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JUSTICE

Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination in turmoil

By Duncan Mil

September 17, 2018 - A U.S. Senate vote on President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court was thrown into uncertainty after a woman accused him of high school-era sexual misconduct.

Both Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of assault, Christine Blasey Ford, will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, in a public hearing that could decide Kavanaugh’s fate.

Ford, a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, told The Washington Post that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed at a Maryland party they attended in the early 1980s, tried to remove her clothing and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream.

Kavanaugh has called the allegation by Ford “completely false.”

If chosen for the lifetime appointment, Kavanaugh, 53, would be expected to tilt the Supreme Court’s balance to the right.

Many Democrats strongly oppose Kavanaugh for his views on issues such as abortion, and it seems unlikely any of them will cross the aisle to vote with their Republican colleagues.

The Republicans only have a single-vote majority on the committee, which they control 11 to 10, while they hold the Senate by just 51-49.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 17/09/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press
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