On Friday, the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee noting that it will be reviewing its previous rating of SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh:
Prior to the events of the last several weeks, the ABA gave Kavanaugh a “unanimously well-qualified” rating. ABA Chair of the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary Paul T. Moxley stated:
We concluded that his integrity, judicial temperament, and professional competence met the highest standards for appointment to the court. Our rating of unanimously well-qualified reflects the consensus of his peers who have knowledge of his professional qualifications.
Some questioned Judge Kavanaugh’s temperament following his impassioned testimony during the September 27 hearing regarding allegations of sexual assault made by Christine Blasey Ford.
In a surprise op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Kavanaugh mostly defended his behavior, stating in part that the testimony “reflected [his] overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct,” adding that his “wife and daughters have faced vile and violent threats” in light of the allegations against him.
He added, however, that he may have been “too emotional at times,” and that he “said a few things [he] should not have said.”
As stated in the newly released letter, the Standing Committee doesn’t expect to reach a conclusion before the Senate votes on Kavanaugh, which will likely take place on Saturday.
