Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Tuesday released two pages of emails from 2002 that accuse Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh of misleading the Judiciary Committee more than a decade ago.
The emails were stamped as “committee confidential,” which means they were not cleared for public release.
[Also read: Cory Booker said he ‘knowingly’ violated Senate rules by releasing Brett Kavanaugh email — but he did not]
Contained in the emails were details of conversations Kavanaugh had with two other White House officials regarding the nomination of William Haynes to fill a judicial vacancy.
“It is clear now that not only did Judge Kavanaugh mislead me when it came to his involvement in the Bush Administration’s detention and interrogation policies, but also regarding his role in the controversial Haynes nomination,” Durbin said on Tuesday, according to the Hill.
Haynes was general counsel to the Pentagon and was involved in the George W. Bush administration’s detention policy following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Durbin said that the emails he made public were proof that Kavanaugh misled senators while testifying in his 2006 confirmation hearing to the D.C. Circuit Court.
Durbin claims that Kavanaugh denied having any involvement in Haynes’ nomination or knowledge of his work on Bush’s detention and interrogation policies. The Democratic senator insists that the 2002 emails are proof that Kavanaugh was aware.
When looking at the full testimony of the 2006 hearing, Kavanaugh did say that he was involved in the discussions regarding Haynes’ nomination.
But when you look at the full testimony, @SenDurbin’s cherry-picking of Judge #Kavanaugh’s words is more deceptive. In later testimony, Judge #Kavanaugh explicitly answered “yes” he was “involved in discussions involving the nominations of Haynes.” (3/5) cc: @SenKamalaHarris pic.twitter.com/lHB2Ys47q6
— Raj Shah (@RajShah45) September 11, 2018
Deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah said Tuesday that Durbin is throwing out “made up attacks in another smear campaign” against Kavanaugh and his confirmation.
Although Kavanaugh did admit being involved in discussions leading to Haynes’ nomination, he said that he did not “handle” the nomination itself.
“I know Jim Haynes, but it was not one of the nominations that I handled. I handled a number of nominations in the Counsel’s Office. That was not one of the ones that I handled,” Shah quoted Kavanaugh as saying in the 2006 hearings.
In 2006, Judge #Kavanaugh accurately stated: “I know Jim Haynes, but it was not one of the nominations that I handled. I handled a number of nominations in the Counsel’s Office. That was not one of the ones that I handled.” (1/5) https://t.co/VX8GHG8CBF
— Raj Shah (@RajShah45) September 11, 2018
“Durbin is accusing the judge of something demonstrably false,” said Shah. “Durbin is lying, point blank, without any qualifications.”
Kavanaugh, Trump’s second Supreme Court pick in less than two years, engaged in confirmation hearings beginning last week.
It is expected that the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote as early as next week on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
