A committee for the American Bar Association that evaluates the professional qualifications of judges said it still stands behind Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The association’s president urged the Senate Judiciary Committee late Thursday to stall a confirmation vote until the FBI has conducted an investigation into Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her.
The letter was not seen by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary before it was sent to the panel, committee chairman Paul Mosley wrote in a separate letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Friday.
The Standing Committee “acts independently” of the association’s leadership, he said.
“The Committee conducts non-partisan, non-ideological, and confidential peer review of federal judicial nominees. The ABA’s rating for Judge Kavanaugh is not affected by Mr. [Robert] Carlson’s letter,” the letter concluded.
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“The correspondence by Robert Carlson, President of the American Bar Association…was not received by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary prior to its issuance…The ABA’s rating for Judge Kavanaugh is not affected by Mr. Carlson’s letter.” pic.twitter.com/d8oYYGFcK1
— Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) September 28, 2018
The American Bar Association’s Thursday call for the postponement of a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination was seen as significant because the Standing Committee had said a month prior that Kavanaugh was “well qualified” to serve on the Supreme Court. It’s the highest rating a judge can receive from the committee.
“Each appointment to our nation’s Highest Court (as with all others) is simply too important to rush to a vote,” Carlson said in his letter. “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.”
The Senate committee backed Kavanaugh in a party-line 11-10 vote Friday, though Republicans have delayed a final vote on the judge by up to a week to allow time for an FBI investigation.
President Trump approved a “supplemental investigation” at the Senate’s request.
