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.”
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.
The re-examination concerns Deborah Ramirez, who accused Kavanaugh of having drunkenly exposed himself to her at a Yale dormitory party in the early ’80s, 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 re-ignited the anger of Democrats who called Sunday for impeachment inquiries to begin.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, said Kavanaugh should never have been confirmed to the Supreme Court, while calling 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 of California and 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.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts 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.”
Their comments echoed those of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who did not explicitly call for impeachment but called for Kavanaugh to be held accountable by “any appropriate constitutional mechanism.”
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!”
