A day before the eagerly awaited appearance of embattled U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and one of his female accusers before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Merkley wants to call a time-out.
The Oregon Democrat later today will ask a federal judge for an injunction that will stop the Senate Republicans' hurry-up plan to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination as soon as possible. Merkley asserts he's been prevented from doing his job of thoroughly reviewing Kavanaugh's qualifications.
Merkley's complaint has more to do with the 100,000 pages of Kavanaugh-related documents withheld by the Trump administration than with complaints of sexual assault. Specifically, Merkley accused President Donald Trump and his staff of "imposing a broad and unprecedented blockage on the Senate's and the public's access to reams of key documents that directly bear on Judge Kavanaugh's views, experience and character."
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa and chair of the Senate judiciary committee, has said he'd like to hold a vote Friday morning. Republicans have rejected requests from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh's first accuser, for an FBI investigation.
"The events of the past ten days have only underscored how critical it is that the Senate conduct a careful and comprehensive review of a nominee before giving its consent," Merkley said in a written statement. "The President and Mitch McConnell want to ram through this nomination come hell or high water, without real advice or informed consent by the Senate, but that's just not how our Constitution works."
Amid the high drama of Kavanaugh's nomination and the women who accuse him of sexual assault it's unclear how the courts will receive Merkley's request. The complaint had not yet been filed as of 10:50 a.m.
Last week, Merkley along with most of the rest of Oregon's Democratic federal delegation vowed to mount a national grassroots campaign against Kavanaugh. Viewed as a highly qualified jurist, his conservative stance on abortion rights had earned him the staunch opposition of many Democrats.
The emergence of at least two women, possibly three, who accused him of sexually assaulting them decades ago at high school and college parties has changed the landscape. A picture has emerged of the Judge as a hard-partying fraternity bro who regularly drank himself to oblivion even as Kavanaugh insisted to Fox News that he was a model of good behavior.
"I went to an all-boys Catholic high school where I was focused on academics and athletics and going to church every Sunday at Little Flower and working on my service projects and friendships," Kavanaugh said.
This dimwit must be a member of the subversive branch of USMB! Good luck with that. Separation of powers. Wonder if he even knows what that means! If the court doesn’t want its backside handed to it in shreds, it will refuse it. In the case of a REALLY stupid judge, Grassley should tell court to pound sand.
The Oregon Democrat later today will ask a federal judge for an injunction that will stop the Senate Republicans' hurry-up plan to vote on Kavanaugh's nomination as soon as possible. Merkley asserts he's been prevented from doing his job of thoroughly reviewing Kavanaugh's qualifications.
Merkley's complaint has more to do with the 100,000 pages of Kavanaugh-related documents withheld by the Trump administration than with complaints of sexual assault. Specifically, Merkley accused President Donald Trump and his staff of "imposing a broad and unprecedented blockage on the Senate's and the public's access to reams of key documents that directly bear on Judge Kavanaugh's views, experience and character."
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa and chair of the Senate judiciary committee, has said he'd like to hold a vote Friday morning. Republicans have rejected requests from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh's first accuser, for an FBI investigation.
"The events of the past ten days have only underscored how critical it is that the Senate conduct a careful and comprehensive review of a nominee before giving its consent," Merkley said in a written statement. "The President and Mitch McConnell want to ram through this nomination come hell or high water, without real advice or informed consent by the Senate, but that's just not how our Constitution works."
Amid the high drama of Kavanaugh's nomination and the women who accuse him of sexual assault it's unclear how the courts will receive Merkley's request. The complaint had not yet been filed as of 10:50 a.m.
Last week, Merkley along with most of the rest of Oregon's Democratic federal delegation vowed to mount a national grassroots campaign against Kavanaugh. Viewed as a highly qualified jurist, his conservative stance on abortion rights had earned him the staunch opposition of many Democrats.
The emergence of at least two women, possibly three, who accused him of sexually assaulting them decades ago at high school and college parties has changed the landscape. A picture has emerged of the Judge as a hard-partying fraternity bro who regularly drank himself to oblivion even as Kavanaugh insisted to Fox News that he was a model of good behavior.
"I went to an all-boys Catholic high school where I was focused on academics and athletics and going to church every Sunday at Little Flower and working on my service projects and friendships," Kavanaugh said.
This dimwit must be a member of the subversive branch of USMB! Good luck with that. Separation of powers. Wonder if he even knows what that means! If the court doesn’t want its backside handed to it in shreds, it will refuse it. In the case of a REALLY stupid judge, Grassley should tell court to pound sand.
