New Kavanaugh allegation unlikely to prompt impeachment

WASHINGTON — As several Democratic presidential candidates called for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, newly disclosed allegations are reviving questions about the rush to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee at the height of the #MeToo movement. McConnell opened the Senate on Monday saying the new round of allegations against Kavanaugh “felt a little like Groundhog Day.” He called the Times report “yet another poorly sourced, thinly reported unsubstantiated allegation.” While impeachment proceedings against Kavanaugh are extremely unlikely, the revelations raise fresh questions about the GOP rush to push Kavanaugh’s confirmation. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said Kavanaugh “lied” to the Senate and “most importantly to the American people.” She tweeted: “He must be impeached.” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, tweeted, “Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached.” Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke asserted in a tweet: “We know he lied under oath. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tweeted, “As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I promise you Justice Kavanaugh will not be impeached over these scurrilous accusations.” At the forefront of the claims against Kavanaugh last fall were allegations from Christine Blasey Ford, a college professor in California, who testified that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teens at a high school party near Washington, D.C. As voting neared, three key Republican senators whose votes McConnell needed remained undecided, and the GOP leader drew them and other Republicans to his office to decide the next steps. On Monday, Grassley said his office “never received anything from Mr. Stier” or anything with the special allegation against Kavanaugh “like the one referenced.” Grassley stood by the process and scoffed at impeachment, saying, “There weren’t any allegations in the letter.