Senate Democrats call for halt in Kavanaugh hearing after Trump's personal lawyer implicated him

[babylonsister]

Senate Democrats call for halt in Kavanaugh hearing after Trump’s personal lawyer implicated him
Now that the president is implicated in a federal crime, senators are starting to think twice about having him hand-pick a SCOTUS judge.
Adrienne Mahsa Varkiani
Aug 22, 2018, 3:22 pm


Several Senate Democrats are calling for the Senate to put a stop to any confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, after news on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts in federal court in New York, implicating the president as a co-conspirator in those crimes.

At least eight Senate Democrats have already called for a pause, including Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Kavanugh’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin September 4.

For many Democrats, their objection hinges whether Trump should have the power to nominate someone to the Supreme Court — especially if it seems likely that a legal matter involving the president would likely land before that court. There is legal debate, for example, on whether a sitting president could be indicted — a matter the Supreme Court could decide. Trump’s personal lawyer testified under oath that he committed crimes after Trump directed him to, meaning the Justice Department, because it accepted Cohen’s guilty plea, now believes the president is a co-conspirator in a federal crime.

snip//

“Trump’s personal lawyer has sworn under oath that POTUS directed him to commit a federal crime,” Booker wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “The Senate must reject any SCOTUS nominee from a president who is an alleged criminal co-conspirator — especially when that nominee may rule to protect Trump from any accountability.”

“Americans don’t want a president who is an unindicted co-conspirator in a crime to have the power to appoint someone to the Supreme Court,” Harris declared. “We should not proceed with Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings.”

more...

https://thinkprogress.org/senate-democrats-call-to-halt-kavanaughs-confirmation-hearing-after-cohen-manafort-news-3d0cef9f32c6/

[Just Carl]

1. I'd also call for a judicial review of Gorsuch and impeachment proceedings

Gorsuch is also tainted.

[Mc Mike]

2. Good idea. A stitch in time saves nine,

legally speaking.