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Democrats call for a postponement of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings, opposing the late publication of documents the day before. (September 4th)
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Supreme Court President Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, a Federal Court of Appeal Judge, writes a worn-out copy of the US Constitution to the Senate Judiciary Committee at Capitol Hill, Washington, DC Wednesday, September 5, 2018. for the second day of his confirmation to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo / Andrew Harnik) ORG XMIT: DCAH120(Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)

Washington – Brett Kavanaugh has arrived at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing this week, apparently overwhelmed by his opponents.

Before him, former prosecutors stopped on the Democrats side of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. Behind him, dozens of protesters loomed, ready to interrupt the debates every turn.

In terms of ammunition, the two groups quarreled over the documents and the difficulties of the man who named him, President Donald Trump.

After more than 24 hours of testimony, however, Kavanaugh appeared largely intact, waving not a blank flag but his failed copy of the Constitution.

How did the 53-year-old, soft-spoken judge of the Federal Court of Appeal make a lesson in proven tactics: Avoid politics. Hide behind the previous one. Do not answer hypothetical questions. Empathy with the opponents. And have a faulty memory.

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For two days that went well, Kavanaugh offered a master class to answer the questions he wanted to hear, rather than those asked.

"You're getting really good," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-California, when the candidate had a longer answer than necessary. "You are learning to obstruct."

Here are five moments of "gotcha" that Kavanaugh escaped:

Trump's taunts

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, was among Democrats asking whether President Donald Trump had chosen Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court in order to save him in a future criminal case. (Photo: USAT)

LIke Justice Partner Neil Gorsuch, confirmed 54-45 last year, asked Kavanaugh to answer some of Trump's most impolitic remarks. In the Gorsuch case, it is the president's attacks on federal judges in 2017. In carefully crafted remarks, the Coloradan calls them "demoralizing" and discouraging. "

Perhaps aware of reports that Trump almost drew Gorsuch's personal dive appointment, Kavanaugh was even more cautious. Confronted repeatedly by Trump's recent attack on the Justice Department for indicting two Republican congressmen, he said he should remain "three postcodes away from the line" of the political commentary.

Invited later to comment on Trump's attack during the 2016 presidential campaign against associate judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg – the president said "his mind is shot down" after Ginsburg criticized him – Kavanaugh has stated: ""

Trump has problems

Senators Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, were among Democrats strongly questioning Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Photo: AP)

More dangerous were the moments – and there were many – when the Democrats associated Kavanaugh's strong support for a powerful presidency with the possibility that the Supreme Court should decide whether Trump can be summoned, charged or pardoned, or whether he can dismiss special adviser Robert Mueller.

"It is within the framework of Trump's presidency that we ask you these questions," said Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.

Kavanaugh refused to answer questions on the grounds that they were hypothetical and that they could turn to the judges in the future. But accused of becoming Trump's chosen puppet on the field, he could not leave him there.

"I am afraid of nothing, thanks to my record of 12 years, to invalidate the executive power," he said.

overthrow roe?

Many protesters at Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing expressed their fear of helping overthrow Roe v. Wade, the historic decision legalizing abortion all over the country. (Photo: USAT)

The question on virtually every senator's mind was Abortion. Would Kavanaugh vote to cancel Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision of 1973 that legalized the abortion from one ocean to the other? A simple yes or no answer would suffice. Of course, there would be no answer.

What Kavanaugh has cited over and over again is the importance – but not the inviolability – of the Supreme Court precedent. And in this case, not only precedent but "previous precedent" – the addition of the court decision in 1992 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld the right but allowed restrictions imposed by the state, such as parental consent for minors.

The parents' consent is what led to dissent last year when the US District Court of Appeals allowed an undocumented young person in federal custody to have an abortion. Kavanaugh said more time should have been allowed to find a sponsor, so the government would not be involved.

"I made it clear that this had to happen very quickly," he said, so that the 17-year-old, originally from Central America, does not run up against the limit of 20 weeks of Texas. He noted that he was not in agreement with a fellow judge who wrote that illegal immigrants do not enjoy the right to abortion.

"I did my best," he said.

The pleadings

Angry protesters interrupted Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing for four days to discuss their grievances over potential changes to abortion rights, health care, gun control and other issues. (Photo: Getty Images)

On other issues Galvanized protesters – gun control, health care and the right to vote among them – Kavanaugh emphasized the softer and sweeter rhetoric in his opinions, which nevertheless went against the interests of the Liberals .

His dissent that would have canceled a District of Columbia ban on semi-automatic weapons? Required by a precedent, Kavanaugh said, but "violence in schools is something we all hate".

His dissent in a case confirming the Affordable Care Act? Just for procedural reasons, he said, and "I expressed my respect for the purpose of Congress in this legislation".

His opinion confirming a law on identity photos in South Carolina? He allowed exceptions and was delayed by one year so that those concerned could prepare, he said, adding: "I was on the effects of the real world".

& # 39; Caution, sir & # 39;

Senator Kamala Harris, D-California, a former prosecutor, had some of the most vivid questions for Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Photo: EPA-EFE)

The most unusual moment came late Wednesday night when Senator Kamala Harris, D-California – one of five former prosecutors among the 10 Democrats on the committee – asked if he had discussed the Mueller investigation with lawyers from a firm headed by Marc Kasowitz, one of many former Trump lawyers.

"Pay attention to your answer, sir," said Harris, perhaps doing this for Kavanaugh. He admitted to having talked about the case with other judges, but said that he did not know who the senator had in mind.

"I think you think of someone and you do not want to tell us," she said. But the meeting ended in deadlock and on Thursday, Kavanaugh had refreshed his memory enough to deny his charge – apparently intended to force a Kavanaugh judge to recuse himself from a possible future case.

"I have not had any inappropriate discussions with anyone," he told Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut. Later, he added, "I did not have any discussion of the kind that you think about, I think."

And finally, to Harris, he said, "The answer is no."

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