The Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately postpone Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, ranking member Dianne Feinstein said Sunday evening.
Feinstein’s call followed a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, coming forward in a report Sunday to accuse the federal appeals court judge of sexual misconduct. Ramirez alleges Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during the 1983-84 academic school year while the pair were Yale University undergraduates, forcing her to touch his penis as she pushed him away, according to the New Yorker.
“I also ask that the newest allegations of sexual misconduct be referred to the FBI for investigation, and that you join our request for the White House to direct the FBI to investigate the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford as well as these new claims,” Feinstein, D-Calif., wrote Sunday in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
“It is time to set politics aside,” Feinstein added. “We must ensure that a thorough and fair investigation is conducted before moving forward.”
Christine Blasey Ford went public last weekend with her claim that Kavanaugh drunkenly forced himself onto her in the 1980s during a high school party in Maryland.
Ford agreed Sunday to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week to provide in-person testimony about her accusation. She had delayed negotiations over a possible hearing by demanding the FBI reopen its background investigation into Kavanaugh and her allegation.
Feinstein had implored President Trump earlier in the day to direct the FBI to probe the judge, saying there was plenty of time to so before the Thursday hearing.
Feinstein, joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, told the president FBI background checks were “standard practice” and routinely restarted when new, relevant information comes to light. They also said the FBI in 1991 completed its inquiry into Anita Hill’s sexual harassment accusation against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in three days, and the bureau had “almost a full week” to do the same for Ford.
Kavanaugh has denied both allegations.
