The Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are being blasted by Senate Democrats for holding a hearing on the sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh that will be a sham.
Here is Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) admitting that only two witnesses are going to be allowed to testify:
Senate Democratic Leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) responded on the Senate floor:
This morning Chairman Grassley said there would be only two witnesses. That’s simply inadequate, unfair, wrong, and a desire not to get at the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The minority has always been able to request a number of witnesses to provide context and expert opinion to the committee. in this case, it certainly makes sense for one witness to be Mr. Mark Judge who was named in “The Washington Post” as present during the event in question.
How could we want to get the truth and not have Mr. Judge come to the hearing and be asked questions? And if the majority won’t call him as a witness as they should, if they’re really interested in getting the whole truth, the minority must be able to do so. The minority always has had a right to call witnesses. But the bigger issue is that the committee must be able to call more than two witnesses in total. We must not repeat the mistake of the Anita Hill hearings. They were rushed and were a debacle. do we want to repeat that mistake?
The ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, “Chairman Grassley today said there would be only two witnesses invited to testify at the Kavanaugh hearing next week on sexual assault allegations. Compare that to the 22 witnesses at the 1991 Anita Hill hearing, and it’s impossible to take this process seriously. What about other witnesses like Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge? What about individuals who were previously told about this incident? What about experts who can speak to the effects of this kind of trauma on a victim? This is another attempt by Republicans to rush this nomination and not fully vet Judge Kavanaugh.”
Republicans are planning on holding a sham hearing
Senate Republicans don’t want to hear any evidence that will support Dr. Ford‘s claim. They are intentionally setting up a he said/she said scenario and hoping the country’s partisan divide will give them enough cover to sneak the Kavanaugh nomination through. Without the introduction of supporting witnesses, there will be no clear conclusion drawn.
Republicans are afraid to dig into the allegation because they don’t want the truth. They want to get this Supreme Court justice confirmed, and they are doing everything they can, including minimizing a sexual assault allegation to get Kavanaugh on the highest court in the land. If the hearing moves forward with just two witnesses, it will be a joke and another sign that the corrupt Republican majority has abandoned its institutional duties.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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