Protesters and Democrats interrupt opening statements of Brett Kavanaugh confirmation

[HARDCORE]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...904-story.html


Protesters and Democrats interrupt opening statements of Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearing
By Denis Slattery

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | Sep 04, 2018 | 10:50 AM

Several protesters speak out and ultimately get removed during the first day of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

Protests and partisan fighting threaten to derail Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill as Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to block the proceedings.

Dem lawmakers interrupted Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, in a coordinated attack as soon as the high-stakes hearing began around 9:30 a.m. and made a motion to adjourn, arguing they hadn't had time to review more than 42,000 documents handed over to the committee on Monday.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) kicked off the round of objections by telling Grassley that “we have not been given an opportunity to have a meaningful hearing on this nominee.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) continued the disturbance and called the committee’s handling of the documents a "charade” and a “mockery.”

"If we cannot be recognized I move to adjourn," Blumenthal said. "We have been denied real access to the documents we need.”

Cheers erupted from the back of the room following the unsuccessful call for postponement as protesters shouted and voiced their opposition to Kavanaugh’s appointment.

I was just arrested for civil disobedience in the Kavanaugh hearings.

Many citizens before me have fought for the equal rights of women. I can’t be silent when someone is nominated to the Supreme Court who would take our equal rights away.#StopKavanaghpic.twitter.com/f3SG7gmVam
— Piper Perabo (@PiperPerabo) September 4, 2018

“Covert Affairs” actress Piper Perabo was one of 70 people arrested by Capitol police, mostly for disorderly conduct.

“Many citizens before me have fought for the equal rights of women,” she posted on Twitter with a video of her being ushered out by police. “I can’t be silent when someone is nominated to the Supreme Court who would take our equal rights away. #StopKavanaugh.”
A woman stands and voices her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination for Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill.

Grassley said he would be patient and allow for the interruptions following the chaotic opening moments, but added that it “gets pretty boring to hear the same thing all the time.”

His fellow Republicans were not as tolerant of the attempts at obstruction.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said it felt as if the hearing was being run by “mob rule.”

"This is the first confirmation hearing that I've seen basically according to mob rule. We have rules in the Senate. We have norms for decorum," he said.

Kavanaugh sat stone faced as protesters shouted behind him throughout the hearing.

The chaotic proceedings ended with a placating opening statement from Kavanaugh himself.

“I am optimistic about the future of America and the future of our independent Judiciary,” Kavanaugh said. “I revere the Constitution. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, I will keep an open mind in every case. I will do equal right to the poor and to the rich.”

Kavanaugh also gave an unexpected shout-out to Merrick Garland, his colleague on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., whom Republicans blocked for over 10 months from even being considered for the Supreme Court after President Barack Obama nominated him in March 2016.

“I have served with 17 other judges, each of them a colleague and a friend, on a court now led by our superb chief judge, Merrick Garland,” Kavanaugh said.

Questioning is set to begin on Wednesday, and votes in committee and on the Senate floor could occur later this month.

Kavanaugh, who was nominated by Trump to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, has a solidly conservative record as an appeals court judge, but his history working for the George W. Bush administration and his role in assisting in the investigation of President Bill Clinton have raised questions among Democrats.

The White House said Friday that it would not be releasing 100,000 Kavanaugh's records from the Bush White House on the basis of presidential privilege.

“The decision to hide a significant portion of Judge Kavanaugh's White House record — announced on the eve of his confirmation hearing for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court — is deeply concerning,” committee Democrats wrote in a letter Tuesday to White House Counsel Don McGahn.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh arrives at the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill.

Demonstrators continued to shout over Grassley and other lawmakers and disrupt the hearing throughout the day. Protesters were escorted from the chamber by police one by one.

One shouted, “an illegitimate President cannot make a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.”

Trump took to Twitter to vent his frustrations with the tumultuous hearing.

“The Brett Kavanaugh hearings for the future Justice of the Supreme Court are truly a display of how mean, angry, and despicable the other side is,” Trump tweeted. “They will say anything, and are only looking to inflict pain and embarrassment to one of the most highly renowned jurists to ever appear before Congress! So sad to see!”

Ranking Democrat member Sen. Dianne Feinstein followed a similar tack and said that aside from the argument over Kavanaugh-related documents, the 53-year-old judge’s confirmation comes with the additional political baggage of being nominated by a President who is under investigation, although not necessarily a criminal target.

“Give us the time to do our work so we can have a positive and comprehensive hearing on the man who may well be the deciding vote for many of America's futures," said Feinstein.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie was killed in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., left, attempts to shake hands with Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.

Ahead of a brief lunch break, a man whose daughter died in the Parkland school shooting in Florida tried to shake Kavanaugh’s hand.

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie died in the February 2018 attack, approached Kavanaugh and put out his hand. Kavanaugh paused for a moment before turning away.

Afterward, Guttenberg tweeted that Kavanaugh “did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence.” White House spokesman Raj Shah says security intervened before Kavanaugh could shake the hand of the “unidentified individual.”

Kavanaugh is Trump’s second contentious Supreme Court pick. Justice Neil Gorsuch's nomination last year sparked controversy because Senate Republicans refused in 2016 to consider Garland.

With Chris Sommerfeldt

[Boats]

HC - this is Trumps get out of jail - Free Card. We all know it. The women of America will not tolerate his ideology. They went through suffrage to gain rights - I've got all women in my family - they are all tougher than nails. RGB was a great Supreme Court Justice for women's rights - she will surely be missed. Congress knows this but yet Trump picked him for his protection if impeachment comes about and this was his ACE in Hole.

Women of America will not tolerate any injustice in their rights what few they have. Let's be men enough to know this!

Boats