GOP launches counteroffensive on Kavanaugh
By Jordan Fabian - 09/24/18 05:03 PM EDT
The White House and Senate Republicans launched an intense counterattack on behalf of Brett Kavanaugh on Monday, signaling they intend to go forward with a vote on his nomination to the Supreme Court despite new allegations of past sexual misconduct.
The aggressive response was led by Kavanaugh himself, who said he was the victim of a “character assassination†and “smears,†an argument echoed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
“I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process,†Kavanaugh wrote in a letter to the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.â€
Shortly after Kavanaugh’s letter became public, McConnell delivered an unusually fiery speech on the Senate floor directed at his party’s base and the trio of undecided GOP senators who are likely to decide whether Kavanaugh is confirmed to the court.
“I want to make it perfectly clear: Judge Kavanaugh will be voted on here on the Senate floor,†said McConnell, who accused Democrats of having “aided and abetted†a “shameful, shameful smear campaign†against President Trump’s nominee.
Trump told reporters hours earlier that he stands behind Kavanaugh “all the way†and said the accusations against him are “totally political.â€
“This could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything,†he said at the United Nations.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/408161-gop-mounts-counter-offensive-on-kavanaugh