By WPRO News
During Thursday hearings on sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse asked Kavanaugh about some of the phrases written in his high school yearbook. Kavanaugh told him those phrases related to “flatulence” and vomiting, which elicited some laughter from those in the room.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse questioned Judge Brett Kavanaugh about certain notations in his high school yearbook and it was … really something. pic.twitter.com/p4vcCmdBRM
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) September 27, 2018
On Friday, Judge Bob Flanders, who is challenging Whitehouse for his Senate seat, said Whitehouse’s line of questioning was “juvenile.” He called Whitehouse a “hyper partisan attack dog” and said his questions represent a “new low” in the judicial nomination process.
“Do we really need to hear about things like flatulence and synonyms for drinking and beer and throwing up?” Flanders said.
Flanders said he respects Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford for coming forward and does not like the way her claims were handled by Democrats. Asked whether he believed Ford when she said Kavanaugh was her attacker, Flanders said “I do believe she was someone who thinks that something very bad happened to her along the lines she described. There was little or no corroborating evidence to support that.”
Flanders also said he believes Kavanaugh should be confirmed to the Supreme Court and is not convinced an FBI investigation “ploy” pushed by Democrats would reveal any new information. Meanwhile, Whitehouse said Ford is credible, voted no on advancing Kavanaugh out of committee, and said he will vote no on Kavanaugh in the full Senate.
“Dr. Blasey Ford’s stunning testimony today added further credibility to her already credible allegations. She was precise. She was sincere. She was compelling. I am grateful for her bravery in coming forward. I personally believe her,” he said in a statement on Thursday. “As a prosecutor, I condemn that Republicans denied Dr. Blasey Ford a thorough and sincere investigation. Never in the history of background investigations of such nominees has new, credible, derogatory information come to light and the FBI failed to reopen the investigation. Tellingly, Judge Kavanaugh refused to join Dr. Blasey Ford in requesting investigation, and his alleged accomplice has never been subpoenaed or interviewed by the FBI.”
WPRO has reached out to Whitehouse for further comment.
