Get Real: Top Democrats End Kavanaugh's Killing Campaign



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Dick Durbin

"We need to go beyond this" impeachment is the answer to every problem. "This is not realistic," said Dick Durbin, Senate Whip. | Alex Wong / Getty Images

The senior Democrats are moving quickly to block calls to indict Brett Kavanaugh, arguing that these tactics are unrealistic and politically harmful.

The Democrats are already wondering if we should try to overthrow President Donald Trump, and the leadership sees little room for the party to start a second saga of dismissal by division barely a year before the 39, presidential election. Thus, the claims of the presidential candidates of 2020 to dismiss the Supreme Court judge, as a result of new reports on allegations of sexual misconduct, are disappearing.

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"Become true," said Senate minority whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) Monday afternoon.

"We must go beyond this" impeachment is the answer to every problem. "This is not realistic," Durbin said. "If this is how we are identified in Congress, as a Congress on impeachment, we run the risk that people will feel we are ignoring the issues that matter so much to them as families."

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kavanaugh's only democratic supporter, said Democratic lawmakers were insane about reports that the FBI had not thoroughly investigated the two charges against Kavanaugh. Many have called for new investigations at the Department of Justice, some have asked the FBI to seize the case and others have hoped that the Judiciary Committee of the House would initiate some sort of investigation .

But the debate on impeachment can quickly become critical.

Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) Said she would file an impeachment resolution on Tuesday, saying that "Kavanaugh's confirmation process has set a dangerous precedent. We must seek justice for the survivors and hold Kavanaugh accountable for his actions. "

The two-page resolution asks the Judiciary Committee of the House to investigate whether Kavanaugh should be dismissed, according to a project obtained by POLITICO. The resolution gives the committee the power to subpoena any Kavanaugh impeachment investigation.

It will land like a thud in the aftermath of the Capitol leader and with much of the party.

"Mitch McConnell would block any impeachment. So it's a questionable question, "said Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Former president of the judiciary. He said that the lesson to remember is not to rush the confirmations of a lifetime: "Never let these mistakes happen again." Until the Democrats take over the Senate, they can not do anything to stop the nominations.

The Speaker of the Judiciary in the House of Representatives, Jerry Nadler, also rejected the idea of ​​an indictment investigation, stating in an interview with radio on Monday that the committee "was concentrating its resources on the determination of the dismissal of the President ". impeachment but for him "it is a consequent action, that we must be able to justify."

These remarks were a blow to presidential candidates, Liberal legislators and progressive activists who called on Congress to take steps to overthrow Kavanaugh. Those pushing for an indictment or at least one investigation included 2020 aspirants such as Sens Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, as well as representatives Ilhan Omar (D-Min.) And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y. ) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Laver.).

"I'm pretty sure Jerry Nadler cares whether anyone, especially someone, has a life time appointment, has lied to Congress," he said. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who supports a dismissal investigation. "I hope he's going to change his mind."

The two most senior Democratic leaders in Congress have not addressed the issue publicly and the leader of the Democratic presidential party, Joe Biden, has refrained from approving a dismissal investigation. Several senior House aides have said that Democratic leaders, including President Nancy Pelosi, have not discussed the newly revealed Kavanaugh's indictment – and any possible steps to be taken by the chamber.

The leader of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), told reporters on Monday that he would address the issue later: "That's all I say, which is nothing. do not say anything about Kavanaugh. "

Many Democrats are not eager to embark on a battle that energizes the Conservatives, who quickly rejected their calls for removal. Although efforts to oust Kavanaugh are popular left-wing and have quickly become a litmus test in the presidential primaries, Republicans said they relished the return of a problem that, in their view, had helped to maintain the Senate in 2018.

Senator Thom Tillis (RN.C.), potentially vulnerable in his candidacy for re-election next year, said that "the last attempt of the left to destroy his life and to remove it will be a failure." calls for Kavanaugh to be rid, urging donors: "Do not let liberal Democrats and media denigrate Justice Kavanaugh."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) And Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chaired the Judiciary Committee during Kavanaugh's confirmation, delivered fiery speeches against the latest allegations. McConnell called them "fragile".

Grassley told reporters that his committee had only received a letter inviting them to talk to Max Stier, who, according to The New York Times, would have witnessed Kavanaugh's sexual assault at Yale. But Grassley said the letter did not contain any allegations of this type.

"You charge people for treason, serious crimes and misdemeanors. What did he commit? Said Grassley. "There was no allegation in this letter, so I'm not sure what the FBI was supposed to investigate."

There were always indications that the Democratic Party would return to Kavanaugh. Nadler told the New York Times just before Kavanaugh's confirmation vote in October that he planned to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations, including subpoenas to the White House and the FBI, and to question the accusers. Kavanaugh's opponents hoped that the Democratic House would act quickly.

But since they regained control of the House in January, the Democrats have done little to come back on the issue. Last month, Nadler petitioned the National Archives to release a large stockpile of documents from Mr. Kavanaugh's time under the administration of George W. Bush, the most important step taken by Democrats the House so far.

Nadler said the committee plans to pressure FBI director Christopher Wray following the bureau's investigation into the charges at a hearing scheduled for next month. Last year, Nadler called the FBI investigation of the charges "laundering", but the New York Democrat made it clear Monday that charging Kavanaugh was not his priority.

This is perfect for Senate leaders, who see little benefit to removal.

"I understand their frustration. I was in the front row of the crowd of frustration. They did not produce the documents and the FBI did not follow the investigation, "Durbin said. "We are now pushed into the corner of the dismissal by the Republicans on every occasion."

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