Several Democratic senators tried to impugn the character of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearings last week. It didn't quite work out. Then, this week, Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) went solo in her own attempt to smear his integrity. Feinstein announced on Thursday that she had received a random letter from someone claiming that Kavanaugh had sexually abused someone in high school. She sent the document to the FBI, but they didn't do much with it.
New -- FBI does not now plan to launch a criminal investigation of the Kavanaugh matter; instead the bureau passed the material to the White House as an update to Kavanaugh's background check, via @mattzaphttps://t.co/Q1EJQiJLkT
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 13, 2018
In a statement to the New Yorker, Kavanaugh denied the claim.
“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation," he said. "I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”
Dozens of Kavanaugh's female high school classmates agreed. They signed their own letter in his defense Thursday night and were very complimentary of his character.
"For the entire time we have known Brett Kavanaugh, he has behaved honorably and treated women with respect," his classmates wrote in their own letter to Feinstein and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. "We strongly believe it is important to convey this information to the Committee at this time,"
Critics, however, were suspicious of the timing of their praiseworthy letter.
1/ This. Regardless of how all this falls out, the fact Grassley had a list of 65 women from Kavanaugh's high school as character witnesses LINED UP is literally the biggest, dumbest tell that they knew this was coming down the pike. Even wait until Monday, for chrissake. https://t.co/opKijAUBmj
— John Rogers (@jonrog1) September 14, 2018
Hume pushed back at the "absurd" claim that she knew Feinstein was going to receive the anonymous letter.
This is absurd. I signed the letter. I learned of it last night. https://t.co/hTnxOvYNU6
— virginiahume (@virginiahume) September 14, 2018
Others suggested that because Hume is the daughter of Fox News contributor Brit Hume, that somehow the cable news network was also given a heads up about the letter.
Again, she had a simple answer.
— virginiahume (@virginiahume) September 14, 2018
As expected, Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats delayed Kavanaugh's confirmation vote for one week.