Senate Judiciary Postpones Vote on High Court Nominee Kavanaugh
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a planned Thursday vote on whether to advance Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and set a Monday hearing to probe claims he sexually assaulted Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford in the early 1980s…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
(see 1809130061 and 1809170048). The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 216 Hart. Senate Judiciary invited Kavanaugh and Ford to testify about the claims, though Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters Tuesday Ford hadn't yet responded to the proposal. Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and other Democrats said the Republicans were trying to fast-track the investigation process by limiting testimony on the claims to only Kavanaugh and Ford. All 10 Senate Judiciary Democrats also urged FBI Director Christopher Wray and White House Counsel Don McGahn to reopen a background investigation into Kavanaugh given the assault claims. “The allegation does not involve any potential federal crime,” a DOJ spokesman said. “The FBI’s role in such matters is to provide information for the use of the decision-makers.” Kavanaugh faced critical questions during his confirmation hearing earlier this month about his dissent in the U.S. Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit's 2017 en banc affirmation of the now-rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules in USTelecom v. FCC (see 1809070046). Senate Judiciary members also asked Kavanaugh about his views on the high court's Chevron deference to agency expertise and on tech-based privacy issues (see 1809060048).