Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said Brett Kavanaugh’s “answers were not truthful” and that the U.S. Supreme Court nominee was “not believable” in giving sworn testimony last week related to allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a young woman while both were in high school in the 1980s.
“I hope for the sake of the country he’s not the next justice on the Supreme Court,” Leahy said in his Burlington office Monday morning. “I think it would diminish the court.”
Leahy said he’s “never seen anything like this” in Washington, D.C., referring to the past week of testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when she was 15 and he was 17. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, she described the incident in detail.
Leahy said his past experience as a prosecutor in Chittenden County gave him confidence in Ford’s story.
“I would have considered her a very believable witness,” Leahy said.
Ford said that in 1982, Kavanaugh held her down on a bed and tried to remove her clothes, covering her mouth when she tried to scream for help. Leahy said Ford made an impression when he asked her what she remembers most about that night.
“She said ‘The laughter,’” Leahy recalled. “I tell you, that struck me as what I heard from sexual assault victims. The veracity in her voice [is] what I would bring prosecutions on when I was state’s attorney.”
Leahy accused Kavanaugh, a federal judge, of saying things that were “not truthful” under oath. But when asked if he thought Kavanaugh was lying, Leahy demurred.
“That would be up to somebody to take a look at and decide,” he said. “I thought he did not tell me the truth.”
Whether or not Kavanaugh lied under oath, Leahy said President Donald Trump should choose someone else for a lifetime appointment on the nation’s highest court.
“[Kavanaugh’s] past record of evasions in hearings, his problems with drinking — there are better people,” Leahy said. “They could have a Republican. They could have a conservative on the Supreme Court, but have somebody the country can respect.”
As the longest-serving member of the Senate, Leahy has his own office in the U.S. Capitol building, and he said it’s become a gathering place for senators of both parties. Based on conversations in his office, Leahy said some Republicans are starting to agree with his assessment.
“I’m sensing a concern by many that maybe they ought to try somebody else,” Leahy said.
Returning to Washington for the week, Leahy said he planned to meet with fellow members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about last week’s hearings and try to turn Republicans against Kavanaugh.
The FBI is investigating Ford’s allegations, and Leahy said he hopes investigators will “talk with everybody” and find some answers. Absent from last Thursday’s hearing was Mark Judge, a friend of Kavanaugh’s who Ford testified was in the room during the 1982 sex assault.
Leahy said the Senate should “take another week or two” before voting on Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Republican leaders have pushed for a full vote in the Senate by the end of this week.
“Let’s get a better understanding of who he is,” Leahy said.
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Come on, Sen. Leahy, why not just come out and say that he was lying? He WAS — certainly in terms of his drinking behavior and what the references in his yearbook referred to, at a minimum. He had a history of throwing up because of a weak stomach? Give me a break! So ludicrous. Had he been honest and said he was a stupid teenager at the time, that drinking and partying and taking advantage of women were part of the culture during that time and most CERTAINLY the culture of over-privileged white male self-entitled prep school jocks, and that he regrets his behavior and sincerely apologizes for it, I just might be able to stomach his confirmation. As it is now, no way. Besides, given that he has clearly lied under oath, isn’t that a felony that disqualifies him?
Leahy said hes never seen anything like this in Washington, D.C., what about Bill Clinton
the 42nd President of the United States (19932001), was publicly accused of sexual misconduct by four women: Juanita Broaddrick accused Clinton of raping her in 1978; Kathleen Willey accused Clinton of groping her without consent in 1993; Leslie Millwee accused Clinton of sexually assaulting her in 1980; and Paula Jones accused Clinton of exposing himself to her in 1991 as well as sexually harassing her. The Jones allegations became public in 1994, during Clinton’s first term as president, while Willey’s and Broaddrick’s accusations became public in 1999..
oh wait.. The democrats didn’t do anything, no investigations. no smearing, and yet he became pres twice.and lets not forget Monica Lewinsky and Gennifer Flowers, while he was a sitting president. His famous quote
” I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH THAT WOMAN”.
Where were you Leahy when this happened?? Where was your disgust? Where was your quotes of “he’s unfit,
not truthful under oath., I believe her. . Yet you and your democrat buddies wouldn’t even question Juanita Broaddrick. Complete SILENCE ..
As for your statement, some Republicans are starting to agree with his assessment. and plans to meet with fellow members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about last week’s hearings and try to turn Republicans against Kavanaugh. Man you are dreaming sir. you need to retire ASAP..
If Leahy clairvoyantly knows for certain that Kavanuagh is not telling the truth can he also reach down deep and tell us who in the Dem’s camp on that Judicial Committee betrayed Ford’s confidence and leaked the letter and Blasey-Ford’s name to the Media at the 11th hour in order to light this fuse?
What is ludicrous is that the Democrats willfully withheld Ford’s letter. That Feinstein even recommended a lawyer tied in with own self and Democrats is worthy of an investigation in my opinion. As is the denied leaking by Democrats to the press, the letter’s author and content. I have no doubt Dem bankroller Soros is paying Ford’s legal fees (she couldn’t remember who was paying those, RIGHT.) To Leahy, clearly you think you are judge, jury and executioner and conveniently overlook that in America, It’s innocent until proven guilty. As for Ford: she has no memory + filed no police report + has no witnesses + has no corrorboration + has no evidence + her impassioned testimony (some might say performance) still = NO CASE.
“Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said Brett Kavanaughs answers were not truthful …”
“But when asked if he thought Kavanaugh was lying, Leahy demurred.” He demurred or he mumbled in angst? What is he really saying? What is the substance of his comments and why did he say anything? He did what the liberals always do; he threw out what he wants their media to pick up on and repeat to change people’s opinions. In reality his statement is a contrived lie based on nothing but his hatred for President Donald Trump and everyone who voted for him and supports him. Unless he has some supernatural proven ability to see into the past, he should just keep his ridiculous false statements to himself. If anyone is “not truthful” here it’s Patrick Leahy.
Donna Boutin engages in classic “whadaboutism.” Whether or not President Clinton lied about affairs has nothing to do with whether Brett Kavanaugh lied his ass off last week in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. It has nothing to do with whether Kavanaugh is fit for the U.S. Supreme Court. His lying, his refusal to answer questions, his bullying, his disrespect for the Senate, and his rich, white, frat-boy sense of entitlement, all show that he is not.
Better yet, if she has nothing to hide she should file charges against him in Maryland seeing as though they have no statute of limitations
@ knowyourassumptions so if Kavanaugh was a poor frat black boy, it would be different?? Do you hate white rich people.?? Clinton was a white rich person. he raped and assaulted women. He lied his ass off too. but lets just brush that under the rug right?
Leahy, the only one lying is you…to the tax payers of Vermont. You slur your words, you become a blubbering fool when you speak! You need to retire. As for Kavanaugh , if my life, my families, my reputation was at stake you bet your @$$ I would become belligerent, mouthy, upset and tearful..and I do especially if I was accused of something I didnt do! I firmly believe he didnt touch her! Also…how convenient she works where Feinstein s hubby works,…the FBI will not find anything…then what? ohhh wait…again the dems and crybabies will riot, loot andobstruct others trying to work!
Kavanaugh is a political operative and he proved that at his hearing with his foaming at the mouth opening rant. He has perjured himself but that doesn’t matter to the GOP. This is a brutal, raw, and vulgar power grab by the Republicans to complete their corporate funded take-over of the government .
The FBI investigation is a whitewash. Surely the GOP could find a judge with views just as cruel, obtuse, and deranged as Kavanaugh without all of the other issues .
this message brought to you by American Cannibals for Koch Brothers’ Prosperity . . . have a nice day. 🙂
“Clinton was a white rich person. he raped and assaulted women. He lied his ass off too. but lets just brush that under the rug right?.”
No, he was impeached. Duh.
You just can’t get past whataboutism, can you. And you can’t even get your whataboutism right.
Imagine a country where:
You could be forced from your house, kids and your career and reputation are destroyed based solely on hearsay evidence.
You appear in court, guilty until you prove yourself innocent.
If you cannot afford and attorney, one will not provided to you.
You cannot subpoena evidence by those that accused you.
Your Trial is not done by a jury of your peers.
Even if you prove yourself innocent, your accuser is never held accountable for their actions.
You dont have to imagine, this is the goal of #MeToo Movement and supported by our elected officials.
This paradigm is already codified under several state domestic violence laws, and apparently now is it SOP for the Democratic party – (Except when it comes to their own members)
Sexual assault and Domestic violence are ugly crimes, So are false and unsubstantiated accusations.
Welcome the new America as defined by Pat, Bernie and Peter.
This weeks homework assignment – Go read “To Kill a Mockingbird” and submit a 2 page report to our elected officials as to why their actions promote and enable discord in society.
“Imagine a country where:
You could be forced from your house, kids and your career and reputation are destroyed based solely on hearsay evidence.”
Imagine a judge who, if not confirmed to the Supreme Court returns to his lifetime appointment on the Court of Appeals & remains in his house with his kids. Thanks to death threats, Christine Blasey Ford, on the other hand, is still unable to return to HER house because she had the temerity to step forward and speak truth to power.
That’s THIS country, not your imaginary land.
The purpose of these hearings was to assist the Senate in its duty to consent to a Presidential nomination to the Supreme Court, NOT to establish guilt or innocence. The Senate cannot find Kavanaugh “guilty,” whether or not he actually is.
If this had been a criminal trial, there would have been no constraints on investigating the facts or on the time needed to obtain them.
In this case, Republicans put stringent limits on who the FBI could interrogate. 40 people came forward voluntarily to the FBI hotline; 9 were questioned, but NOT Ford or Kavanaugh. The investigators were required to present their report in no more than a week. None of this could happen in a criminal trial, precisely because of what is required to make a beyond a reasonable doubt finding, which in turn, is required to deprive someone of liberty (or even life).
Republicans, not Democrats, controlled this process; its their railroad and it has reached its preordained destination.