In the wake of Michael Cohen’s allegations that President Trump directed him to violate federal campaign finance law, Democrats are seizing the opportunity to state that they will not even bother to meet with Trump’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) explained:
A president, identified as an unindicted co-conspirator of a federal crime – an accusation made not by a political enemy but by the closest of his own confidants – is on the verge of making a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. A court that may someday soon determine the extent of the president’s legal jeopardy. In my view: the Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately pause the consideration of the Kavanaugh nomination.
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) tweeted similarly:
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) stated:
The Judiciary Committee should cease reviewing, the hearings that are scheduled from about two weeks from now and deal with the matter of a President being credibly implicated or alleged to being a criminal co-conspirator.
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) agreed.
None of this makes any sense. Even if Trump were impeached or resigned, his vice president would then take over; Mike Pence would simply renominate Kavanaugh. The entire goal here is to prevent a vote from taking place on Trump’s pick at all. Now, Democrats have every right to try to stall Kavanaugh. But this is the latest intellectually dishonest excuse from Democrats, who killed the judicial filibuster years ago, and began the process of Borking Republican nominees decades ago.