Impeach Brett Kavanaugh

Mitch McConnell and his Misogynist Party may have won the battle to confirm Brett Kavanaugh – but this fight is far from over.

Kavanaugh has been credibly accused of sexual assault and lying under oath in 2004, 2006 and at least 30 times during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.¹ Perjury is an impeachable offense. The House Judiciary Committee should immediately investigate these accusations and work to remove Kavanaugh from the Supreme Court.²

Our activism forced Republicans’ misogyny and hate into the spotlight and delayed the confirmation process for weeks. Now it’s time to unleash the same grassroots power on House members and demand that they use every tool at their disposal to impeach Kavanaugh.

Several organizations have compiled Kavanaugh’s false and questionable statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee going all the way back to his 2004 and 2006 confirmation hearings.³ But even just in last week’s hearing, Kavanaugh lied repeatedly:

• Kavanaugh said he first heard about Deborah Ramirez’ allegations when the New Yorker published them on Sept. 23. But text messages show that Kavanaugh and his team were trying to refute Ramirez’s allegations before they became public.⁴
• Kavanaugh claimed to have “no connections” to Yale, explaining that “I got there by busting my tail.” But Kavanaugh’s grandfather attended the school, giving him an advantage as a legacy student under Yale’s admissions policies.⁵
• Kavanaugh said that he and Dr. Ford did not travel in the same social circles. But Dr. Ford dated Kavanaugh’s friend Chris Garrett (aka Squi), who Kavanaugh mentioned repeatedly in his testimony, in the summer of 1982.⁶
• Kavanaugh said that none of the gatherings on his calendar included the group of people that Dr. Ford identified. But a July 1 calendar entry included the same people that Dr. Ford said attended the gathering.⁷
• Kavanaugh claimed that “[a]ll the witnesses who were there say it didn’t happen.” But Dr. Ford’s friend Leland Keyser, one of those Dr. Ford says was present, said she believes Dr. Ford’s allegation.⁸

These lies matter. Each one undermines Kavanaugh’s denials of the multiple sexual assault claims against him. Each one calls into question his trustworthiness and his ability to be an impartial and honest jurist. Because lying under oath is an impeachable offense, these lies also open Kavanaugh up to blackmail by anyone who could expose him, a risk that FBI agents are supposed to assess during background checks. But it is clear that the FBI did not conduct a real investigation.

Senate Republicans have proven that they care more about helping men escape consequences for sexual harassment and assault than about making sure a liar and potential sexual predator isn’t confirmed to the Supreme Court. House Republicans should be feeling massive pressure demanding they do better than their Senate colleagues.

House Democrats have a role to play too. Already, progressive champion Rep. Ted Lieu has called for impeachment and a House Judiciary Committee investigation.⁹Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who is in line to chair the committee, just said he would conduct a real investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh and hold him accountable if Democrats take control of the House this November.¹⁰ Every House member should be supporting this plan but, some are already backing away.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi recently said that impeachment is off the table.11 If we want accountability for Kavanaugh, we must keep pushing her, other House Democratic leaders and every House member to lead, and make clear to them that we will hold them accountable if they don’t.

Thank you for everything you do.

References:

1. Demand Justice, “Kavanaugh: 31 Lies and Counting,” Oct 1, 2018.
2. Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr., “The Case for Impeaching Kavanaugh,” The New York Times, Sept. 20, 2018.
3. Demand Justice, “Kavanaugh: 31 Lies and Counting.”
4. Heidi Przybyla and Leigh Ann Caldwell, “Text messages suggest Kavanaugh wanted to refute accuser’s claim before it became public,” NBC, Oct. 1, 2018.
5. Jason Lemon, “Kavanaugh said he had ‘no connection’ to Yale. He, was in fact, a legacy student,” Newsweek, Sept. 30, 2018.
6. Michael Kranish, Joe Heim and Emma Brown, “Details in Kavanaugh’s 1982 calendar entry could be scrutinized in FBI investigation,” Washington Post, Sept. 28, 2018.
7. Li Zhou, “Brett Kavanaugh’s July 1 calendar entry that could help Ford’s case, explained,” Vox, Sept. 28, 2018.
8. Ariane de Vogue, “Christine Blasey Ford’s friend is not refuting Ford’s allegation, will cooperate with FBI, lawyer says,” CNN, Sept. 29, 2018.
9. Rep. Ted Lieu, “Rep. Lieu: Congress has to step in on allegations against Brett Kavanaugh,” USA Today, Sept. 24, 2018.
10. Nicholas Fandos and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “House Democrat Promises Kavanaugh Investigation if Party Wins Control,” The New York Times, Oct. 5, 2018.
11. Akela Lacy, “In letter to Trump, House Democrats promise to investigate Brett Kavanaugh for perjury if confirmed,” The Intercept, Oct. 4, 2018.