The Atlantic

Kavanaugh Goes Nuclear

The Supreme Court nominee furiously attacked Democrats and the Senate confirmation process in his opening statement Thursday.
Source: Saul Loeb / Pool via AP

A furious Brett Kavanaugh denied Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations against him and attacked Democrats during his opening statement at Thursday’s Senate hearing, vacillating between shouting and tears as he fought, he said, to save his reputation.

In a defiant statement not seen since Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearings in 1991, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee savaged the Senate, and particularly Democrats.

“This confirmation process has become a national disgrace,” Kavanaugh said, his voice rising. “The Constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process. But you have replaced ‘advice and consent’ with ‘search and destroy.’”

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