SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A protester is arrested during a demonstration in opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Yuri Gripas)
Dozens Arrested in Senate Building as Democrats Accuse GOP of 'Railroading' Ford to Protect Kavanaugh
"They are totally intent on getting Judge Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, come Hell or high water. You have to ask yourself, why?"
Sep 20, 2018
As an attorney for Christine Blasey Ford said Thursday afternoon that her client remains willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexual assault she says Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh perpetrated against her when the two were in high school, mass demonstrations resulted in arrests on Capitol Hill on Thursday as women's rights groups and Democrats intensifed their charge that Republicans are trying to 'railroad' Ford by not taking her allegations seriously and refusing to order the FBI investigation she has asked for and that experts say is entirely appropriate.
Dozens of people, mostly women, were arrested one by one in the lobby of the Hart Senate Building mid-afternoon:
Meanwhile, as Capitol Police hauled people away, Democratic senators rallied around the demand aimed at Republican lawmakers and the White House to drop their opposition to Ford's request for an investigation into her allegations.
"Really, I would call it a railroad job," Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told reporters at a noontime press conference. "And it's totally unfair."
Hirono and her Democratic colleague's are calling for the White House to have the FBI conduct the investigation that Ford has requested and that experts say is perfectly within their purview and capabilities.
In a post titled, "Judicial Nominee Background Investigations -- Fact vs. Fiction," Mike Zubrensky, the chief counsel at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said the GOP's spin on the investigation is hogwash:
Forging ahead with a hearing next week without allowing the FBI an opportunity to conduct additional interviews and collect evidence would be yet another abuse of power by the Republican majority during the Kavanaugh confirmation process. The Senate must honor survivors of sexual assault by taking their allegations seriously, respectfully, and on a nonpartisan basis. An FBI investigation is an important step in that direction. As Senator Hatch noted in 1991 when the FBI conducted an investigation into Anita Hill's allegations: "When they heard about this the first time, they immediately ordered the FBI investigation, which was the very right thing to do." It is the right thing to do today as well.
"You have the entire force of the presidency and all of the supporters of Judge Kavanaugh in the Senate arrayed on one side and on this other side you have Dr. Ford who doesn't even have the benefit an FBI investigation, as well all have called for," Hirono told reporters. "How unfair is that?"
Appearing on CNN, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) wanted to know why, if Kavanaugh and his GOP backers are confident he did nothing wrong, they are refusing to approve such a probe:
In her statements, Hirono said, "They are totally intent on getting Judge Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, come Hell or high water. You have to ask yourself, why?"
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
anita hillbrett kavanaughchristine blasey fordcivil disobediencedemocratic partypeople powersexual assaultus senateus supreme courtwomen
As an attorney for Christine Blasey Ford said Thursday afternoon that her client remains willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexual assault she says Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh perpetrated against her when the two were in high school, mass demonstrations resulted in arrests on Capitol Hill on Thursday as women's rights groups and Democrats intensifed their charge that Republicans are trying to 'railroad' Ford by not taking her allegations seriously and refusing to order the FBI investigation she has asked for and that experts say is entirely appropriate.
Dozens of people, mostly women, were arrested one by one in the lobby of the Hart Senate Building mid-afternoon:
Meanwhile, as Capitol Police hauled people away, Democratic senators rallied around the demand aimed at Republican lawmakers and the White House to drop their opposition to Ford's request for an investigation into her allegations.
"Really, I would call it a railroad job," Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told reporters at a noontime press conference. "And it's totally unfair."
Hirono and her Democratic colleague's are calling for the White House to have the FBI conduct the investigation that Ford has requested and that experts say is perfectly within their purview and capabilities.
In a post titled, "Judicial Nominee Background Investigations -- Fact vs. Fiction," Mike Zubrensky, the chief counsel at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said the GOP's spin on the investigation is hogwash:
Forging ahead with a hearing next week without allowing the FBI an opportunity to conduct additional interviews and collect evidence would be yet another abuse of power by the Republican majority during the Kavanaugh confirmation process. The Senate must honor survivors of sexual assault by taking their allegations seriously, respectfully, and on a nonpartisan basis. An FBI investigation is an important step in that direction. As Senator Hatch noted in 1991 when the FBI conducted an investigation into Anita Hill's allegations: "When they heard about this the first time, they immediately ordered the FBI investigation, which was the very right thing to do." It is the right thing to do today as well.
"You have the entire force of the presidency and all of the supporters of Judge Kavanaugh in the Senate arrayed on one side and on this other side you have Dr. Ford who doesn't even have the benefit an FBI investigation, as well all have called for," Hirono told reporters. "How unfair is that?"
Appearing on CNN, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) wanted to know why, if Kavanaugh and his GOP backers are confident he did nothing wrong, they are refusing to approve such a probe:
In her statements, Hirono said, "They are totally intent on getting Judge Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, come Hell or high water. You have to ask yourself, why?"
As an attorney for Christine Blasey Ford said Thursday afternoon that her client remains willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexual assault she says Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh perpetrated against her when the two were in high school, mass demonstrations resulted in arrests on Capitol Hill on Thursday as women's rights groups and Democrats intensifed their charge that Republicans are trying to 'railroad' Ford by not taking her allegations seriously and refusing to order the FBI investigation she has asked for and that experts say is entirely appropriate.
Dozens of people, mostly women, were arrested one by one in the lobby of the Hart Senate Building mid-afternoon:
Meanwhile, as Capitol Police hauled people away, Democratic senators rallied around the demand aimed at Republican lawmakers and the White House to drop their opposition to Ford's request for an investigation into her allegations.
"Really, I would call it a railroad job," Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told reporters at a noontime press conference. "And it's totally unfair."
Hirono and her Democratic colleague's are calling for the White House to have the FBI conduct the investigation that Ford has requested and that experts say is perfectly within their purview and capabilities.
In a post titled, "Judicial Nominee Background Investigations -- Fact vs. Fiction," Mike Zubrensky, the chief counsel at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said the GOP's spin on the investigation is hogwash:
Forging ahead with a hearing next week without allowing the FBI an opportunity to conduct additional interviews and collect evidence would be yet another abuse of power by the Republican majority during the Kavanaugh confirmation process. The Senate must honor survivors of sexual assault by taking their allegations seriously, respectfully, and on a nonpartisan basis. An FBI investigation is an important step in that direction. As Senator Hatch noted in 1991 when the FBI conducted an investigation into Anita Hill's allegations: "When they heard about this the first time, they immediately ordered the FBI investigation, which was the very right thing to do." It is the right thing to do today as well.
"You have the entire force of the presidency and all of the supporters of Judge Kavanaugh in the Senate arrayed on one side and on this other side you have Dr. Ford who doesn't even have the benefit an FBI investigation, as well all have called for," Hirono told reporters. "How unfair is that?"
Appearing on CNN, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) wanted to know why, if Kavanaugh and his GOP backers are confident he did nothing wrong, they are refusing to approve such a probe:
In her statements, Hirono said, "They are totally intent on getting Judge Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court, come Hell or high water. You have to ask yourself, why?"
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.