U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is appealing to the public as questions about his judicial temperament and fitness for the high court persist, following his partisan outbursts at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week on whether he sexually assaulted a woman in the early 1980s when the two were teenagers.
"I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said," Kavanaugh wrote in an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal Thursday.
In his opening remarks at the hearing, Kavanaugh seemed to blame the Clintons for the three allegations of sexual assault and lewd behavior against him and was combative with Democratic senators, at one point refusing to answer questions and throwing questions back in the faces of Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Kamala Harris.
"My hearing testimony was forceful and passionate," he wrote. "At times, my testimony—both in my opening statement and in response to questions—reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character."
He called himself “hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent,” and said he believes he would be a fair and impartial jurist.
Three women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct and drunken behavior when he was in high school and college, but a new FBI probe into the allegations did not corroborate the accusations, according to Republican senators, who are standing behind Kavanaugh and plan to vote on his nomination by the weekend.
Four senators remained undecided Thursday and are considered crucial votes on whether Kavanaugh is confirmed.
Republicans hold a 51-49 majority over Democrats in the Senate. If Democrats vote unanimously against Kavanaugh, they can only afford to lose one vote. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) were all undecided as of Thursday night.
A procedural vote is scheduled for Friday morning.
Credit: Pool
Credit: Pool
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