Judges dismiss 83 ethics complaints against Kavanaugh

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A panel of federal judges has dismissed more than 80 ethics complaints against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh because lower courts can't investigate a high court jurist.

The ethics complaints accuse Kavanaugh of lying in 2004 and 2006 during confirmation hearings to the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The majority of the complaints say he misled the Senate about activities while serving in the administration of President George W. Bush. Under Bush, he was White House staff secretary between 2003 and 2006. He was also part of Bush's legal team that challenged the vote recount in Florida following the contested 2000 presidential election.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday while the complaints "are serious," there's no existing authority that allows them to take any action.

"The complaints must be dismissed because, due to his elevations to the Supreme Court, Justice Kavanaugh is no longer a judge covered by the [Judicial Conduct and Disability Act]," the judges wrote in their order.

The judicial council is permitted to take investigative or disciplinary action against other judges, but does not have authority to examine charges against sitting Supreme Court justices, regardless of when the behavior in question occurred. Some critics have said a code of conduct is needed for high court justices.

Some of the complaints also addressed Kavanaugh's conduct during Senate confirmation hearings this year for his appointment to the Supreme Court -- during which he sternly defended himself against accusations he sexually assaulted a classmate while drunk at a high school party in the early 1980s.

Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination was approved in October by a Senate vote of 50-48, with almost all Republicans voting for him.