More than 50 groups nationally call for Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) resignation for his and his staff’s attempt to cover up sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. Grassley’s “knowledge of the allegation prior to it becoming public” and his “prepared” defense for the nominee equates to “failed leadership” and injects “partisan politics and misogynistic bullying” into the Judiciary Committee’s leadership, an open letter concludes with the support of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
“The nomination process of a Supreme Court nominee is not about you personally, but it is about whether Americans have confidence in your leadership,” the letter states. “After the events of the past few weeks, we have lost all confidence you can lead the Judiciary Committee without tainting this and any subsequent nomination process with politics. For the good of the country, and for the future of an independent judicial branch free from politics, we urge you to resign as chair of the Committee on Judiciary immediately.”
The letter also shames Grassley for “expeditiously moving through the nomination process with the hope it would never be uncovered.”
“Once the allegation was made public, you rejected past precedent, and refused a request for the FBI to investigate further, instead relying on your staff to investigate, the letter stated”
The letter comes right after Grassley’s “genuinely unhinged” performance during the Senate hearing with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford on Thursday, where he “publicly bullied a woman who has stepped forward to report allegations of sexual assault.” He is also being criticized for trying to “fast-track a right-wing judge” and “orchestrating a ‘sham’ that has eschewed basic standards of transparency,” Common Dreams reported.
Grassley has scheduled a committee vote on the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court less than 24 hours after Thursday’s hearing.
Read the full letter below:
Dear Senator Grassley,
We, the undersigned, are writing today to request your resignation as Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
We are organizations and leaders from across the country, and have watched with alarm as you have taken the bipartisan institution of the Judiciary Committee and injected partisan politics and misogynistic bullying into its leadership. There are many of us who have expressed public disagreement with your decisions in the past, but this goes beyond simply disagreeing with your stance on a nominee or a policy position. Your actions have threatened the independent nature of the judiciary, a bedrock institution that must provide a check on the executive and legislative branches in order for our democracy to thrive.
Your tenure as Chair began with unprecedented obstruction of judicial nominations put forward by President Obama, including the hearings that never occurred for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. And while you used the blue slip process of giving deference to home state Senators to block nominees made by President Obama, you have ripped up that precedent to further steamroll nominees of President Trump. In addition, you have moved away from other long standing committee practices, speeding up the process for nominees making it harder to thoroughly vet them, and by de-emphasizing the ratings provided by the American Bar Association.
In recent days your failed leadership has once again been on full display. You have publicly bullied a woman who has stepped forward to report allegations of sexual assault. You and your staff had knowledge of the allegation prior to it becoming public, and prepared a defense for the nominee while expeditiously moving through the nomination process with the hope it would never be uncovered. Once the allegation was made public, you rejected past precedent, and refused a request for the FBI to investigate further, instead relying on your staff to investigate. However, your staff has behaved in a wholly inappropriate manner, sending tweets that indicate bias that would compromise their investigation, as well as needing to resign due to their own prior sexual misconduct allegations. Finally, in the face of mounting criticism about your handling of this process, you claimed the role of victim not for Dr. Blasey Ford, but for yourself.
The nomination process of a Supreme Court nominee is not about you personally, but it is about whether Americans have confidence in your leadership. After the events of the past few weeks, we have lost all confidence you can lead the Judiciary Committee without tainting this and any subsequent nomination process with politics.
For the good of the country, and for the future of an independent judicial branch free from politics, we urge you to resign as Chair of the Committee on Judiciary immediately.
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