Straight from the mouth of Democratic leadership, it’s been confirmed that the left does not believe in the presumption of innocence for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
While some Democratic senators have suggested as much, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it in no uncertain terms.
“No, it's not a legal proceeding; it's a fact-finding proceeding. We do this with every major nominee, and countless times, I think 10 times in the last year, when new information comes up, the FBI goes again and does its background check,” he said in response to a reporter’s question about whether Kavanaugh has the presumption of innocence.
“This is standard operating procedure, and the question looms: Why are our Republicans deviating from it …? This is not a criminal trial. This is not a -- a -- this is to find the facts,” he added.
The reporter sought to clarify Schumer’s remarks, asking again whether he believed in the presumption of innocence.
“I agree that we -- this is not -- that's a criminal trial,” he said. “What -- what I believe is we ought to get to the bottom and find the facts in the way that the FBI has always done. There's no presumption of innocence or guilt when you have a nominee before you. There is rather -- rather, find the facts. Find the facts, and then let the Senate and let the American people make their judgment not whether the person's guilty or innocent, but whether the person deserves to have the office for which he or she is chosen, plain and simple.”
Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, have both responded in similar manners about whether Kavanaugh enjoys the presumption of innocence or not.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member