After developments in federal court this week that raise fundamental questions about the actions and accountability of a sitting President— and still unanswered questions about Kavanaugh’s record of LGBTQ rights— the National Center for Transgender Equality is urging leaders in the Senate to suspend Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court.
Earlier this week, the President’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted and his personal lawyer Michael Cohen plead guilty to federal crimes, with Cohen stating he committed criminal acts at Mr. Trump’s direction. These developments raise serious questions about the accountability of a sitting president and about Judge Kavanaugh’s controversial views on these precise questions.
Senate leadership has likewise stifled access to Judge Kavanaugh’s records from his years as a White House aide and lawyer to then-President George W. Bush. Kavanaugh acknowledged earlier this week that, during this time at the White House, he worked on issues involving questions of executive power, as well as on a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would have banned same-sex marriages nationwide. In fact, 98 percent of Judge Kavanaugh’s record from his time at the White House remain unseen by the public.
Currently, Senate leadership has scheduled hearings for Judge Kavanaugh for September 4th through September 7th. This is more than a month before the National Archives says it will be able to produce Kavanaugh’s White House records.
Harper Jean Tobin, Director of Policy for the National Center for Transgender Equality, called for the immediate suspension of confirmation hearings for Judge Kavanaugh:
“The events of this week have cast the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh in a disturbing light. These developments raise troubling questions about the views of Judge Kavanaugh and the White House’s motive for rushing through his nomination while keeping the public in the dark about his record. This entire process has already been farcical at best, and attempting to keep Judge Kavanaugh’s record a secret is an extreme step that ignores the will of the American people. Given the severity of the legal crisis facing the top levels of this country’s leadership, these hearings must be suspended at least until Judge Kavanaugh’s full records have been made available to the public.”
