Brett Kavanaugh’s opening misstatement
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee began confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. This was a day in which the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including their leader, Senator Chuck Grassley, ignored valid motions and continued on with the hearings. The day ended with the nominee, Kavanaugh, giving his opening misstatement. Hopefully, the Senate Democrats and even Republicans ask him some questions about his opener.
After pleasantries, Kavanaugh blew smoke at Donald Trump, stating, “As a judge and as a citizen, I was deeply impressed by the President’s careful attention to the nomination process and by his thorough consideration of potential nominees.” Senators should ask him for concrete examples of this thoroughness, such as “you mean that list of twenty-one people produced by the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation, that you did not originally appear on, but lo and behold, you were added to it in November 2017? What exactly did you witness the President do so thoroughly? Take your time, we will wait for you.”
Kavanaugh also stated: “Over the past 12 years, I have ruled sometimes for the prosecution and sometimes for criminal defendants, sometimes for workers and sometimes for businesses, sometimes for environmentalists and sometimes for coal miners. In each case, I have followed the law. I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.”
On his business record, the day his nomination was announced, the White House circulated a document to “industry stakeholders” touting Kavanaugh’s record of overruling federal regulators — 75 times in all — and pledged that he would “protect … American businesses from illegal job-killing regulation.” In addition, Judge Kavanaugh has never voted against law enforcement in his twelve years on the bench. So much for being a pro-law judge, as law enforcement is not always on the side of the law in legal cases.
The final whopper statement came at the end: “I revere the Constitution. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, I will keep an open mind in every case. I will do equal right to the poor and to the rich.” His vow of an “open mind” has less credibility than his nominator’s marital vows. An open mind Kavanaugh has not.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.