"Handmaids" are protesting at Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing
- by Darrel Baker
- in Sci-tech
- — Сен 6, 2018
Democratic senators tag-teamed Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley from the very start of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
A heckler interrupts the proceedings during the first day of hearings to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in Washington, on September 4, 2018.
"I understand your point of view on that, senator, and I understand how passionate and how deeply people feel about this issue", Kavanaugh said, adding, "I don't live in a bubble".
Trump has often criticized the federal judiciary.
As he had when asked about other issues that come before the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh told senators he - like the eight sitting justices before him - would not comment on such potential cases.
Liberals are concerned Kavanaugh could provide a decisive fifth vote on the nine-justice court to overturn the 1973 abortion ruling.
"Chairman Grassley must not shield Judge Kavanaugh from evidence that Kavanaugh perjured himself in previous confirmation hearings, or any other documents or evidence relevant to his ability to serve on the highest court for a lifetime appointment", reads the groups" joint statement. But with Trump's fellow Republicans holding a slim Senate majority, and no sign of defections in the Republican ranks, it remains likely Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the lifetime job on the top USA judicial body.
But Kavanaugh sidestepped a question by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein about whether a sitting president can "be required to respond to a subpoena", a query that could come into play as Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigates potential collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russian Federation. When asked if he would harbor any loyalty to Trump since he nominated him, or if he would rule against him, Kavanaugh said his allegiance as a judge was to the constitution. While Kavanaugh professed ignorance about Kozinski's misbehavior, Hirono briskly raised doubts about his failure to grasp the "real world" consequences of that misbehavior, and linked that observation to his questionable sensitivity to native Hawaiian interests in another case, and his attitude toward women's reproductive rights.
Читайте также: Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop pays $145,000 in vaginal egg lawsuitMajority Republicans can confirm Kavanaugh without any Democratic votes, though they'll have little margin for error.
In 2009, Kavanaugh wrote a law review article saying presidents should be free from the distractions of civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, and investigations while in office. He specifically mentioned a 1992 ruling in the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey reaffirming the Roe ruling.
Kavanaugh said he would have a "completely open mind" if the legal issues came before him as a judge.
"It's not as if it's just a run-of-the-mill case that was decided and has never been reconsidered", he said of Roe v. Wade.
On gun rights, Feinstein pressed Kavanaugh on his 2011 dissent in an appellate ruling upholding a District of Columbia gun law banning semi-automatic rifles.
He differed with a White House characterization of his record on government regulations. Kavanaugh said he had also upheld many government regulations over the years. "I will do equal right to the poor and to the rich", Kavanaugh said.
Trump picked Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement on June 27.
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