Brett Kavanaugh during the recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has sent Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley a letter, dismissing new allegations against him as “smears” that will not intimidate him into withdrawing his nomination.
Kavanaugh plans to testify Thursday at Grassley’s Senate Judiciairy Committee hearing to respond to Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations that he assaulted her when the two were high schoolers. Another woman has told The New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party when the two were college students at Yale.
Kavanaugh calls both allegations “smears, pure and simple” that “debase” the political process. Kavanaugh says it’s “obvious” character assassination that will dissuade “competent and good people of all political persuasions” from trying to serve in government in the future.
A top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has again called on Grassley to delay Thursday’s hearing and order an FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh. Protesters gathered outside Grassley’s offices in D.C., Davenport and Des Moines today.