Judiciary Committee Democrats to Grassley: Postpone Hearing, Support FBI Investigation

Washington—Following the release of a sworn affidavit from Julie Swetnick detailing new allegations of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh, all 10 Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today urged Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to postpone tomorrow’s hearing and Friday’s vote and support an FBI investigation of all allegations.

            The senators wrote: “The Senate Judiciary Committee is not a court of law. Our job is not to determine whether Brett Kavanaugh is guilty of a crime. Our job is to determine whether Brett Kavanaugh has the character and qualifications to be promoted to the most prestigious and powerful court in the country.

            “It would be an unprecedented abuse of power and abdication of our constitutional responsibilities to move forward with this nomination given the concerns about Brett Kavanaugh’s character and actions. We ask that you immediately request an FBI investigation or support the withdrawal of this nominee, but at a minimum the vote that has been scheduled for Friday must be canceled.”

            Full text of the letter follows:

September 26, 2018 

Honorable Charles Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairman Grassley:

            In light of shocking new allegations detailed by Julie Swetnick in a sworn affidavit, we write to request that the Committee vote on Brett Kavanaugh be immediately canceled and that you support the reopening of the FBI investigation to examine all of the allegations against Kavanaugh or withdrawal of his nomination.        

            Under penalty of perjury, which would cause Ms. Swetnick to be subject to criminal prosecution, she states that she witnessed Brett Kavanaugh “engage in abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls, including pressing girls against him without their consent, ‘grinding against girls,’ and attempting to remove or shift girls’ clothing to expose private body parts” as well as “make crude sexual comments that were designed to demean, humiliate and embarrass them.”

            The Senate Judiciary Committee is not a court of law. Our job is not to determine whether Brett Kavanaugh is guilty of a crime. Our job is to determine whether Brett Kavanaugh has the character and qualifications to be promoted to the most prestigious and powerful court in the country.

            It would be an unprecedented abuse of power and abdication of our constitutional responsibilities to move forward with this nomination given the concerns about Brett Kavanaugh’s character and actions. We ask that you immediately request an FBI investigation or support the withdrawal of this nominee, but at a minimum the vote that has been scheduled for Friday must be canceled.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
Ranking Member

Patrick J. Leahy
United States Senator

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator

Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator

Christopher A. Coons
United States Senator

Richard Blumenthal
United States Senator

Mazie K. Hirono
United States Senator

Cory A. Booker
United States Senator

Kamala D. Harris
United States Senator

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