[ad_1]
Republicans Sens Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Orrin Hatch of Utah and Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont were all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the panel heard testimony from Anita Hill in 1991 against the appointment of Judge Clarence Thomas.
The three senators remain members of the committee and questioned Supreme Court candidate Donald Trump Brett Kavanaugh earlier this month, giving the three men an unparalleled perspective on two moments in history with significant similarities.
Grassley
Unlike 27 years ago, Grassley is in both the Senate majority party and the powerful presidential position.
CNN contacted Grassley this week to comment on the comparison between her 1991 experience and today 's. His office has not yet responded to this request and has limited his latest public comments to Ford's allegations and the parameters of what a hearing on these allegations would look like.
"You ask legitimate questions that are still in our mind and these details are still being worked on," Grassley told Hewitt, adding, "We have to take all these things into account. participants the seriousness that he deserves, including the public. "
"We are in the same position as the Committee after the disclosure of Professor Hill's allegations," Grassley wrote in his letter explaining why the FBI should not investigate Ford's claims. "After that escape, we did not ask the FBI to conduct an investigation, but instead we reopened the hearing and evaluated the evidence that was given by us, as in 1991, it is now Senate of proof. "
the hatch
Hatch spokesman Matt Whitlock described the differences between Hill's hearing and the current situation in a statement sent Thursday to CNN, saying the circumstances surrounding the current allegations "deserve the same treatment."
"First, as President Grassley said yesterday, contrary to the allegations made here in 1991, the FBI conducted an investigation before Professor Anita Hill's allegations were made public," Whitlock said. "After receiving his non-public allegations, then President (Joe) Biden, unlike Dianne Feinstein, member of the Judiciary Committee, promptly notified the White House." Under the direction of the White House, the FBI conducted a few interviews, completed in a few days, and the White House handed these reports to the Senate.After a while, the contents of a report were leaked to the public and the hearing was reopened a few days later late. "
Whitlock also noted that Hill was "a federal employee alleging misconduct of a superior on federal property".
"The Department of Justice has stated that the FBI has no jurisdiction over Dr. Ford's allegations against Judge Kavanaugh," he said. "They stated that their role was not to investigate the credibility of a charge, which Democrats in the Senate are asking for".
Leahy
The only Democrat of the 1991 hearing on the Judiciary Committee, Leahy joined her Democratic Committee colleagues in calling for the FBI investigation requested by Ford before testifying.
"In 1991, a week after Anita Hill 's allegations of sexual harassment became public, the Judiciary Committee held three days of controversial hearings," the letter said. "These hearings took place after the White House asked the FBI to conduct an immediate investigation and that investigation was completed.Nevertheless, the Senate's handling of these allegations and the shameful treatment of Anita Hill were severely criticized ".
Other key senators of the 1991 hearing
The former member of the Judiciary Committee who interviewed Hill in 1991 is likely to be former Vice President Joe Biden, who at the time of the hearing was a Delaware Democratic senator who chaired the committee.
Other notable members of the audience include Republican Senator Strom Thurmond (South Carolina), who was then a judge, and Arlen Specter, who changed party to become a Democrat in 2009 after facing a tough Republican primary.
"The woman should have the benefit of the doubt and not be abused again by the system," said Biden. "My biggest regret was, I did not know how I could shut you up because you were a senator and you were attacking the character of Anita Hill, she was a victim during the process."
Biden said he thought an FBI inquiry into the allegations should be conducted and urged the committee to draw lessons from Thomas's hearings, stressing that they should not engage in "character assassinations" .
A complete list of Senators of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991
- Biden
- Senator Ted Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat
- Senator Howard Metzenbaum, Democrat of Ohio
- Dennis DeConcini, Democrat of Arizona
- Leahy
- Howell Heflin, Democrat of Alabama
- Paul Simon, Democrat of Illinois
- Herb Kohl, Wisconsin Democrat
- Thurmond
- the hatch
- Senator Alan Simpson, Republican of Wyoming
- Grassley
- Spectrum
- Hank Brown, Republican of Colorado
A complete list of Senators on the 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee
- Grassley, president
- the hatch
- Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina
- Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas
- Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah
- Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas
- Sen. Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska
- Senator Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona
- Senator Mike Crapo, Republican of Idaho
- Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina
- Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana
- Senator Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat and Distinguished Member of the Committee
- Leahy
- Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois
- Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island
- Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota
- Senator Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat
- Senator Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat
- Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii
- Senator Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat
- Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat of California
Arlette Saenz, Ted Barrett and Sarah Mucha from CNN contributed to this report.
[ad_2]Source link
