On the floor of the Senate Thursday, Republican Sen.
On the floor of the Senate Thursday, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah made his closing arguments for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, providing evidence against the uncorroborated allegations and condemning the Democrats‘ manipulative and partisan handling of the allegations.
The senator began by stressing Kavanaugh’s unquestionable qualifications for the position, noting that he is „among the most distinguished and most influential judges in the entire country“ (full transcript, video below). His decisions have influenced the Supreme Court „no less than eleven times,“ said Hatch, and he has taught courses „at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown.“
But his impeccable record has not been the focus of the last few weeks, Hatch underscores; rather uncorroborated and often absurd on their face accusations given credence by the Democrats. The result as been „the lowest, most vile, most dishonest attempt at character assassination“ he’s ever seen.
„We’ve had protestors in halls and hearing rooms and elevators. We’ve even seen the miraculous return of Spartacus,“ he said. „And, Mr. President, we’ve had the lowest, most vile, most dishonest attempt at character assassination that I’ve ever seen in all my 42 years in the Senate. We may never know who leaked reports of Dr. Ford’s allegations to the press. We do know it was someone in the Democratic orbit. This was followed by the most appalling smear campaign imaginable. No accusation was too heinous, no claim too far-fetched.“ Hatch then called out the Democrats for pretending alarm over Kavanaugh’s response to their shamelessly political smear campaign, particularly by acting as if they’d only pushed Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations.
„My Democratic colleagues like to pretend that Judge Kavanaugh’s understandable indignation at last week’s hearing was a reaction only to Dr. Ford’s allegations, but of course, that’s not the case,“ said Hatch. „In the days immediately preceding the hearing, Judge Kavanaugh was accused of drugging women, of serial assault, and even gang rape. As Judge Kavanaugh told committee investigators, it was like the Twilight Zone. I sure wish my Democratic colleagues would stop trying to rewrite history to excise the slew of garbage they unleashed on Judge Kavanaugh and the American people.“
Hatch then focused his attention on Ford’s allegations, which he called „serious.“ „If true, they should disqualify Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the Supreme Court,“ he said. „But neither Dr. Ford, nor her attorneys, nor any member of the news media has been able to provide any corroboration for her claims. To the contrary, every alleged eyewitness or partygoer that she has named has either denied her allegations or failed to corroborate them. This includes her lifelong friend, Leland Keyser, whom Dr. Ford says was present at the party that night. Ms. Keyser says that not only does she not remember such a gathering ever taking place, but that she does not even know Judge Kavanaugh.“
And more questions have begun to arise following Ford’s testimony that undermine her credibility, Hatch said, including her claims about the second front door and not having helped anyone prepare for a lie detector test.
„Questions have been raised in recent days about certain elements of Dr. Ford’s testimony,“ he said. „She says she first told others that Judge Kavanaugh had attacked her around the time of a house remodel to add a second front door to her home. But permit records show the door was added four years prior to her first alleged mention of Judge Kavanaugh. She testified she’d never given advice on how to take a polygraph test. A former boyfriend of hers, however, disputes that statement. Dr. Ford has also offered inconsistent accounts of when the attack took place and how many people were present at the party.“
He also notes that other aspects of her account are „confusing,“ including her selective memory which leaves out key details essential in corroborating her allegations, including how she got home. „Even more puzzling, her good friend, Ms. Keyser, apparently never asked Dr. Ford why she disappeared from the party,“ he noted.
„Given that there is no corroborating evidence for Dr. Ford’s claims, all we have to go on is her story,“ he continued. „Although not dispositive, the questions and inconsistencies and puzzling aspects that I have just outlined call into question the reliability of her account. This is simply not enough, Mr. President, to conclude that Judge Kavanaugh is guilty of the heinous act Dr. Ford alleges.“
In Kavanaugh’s favor, he argued, we have a documented „lifetime of good works and honorable public service,“ testified to by „dozens of letters from hundreds of people attesting to Judge Kavanaugh’s good character and unimpeachable credentials.“
„His clerks, students, and former colleagues have all praised him as a man of the highest integrity. He has made the promotion and encouragement of women lawyers a focus of his time on the bench. He volunteers in his community and mentors young athletes. This is a good man,“ he said. „What Dr. Ford alleges is entirely out of character with the entire course of Judge Kavanaugh’s life. The recent sideshow stories about his drinking habits in high school and college over 30 years ago from people who never liked him in the first place are just a distraction. That this confirmation process has turned into a feeding frenzy about how nice Judge Kavanaugh was to his freshman roommate is an embarrassment.“
In the end, the Senate „has taken these allegations seriously“ and done their due diligence. The FBI „found no corroborating evidence for any of the recent allegations against him. Not a single piece of corroborating evidence,“ he stressed.
„Mr. President, I will vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh,“ Hatch concluded. „He is unquestionably qualified.
