Free Speech for People, a self-described non-partisan organization fighting for limited campaign spending, launched a petition to impeach Brett Kavanaugh from the Supreme Court immediately after the full Senate voted 50-48 to confirm him.
Free Speech for People’s petition to remove Kavanaugh from the Supreme Court hinges on far-fetched claims that the judge perjured himself numerous times since President George W. Bush nominated Kavanaugh for a seat on the D.C. appellate court in 2004. The group is demanding the House Judiciary Committee hold hearings into the uncorroborated accusations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh and calls for lawmakers to probe whether the judge lied during his previous nomination hearings.
Free Speech For People legal advisory committee member Lisa Graves said in a statement:
Even though the U.S. Senate has recklessly confirmed Judge Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, the evidence remains that he committed perjury multiple times during these hearings and during his nomination hearings in 2004 and 2006 for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. And now there is disturbing evidence suggesting that he may have committed sexual assaults, and once again, lied about it to the Senate. It is imperative for the House Judiciary Committee to begin an impeachment investigation of Justice Kavanaugh. A judicial officer who has committed perjury, let alone sexual assault, does not belong on the Supreme Court or on any court in America.
In a statement, the court says Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the Constitutional Oath and retired Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy will administer the Judicial Oath in a private ceremony at the Supreme Court. Both oaths will be administered so Kavanaugh can participate in the work of the court immediately.
A formal investiture ceremony will take place at a special sitting of the court at a later date.
The near party-line vote capped a fight that seized the national conversation after claims emerged that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted women three decades ago — which he emphatically denied. Those allegations magnified the clash from a routine Supreme Court struggle over judicial ideology into an angrier, more complex jumble of questions about victims’ rights, the presumption of innocence, and personal attacks on nominees.
Acrimonious to the end, the battle featured a climactic roll call that was interrupted several times by protesters in the Senate Gallery before Capitol Police removed them. Vice President Mike Pence presided over the roll call, his potential tie-breaking vote unnecessary.
The vote gave President Donald Trump his second appointee to the court, tilting it further to the right and pleasing conservative voters who might have revolted against GOP leaders had Kavanaugh’s nomination flopped.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.