A decades-old sexual misconduct allegation involving Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, has led to an 11th-hour charge by Democrats to get him to withdraw.
The allegation, made by an unidentified woman in a letter sent to Democratic lawmakers in July, comes days before the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Liberal groups that have mounted an expensive, aggressive, and so-far unsuccessful effort to derail his nomination are now pointing to the claim as a disqualifier for Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court.
“The charge of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh is disqualifying, and we call on him to immediately withdraw his nomination for the Supreme Court,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.
The allegation of sexual misconduct by an unidentified woman was detailed in a July letter sent to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., though its existence was kept under wraps until The Intercept published a report Wednesday.
As questions surrounding the mysterious document swirled around Washington, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., released a statement Thursday saying she received “information” concerning Kavanaugh, which she referred to federal investigative authorities.
Feinstein said the individual she received the information from “strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further.” The California Democrat did not give any further details about the matter.
But those details emerged Friday, when The New Yorker reported that the letter described an allegation of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh dating back to the early 1980s.
According to The New Yorker, the woman claims in the letter that Kavanaugh held her down and tried to force himself on her when they were at a party when he was in high school. Kavanaugh denied the incident ever occurred.
Undaunted, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans said they would hold a confirmation vote for Kavanaugh on Thursday. The GOP wants him confirmed by last week of September, which would let Kavanaugh take his seat on the Supreme Court by the start of its next term.
But opponents of Kavanaugh are calling on senators to pump the brakes on his nomination.
“Sexual assault is a violent abuse of power and should disqualify anyone from serving on the highest court in the land,” Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “Kavanaugh’s record of undermining women’s health and constitutional rights should already prevent his confirmation from moving forward. These serious allegations raise even more questions about what we don’t know about Judge Kavanaugh.”
The organization “calls on senators to stop the nomination process immediately,” Laguens said.
While Planned Parenthood urged senators to halt Kavanaugh’s nomination process, other groups are calling on the nominee directly to pull himself out of the running.
“The accusations against Brett Kavanaugh are serious, troubling, and totally disqualifying. He should withdraw his nomination immediately,” said Shaunna Thomas, executive director of the left-leaning women’s group UltraViolet. “Violence against women should have no place in our society and it certainly should have no place on the highest court in the nation.”
Despite the pressure from liberal groups, it’s unclear whether the sexual misconduct allegation will affect Kavanaugh’s path to confirmation. Republicans control 51 seats in the Senate to Democrats’ 49, and killing his nomination would require two GOP defections.
Advocacy groups have ramped up the pressure on Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine this week, though neither have said whether they intend to support or oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Collins spoke with Kavanaugh by phone for an hour Friday, in a call that was already scheduled before the letter emerged.
Outside groups are also targeting Democratic senators representing pro-Trump states, including Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.
All three are all up for re-election in November and supported Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court last year, and all three have said nothing in the wake of the new allegation against Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh’s supporters, meanwhile, continue to come to his defense.
The Senate Judiciary Committee circulated a letter Friday from 65 women praising his character.
“Through the more than 35 years we have known him, Brett has stood out for his friendship, character, and integrity,” the women wrote. “In particular, he has always treated women with decency and respect. That was true when he was in high school, and it has remained true to this day.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee said the letter was organized by Kavanaugh’s former clerks Thursday night and delivered Friday.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called the allegation “wholly unverifiable” and said it comes “at the tail-end of a process that was already marred by ugly innuendo, dishonesty, and the nastiest form of our politics.”
“I do not intend to allow Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to be stalled because of an 11th-hour accusation that Democrats did not see fit to raise for over a month,” he said.
