LYNCHBURG — Sen. Tim Kaine on Thursday said the Senate shouldn’t “rush” the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court and that lawmakers should take sufficient time to look into the recent allegations of sexual assault against the judge.
“A serious charge has been leveled,” said Mr. Kaine, Virginia Democrat. “We ought to get to the bottom of it.”
Christine Blasey Ford recently came forward to accuse Judge Kavanaugh of trying to force himself on her at a party more than 30 years ago. Judge Kavanaugh has denied the charge and is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.
Mr. Kaine said lawmakers should hear from both Ms. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh. Ms. Ford’s attorneys have said the California professor might be willing to testify next week under the right conditions.
The senator also said there could be more witnesses who could appear, and that the FBI could take a fresh look at the alleged incident.
“We should take the time to get [this] right,” he said. “There’s no reason to rush a Supreme Court nominee through.”
Mr. Kaine, who had announced his opposition to Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination before Ms. Ford publicly made the allegations earlier this week, also said he is concerned that the judge could vote to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision protecting women’s right to get an abortion.
The first-term senator was appearing here at a town hall event hosted by Liberty University.
Corey Stewart, Mr. Kaine’s Republican opponent in this year’s race, appeared before him and said the Senate should move forward with a vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination and that he would support overturning Roe v. Wade.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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