At arguably one of the most highly publicized political hearings in recent history, Judge Brett Kavanaugh concluded his final remarks with a promise that will likely be remembered for years to come.
Having been grilled by a number of senators and after delivering a series of impassioned statements in which he denied ever committing sexual assault against anybody, Kavanaugh was pressed one final time by Sen. John Kennedy. Earlier on, sitting in the same chair, a woman named Dr. Christine Blasey Ford had accused Kavanaugh of pinning her to a bed and groping her at a high school party in the 1980’s.
Kavanaugh, emotional at times, was determined to finish just as he began the hearing – with a categorical denial of all the allegations leveled against him.
“None of these allegations are true?” Kenned quizzed the Supreme Court nominee. “Correct,” Kavanaugh responded.
“No doubt in your mind?” Kennedy continued.
“Zero. I’m one hundred percent certain,” the Judge responded.
“Not even a scintilla?” Kennedy pressed.
“Not a scintilla. One hundred percent certain, Senator,” Kavanaugh said.
“You swear to God?” Kennedy finished.
“I swear to God,” Kavanaugh declared.
At that point, the hearing is brought to a close.
Earlier on, Kennedy asked Kavanaugh if he “believed in God,” to which the judge simply replied: “I do.” The senator was clearly hoping for some sort of confession or admission to the allegations on the part of Judge Kavanaugh.
“I’m gonna give you a last opportunity, right here in front of God and country,” Kennedy explained. “I want you to look me in the eye. Are Dr. Ford’s true?”
Sen Kennedy: "Do you believe in God?" Kavanaugh: "I do." Kennedy: "I'm going to give you a last opportunity…right in front of God and country. I want you to look me in the eye: Are Dr Ford's allegations true?" Kavanaugh: "They are not accurate as to me." https://t.co/6vPeJ1OaGw pic.twitter.com/SQM4JcXaQ5
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) September 27, 2018
“They are not accurate as to me,” Kavanaugh replied. “I have not questioned that she might have been sexually assaulted at some point in her life, by someone in some place. But as for me, I have never done this.. to her or to anyone else.”
But the dramatics were not limited to Kavanaugh and his succinct answers to a plethora of searching questions. At one point in the hearing, Sen. Lindsey Graham went ballistic at the Democrats, calling the entire proceeding an “unethical shame” and a “circus.”
“This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics,” Graham bellowed. “If you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.”
He added, “Boy, you all want power. God I hope you never get it.”
Graham was referring to the fact that it took 11 days before Kavanaugh was allowed the opportunity to respond to the series of sexual assault claims leveled against him, chief among them the allegations from Ford.
The Senator also addressed Kavanaugh’s wife, Ashley, commending her on raising a daughter who had said she would pray for Dr. Ford.
“Ashley, you should be proud that you raised a daughter who had the good character to pray for Dr. Ford,” Graham declared, as Kavanaugh teared up.
“I hope that the American people will see through this charade,” the Senator concluded. “I wish you well. I intend to vote for you and I hope everybody who is fair-minded will.”
A vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court could be taken as early as Friday.