Senate Judiciary Republicans issue despicable statement after Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser identifies herself
This afternoon, Stanford Professor Christine Blasey Ford came forward and identified herself as the author of the letter accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault and attempted rape. Even as mainstream Americans have quickly rallied around her credible accusations, Senate Judiciary Republicans issued a statement on the matter which was equal parts absurd and despicable.
The statement, which was sent to the media on behalf of all eleven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, but was not signed by any of them specifically, started off in this manner: “It’s disturbing that these uncorroborated allegations from more than 35 years ago, during high school, would surface on the eve of a committee vote.” It goes downhill from there. In other words, the GOP is repeating the same asinine nonsense that every rape apologist has ever relied upon.
The Republicans who signed off on this letter should be summarily expelled for it, and is arguably committing felony obstruction of justice in the process. We’ll find out soon enough if all eleven Republicans did indeed sign off on this letter, or if the committee’s Republican leadership was solely behind it. In any case, it is not the committee that will decide whether the Kavanaugh nomination sinks or swims.
Even if the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans decide to rubber-stamp Brett Kavanaugh this week, his fate will then be decided by the full Senate. Brett Kavanaugh is now the third rail. Any Senator who votes for him, and comes from a remotely moderate state, will be guaranteed to lose reelection when the time comes – because the American people will never forget how they voted. At this point it’s not difficult to picture two or more Senate Republicans screwing over their party and voting “no” on Kavanaugh in order to save themselves.
