In a moment that felt more like Lindsey Graham interviewing for the position of Trump’s attorney general than Brett Kavanaugh interviewing for the position of Supreme Court justice, Graham referred to the judge’s recommendation by the American Bar Association as “the gold standard.”
It will be interesting, then, to see how Graham reacts to the ABA’s latest judgement on Kavanaugh after they demanded a full FBI investigation of the sexual assault claims against Trump’s SCOTUS nominee.
‘We make this request because of ABA’s respect for the rule of law and due process under law. The basic principles that underscore the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI.’
Here's the letter: pic.twitter.com/I1au9CbCWJ
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) September 28, 2018
Both Graham and Kavanaugh, along with most of the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, scoffed at each mention of an FBI investigation by Democrats. They insisted that was just an attempt to delay the vote and was nothing more than a partisan tactic.
The American Bar Association is not partisan.
‘Each appointment to our nation’s Highest Court (as with all others) is simply too important to rush to a vote.’
Repeatedly, Republicans said that an FBI investigation was unnecessary, as they do not make judgments on guilt or innocence. They, the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee, were already leading an investigation which included no questioning of witnesses or others who knew Kavanaugh at the time. Kavanaugh ran with this, even having an exchange with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in which he told her that the FBI doesn’t reach conclusions “just so you know,” which will surely someday be in a dictionary as the definition of mansplaining. There was no need for an FBI investigation, the Republicans said, because they already had all the information they needed.
The American Bar Association disagrees.
Twitter was shocked by the ABA’s announcement. Read some of their comments below:
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
