The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday condemned a move by Democrats to scour the White House records of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“Senate Democrats spent months launching false accusations in an attempt to smear Justice Kavanaugh’s reputation and block his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, and now House Democrats want to follow suit with yet another fishing expedition to tarnish his good name,” Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, said Tuesday.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, sent a letter to the National Archives record department, demanding the emails and documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the White House Counsel’s office and asking to assist in streamlining the production of material from Kavanaugh’s staff secretary tenure, which was not scheduled for release until 2021.
The New York Democrat said he is seeking the material as part of the panel’s oversight responsibility.
“The Committee’s jurisdiction encompasses the laws governing judicial ethics and the judicial oath of office; judicial disqualification, and misconduct; and the organization of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Collins said Kavanaugh was already thoroughly vetted by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which spent weeks poring over his record and additionally accusations of sexual assault by a former high school acquaintance.
“Chairman Nadler’s request is so far outside the scope of judicial ethics, it’s harassment,” Collins said.
Nadler said the Judiciary Committee is seeking the material because the Senate only reviewed a fraction of it during their confirmation process.
Kavanaugh worked in the White House from 2001 until 2006.
He was confirmed to the Supreme Court in October 2018.
