Advertisement

Trump asks Justice Dept. to 'rescue' Kavanaugh amid new misconduct info

By Darryl Coote
Brett Kavanaugh has denied allegations of sexual impropriety. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
Brett Kavanaugh has denied allegations of sexual impropriety. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Justice Department to come to Brett Kavanaugh's "rescue" after new information was published on allegations of sexual misconduct against the controversial Supreme Court justice that has Democrats calling for his impeachment.

"Brett Kavanaugh should start suing people for libel, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue," Trump tweeted Sunday. "The lies being told about him are unbelievable. False Accusations without recrimination."

Advertisement

Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, was confirmed last October despite accusations of sexual misconduct against him. However, an excerpt published in The New York Times of a new book titled The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation, written by reporters Kate Kelly and Robin Pogrebin, re-examines an allegation raised during Kavanaugh's Supreme Court hearings, while revealing a new allegation of sexual impropriety by Kavanaugh that was not investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Advertisement

The re-examination concerns Deborah Ramirez, who accused Kavanaugh of having exposed himself to her at a drunken Yale dormitory party in the early 1980s, according to The New Yorker.

Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the accusation.

Trump said the revelation is an attempt to "influence" Kavanaugh's judicial opinions.

"Can't let it happen," he said.

However, the report has reignited the anger of Democrats who called Sunday for impeachment inquiries to begin.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Kavanaugh should never have been confirmed to the Supreme Court and called on the House judiciary committee to spearhead an impeachment probe.

"In normal times, I would call on the Department of Justice's Inspector General to fully investigate the FBI's failures in this matter. But these are not normal times," she said on Twitter. "The House Judiciary Committee should immediately begin an impeachment inquiry to determine whether Justice Kavanaugh lied to Congress and why the FBI wasn't permitted to investigate."

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., a presidential candidate, said she sat through his hearings last year and he "lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly the American people."

"He was put on the Court through a sham process and his place on the court is an insult to the pursuit of truth and justice," she said on Twitter.

Advertisement

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said his nomination was "rammed" through the Senate without thorough examinations of the sexual impropriety accusations against him and that "confirmation is not exoneration,"

"Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached," the presidential candidate said.

Their comments echoed those of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who did not explicitly call for impeachment but called for Kavanaugh to be held accountable by "any appropriate constitutional mechanism." Sanders also is running for president as a Democrat.

Trump, however, fired back Sunday, saying the demands for Kavanaugh's impeachment were based on "made up stories," "false allegations" and "lies."

"This is the game they play," he said, referring to the Democrats. "Fake and Corrupt News is Working overtime!"

Latest Headlines