Top Democratic Senator Mocks Push for Impeachment of Kavanaugh: ‘Get Real’

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) speaks during Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to serve as associate justice for the Supreme Court at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 4, 2018. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Top Democrats are dismissing calls to impeach Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which were sparked by a new article that rehashes old allegations against the justice and included one newly reported claim, which the alleged victim doesn’t recall.

Asked about the push on Sept. 16, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told Politico, “Get real.”

“We’ve got to get beyond this ‘impeachment is the answer to every problem.’ It’s not realistic,” Durbin said. “If that’s how we are identified in Congress, as the impeachment Congress, we run the risk that people will feel we’re ignoring the issues that mean a lot to them as families.”

“Mitch McConnell would block any impeachment. So that’s a moot point,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman.

In an interview on Sept. 16 with New York radio station WNYC, current House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said the House is focused on trying to impeach President Donald Trump.

Brett Kavanaugh after his swearing-in ceremony as associate justice of the Supreme Court before wife Ashley Estes Kavanaugh and President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Oct. 8, 2018. Holly Kellum/The Epoch Times

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) prepares for a markup hearing on a series of bills on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 10, 2019. Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

“We have our hands full with impeaching the president right now, and that’s going to take up our limited resources and time for a while,” Nadler said, in response to a question about the allegations against Kavanaugh. “Frankly, we are concentrating our resources on determining whether to impeach the president. Personally, I think the president ought to be impeached, but we have to concentrate on that for the next few months.”

Kavanaugh has denied all the allegations against him, and none of the accusers have been able to provide evidence from any witnesses to support their claims.

The first woman, Christine Blasey Ford, for instance, identified four people she said were present at the alleged incident. All four denied knowledge of what happened or ever being at a situation like the one she described.

A prosecutor who questioned Ford before the Senate Judiciary Committee noted that Ford’s account had multiple inconsistencies and that she had long-term and short-term memory problems.

Ford contradicted herself on the stand multiple times, such as admitting she’s flown frequently over the years when she said previously that she was scared of flying.

Rachel Mitchell asks questions of Christine Blasey Ford at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court in Washington on Capitol Hill, on Sept. 27, 2018. Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images

Christine Blasey Ford testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 27, 2018. Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images

Julie Swetnick, another woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, was referred to the Department of Justice after she revised her claim. A witness that Swetnick identified also contradicted her account.

While top Democrats dismissed the push for impeachment, others said they were hopeful there would be an investigation.

“I’m pretty sure Jerry Nadler cares if somebody, particularly somebody is getting a lifetime appointment, whether that person lied to Congress,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who supports an impeachment inquiry, told Politico. “I hope he’ll change his mind.”

Impeaching Kavanaugh would require a majority vote in the House, which is controlled by the Democrats, and a two-thirds vote in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. Kavanaugh was nominated by Trump, a Republican, after the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.