Remembering Lindsey Graham’s Pivotal Role in the Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings

 Legal Insurrection

“I would never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.” 

"As these things often go, the aftermath of a political figure’s passing brings along with it varying opinions about the person, debates over their legacy, and speculation as to who will take their place if they still happen to be holding office.

"That has certainly been the case since news broke early Sunday morning that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), whose first Senate term began in January 2003, had passed away Saturday night “from a brief and sudden illness.”

"Graham, who had just gotten back from a Friday meeting in Ukraine with its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was 71.

"One of the things Republicans and Democrats alike will most remember Graham for was his powerful defense of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and his blistering criticisms of Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats, during the highly contentious confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh in the fall of 2018.

"Total war was declared on Kavanaugh, as Democrats were growing increasingly terrified that more conservative justices to the court would result in the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Relatedly, two senators on the committee, Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), were preparing to run for president and used the hearings to stage stunts and elevate their national profiles.

"There were also the behind-the-scenes machinations of then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), which ultimately set the stage for the fiery speech Graham would later give during the hearings:

Senator Dianne Feinstein knew that a woman had sent a letter claiming the Kavanaugh assaulted her in high school, but Feinstein said nothing. Not during the hearings, not during her consultations with fellow Senators, not during her private interview with Kavanaugh.

Instead, after the confirmation hearings were closed and a committee vote ready, it was 

conveniently leaked to The Intercept and Buzzfeed that the letter existed, and that Feinstein had forwarded it to the FBI. Days later the accuser was revealed in a Washington Post interview and story to be Christine Blasey Ford." . . . More...