On Friday, an unprecedented move by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) will result in an FBI investigation into Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. Another senator, Bernie Sanders (I-VT), wants the FBI to investigate not just the denials of sexual assault by the judge, but many other statements he made under oath.
Leaving aside the allegation of sexual assault, there is growing evidence still that Kavanaugh committed a serious crime: perjury. Repeatedly, even well before Dr. Ford’s story became known, many of the statements Kavanaugh made were contradicted by emails and other documentation.
Lying to Congress is a federal crime.
The FBI must examine the veracity of Kavanaugh’s statements under oath in addition to the sexual assault allegations against him. Kavanaugh's truthfulness with the Senate goes to the very heart of whether he should be confirmed to the court. pic.twitter.com/TsNOTm4fxK
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 29, 2018
In addition to seven other dubious statements made by the SCOTUS nominee, Sanders’ statement asks:
‘In his previous testimony before Congress, Judge Kavanaugh was asked more than 100 times if he knew about files stolen by Republican staffers from Judiciary Committee Democrats. He said he knew nothing. Emails released as part of this hearing show that these files were regularly shared with Kavanaugh while he was on the White House staff. One of the emails had the subject line “spying.” Was Judge Kavanaugh being truthful with the committee?
‘In 2006, Judge Kavanaugh told Congress he did not know anything about the NSA warrantless wiretapping program prior to it being reported by The New York Times. This year, an email revealed that while at the White House, he might have been involved in some conversations about this program. Was Judge Kavanaugh being truthful with the committee?’
While Sanders focused on statements made prior to the sexual assault allegation, during the testimony he gave following Dr. Ford’s, the judge made some wild claims that also constitute perjury under oath. Those who knew him during high school and college are coming forward to call out those lies.
The Times fact-checked Brett Kavanaugh's hearing testimony about his drinking habits and whether friends had "refuted" Christine Blasey Ford's claims against the recollections of former classmates and acquaintances https://t.co/8uSOodMhQv
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 29, 2018
Lying under oath is a crime, whether that lie is told in a court of law or the Senate Judiciary Committee. For anyone still insisting that Kavanaugh cannot or should not be held accountable for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl during his high school days, it will be hard for them to argue that he should also not be held accountable for committing perjury during a hearing to be confirmed to the Supreme Court as a grown man.
Twitter responded in nearly unanimous agreement. Read some of their comments below:
Featured image via Flickr by Phil Roeder under a Creative Commons license
