, during high school, would surface on the even of a committee after Democrats sat on them since July,' Grassley said Sunday in a statement.
He added if Feinstein and Democrats 'took this claim seriously, they should have brought it to the full committee's attention much earlier.'
He also called on Feinstein to release the letter she received that originally outlined the allegations.
He concluded: 'It raises a lot of questions about Democrats' tactics and motives to bring hi to the rest of the committee's attention only now rather than during these many steps along he way. Senator Feinstein should publicly release the letter she received back in July so that everyone can know what she's known for weeks.'
The committee voted last week - before talk of an allegation against Kavanaugh became public - to vote on whether to move his nomination forward on Thursday.
If Kavanaugh makes it out of committee, Republicans are aiming for a full Senate confirmation before the Supreme Court term begins Oct. 1.
Christine Blasey Ford is going public with her allegation against Brett Kavanaugh
Christine Blasey Ford said she was worried Brett Kavanaugh might kill her during a drunken high school assault back in the 1980s
But one by one Democrats called for a delay after Christine Blasey Ford went public with her story, saying she thought Kavanaugh might kill her during an alleged drunken high school attack.
'I thought he might inadvertently kill me,' said Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California, to The Washington Post. 'He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.'
Ford described in detail how, when she was at a teenage party in the 1980s, Kavanaugh and a friend followed her upstairs when she went to the bathroom and pushed her into a bedroom.
She detailed how Kavanaugh alleged held her down, tried to rip off her swimsuit, and groped her.
She said she escaped when his friend, Mark Judge, jumped on top of them.
Kavanaugh has vigorously denied the allegations.
The political fallout from the new details and a face on the accusations have yet to be determined.
Two of the key Republican votes in the Senate are women - Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins - neither of whom face voters this year and both of whom said they are with holding judgement of Kavanaugh until after his confirmation hearing is concluded.
Collins told CNN Sunday evening that she's 'very surprised' about the Kavanaugh allegation and 'it's an issue that I brought up with him last Friday and he denied' it.
She said she will be 'talking with my colleagues' about whether Thursday's vote should go forward.
The White House was hoping to pick up some Democratic votes - particularly Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota - all of whom voted for Trump's first nominee Neil Gorsuch and who face voters this fall in their home states, which the president carried in the 2016 election.
All have said they are undecided.
Also undecided are Democratic Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, both of whom are in tough re-election contests in states Trump carried in 2016.
Republicans have a 51-seat majority in the Senate and can afford one defection on the Senate floor if no Democrats support Kavanaugh.
But before Kavanaugh makes it to the Senate floor, he has to get voted out of the Judiciary Committee, which has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Sen. Kamala Harris is one of six Democrats on the committee calling for the Kavanaugh vote o be delayed
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said he's open to having Christine Ford testify
Republican votes to watch in the committee would be Sen. Ted Cruz, who is in a tough reelection contest with rising Democratic star Beto O'Rourke and cannot afford to anger women voters, and Sen. Jeff Flake, who is retiring and has not been afraid to go against the president in the past.
There are four female Democrats on the committee. The Republicans on the committee are all men.
Democrats on Sunday praised Ford for coming forward while Republicans rushed to Kavanaugh's defense.
Republicans are expected to question Ford's memories and why Democrats sat on the accusations, sources in the White House told Politico.
Additionally Trump is expected to go after Ford, those sources said.
A lawyer close to the White House told the news website Kavanaugh's nomination will not be withdrawn.
'No way, not even a hint of it,' the lawyer said. 'If anything, it's the opposite. If somebody can be brought down by accusations like this, then you, me, every man certainly should be worried. We can all be accused of something.'
Other Republicans point out Kavanaugh has passed numerous FBI background checks when he was White House staff secretary for George W. Bush and as a federal judge, a position that saw him confirmed by the Senate.
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee offered a consistent voice on delaying the vote.
Seven of the committee Democrats thus far have called for the vote to be delayed.
'At a bare minimum, this week's scheduled committee vote on Judge Kavanaugh's lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court must be postponed until this matter is fully and thoroughly investigated,' said Sen. Cory Booker, who's mentioned as a possible White House 2020 candidate.
'The Senate Judiciary Committee must now give these allegations the serious weight they deserve. They must be fully and fairly investigated. Unquestionably, the Kavanaugh confirmation vote must be delayed,' said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
'This was a very brave step to come forward. It is more important than ever to hit the pause button on Kavanaugh's confirmation vote until we can fully investigate these serious and disturbing allegations. We cannot rush to move forward under this cloud,' said Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.
'Christine Blasey Ford courageously stepped forward to tell her story — it is a credible and serious allegation. The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to scrutinize SCOTUS nominees. A vote on Kavanaugh's nomination must be delayed until there is a thorough investigation,' said Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, who is mentioned as a possible 2020 presidential contender.
'It took a lot of courage for Christine Blasey Ford to come forward to share her story of sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh. Her story is very credible & I believe her,' said Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono. 'This development is yet another reason not to rush Kavanaugh's nomination.'
Republican votes to watch in the committee would be Sen. Jeff Flake, who is retiring and has not been afraid to go against the president in the past
Another Republican to watch is Sen. Ted Cruz, left, who is in a tough reelection contest with rising Democratic star Beto O'Rourke and cannot afford to anger women voters
'I admire the courage Ms. Ford has shown in coming forward with her story. This requires a pause, at a minimum, in the unseemly, special-interest-funded rush to put Brett Kavanaugh on the Court,' said Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.
In late July, Ford sent a letter to Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo, her California congresswoman, about the high school incident. Eshoo passed the letter to Feinstein.
Feinstein passed the letter to the FBI - with Ford's name redacted. The agency declined to investigate but sent it to the White House, who passed it on to all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
'Upon receipt of the information on the night of September 12, we included it as part of Judge Kavanaugh's background file, as per the standard process,' the FBI said.
Link textbacklinkexchanges.com
https://textbacklinkexchanges.com/democrats-push-for-republicans-to-delay-vote-on-kavanaugh-until-allegations-can-be-investigated/
News Pictures Democrats push for Republicans to delay vote on Kavanaugh until allegations can be investigated
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