Brett Kavanaugh’s performance in Senate chambers on Thursday displayed a temperament more worthy of a strait jacket than of confirmation to the highest court in the land. Apparently the American Bar Association thinks so as well, because it wrote a letter to Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein asking that the Senate Judiciary Committee halt further consideration of Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS confirmation pending a full investigation by the FBI into allegations of sexual assault. CNN:
In a strongly worded letter obtained by CNN Thursday, the organization said it is making the extraordinary request “because of the ABA’s respect for the rule of law and due process under law,” siding with concerns voiced by Senate Democrats since Christine Blasey Ford’s decades-old allegations became public._“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,” said Robert Carlson, president of the organization, in a Thursday night letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein._“Each appointment to our nation’s Highest Court (as with all others) is simply too important to rush to a vote,” Carlson wrote. “Deciding to proceed without conducting additional investigation would not only have a lasting impact on the Senate’s reputation, but it will also negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people to have in the Supreme Court.”
On Thursday, Kavanaugh touted his “unanimous, well qualified rating” from the ABA as a point in his favor. Clearly, their views have changed and they are now saying that the Senate must be “an institution that will reliably follow the law and not politics,” and that a “thorough FBI investigation will demonstrate its commitment to a Supreme Court that is above reproach.”
Kavanaugh’s out of control display Thursday did not win him any points, except possibly with Trump who characterized his behavior as “powerful and riveting” but what’s the review of one drama queen on the histrionics of another?
This may the turning of the irreversible tide against Kavanaugh. The ethical considerations here are simply too powerful for Mitch McConnell to “plow through” and the classy thing for Kavanaugh to do would be to stand down; although so far, at least, classy is not an attribute in his personal lexicon.
