Sen. Lindsey Graham has a new suggestion for activists who are unimpressed with the latest FBI background check on Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh: “Why don’t we dunk him in water and see if he floats?”
The South Carolina Republican who lashed out Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee last week over the “sham” hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court nominee showed no signs of letting up on Thursday. He deadpanned to a protester who demanded a polygraph test for the the judge that she might approve of tactics employed during the Salem Witch Trials in the 1690s.
“If he would say [sic] a polygraph it would all be over, senator,” a woman said to Mr. Graham, who was escorted by police on his way to view the FBI’s work at the Capitol.
“Why don’t we dunk him in the water and see if he floats?” the lawmaker retorted, the Daily Caller reported. “It will never be enough. If you don’t believe he is a gang rapist, if you don’t believe he is a stumbling, bumbling drunk, serial sexual predator, maybe you will believe he lied about how much he drank in high school. Threw ice at a party. Or he doesn’t have the temperament. Lets vote. I’m more confident than ever.”
Mr. Graham, whose work with the “Gang of Eight” bipartisan lawmakers has frustrated conservatives over the years, has staunchly defended President Trump’s pick for the high court.
“You’re looking for a fair process? You came to the wrong town at the wrong time,” he told Judge Kavanaugh during his Sept. 27 defense against uncorroborated claims of attempted rape.
SEE ALSO: Lindsey Graham unfazed by anti-Kavanaugh activists: ‘These people can yell all they want’
Christine Blasey Ford, a psychologist and college professor from California, maintains that she was nearly raped by the judge at an unspecified place and time in the summer of 1982 while the two were teenagers.
“We’ve humiliated this guy enough, and there seems to be no bottom for some of you,” Mr. Graham told the protester.
A full Senate vote for Judge Kavanaugh is expected to take place on Saturday.
Editor’s note: The story was updated to reflect that Ms. Blasey Ford accused Judge Kavanaugh of attempted rape.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.