ABC News’ “The View” co-host Joy Behar on Monday accused Senate Republicans of trying to push “guilty” Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation forward despite being aware additional sexual misconduct accusations would be levied against him.
The result, she predicted, would be an impeachment.
Co-host Sunny Hostin mentioned Republican leaders such as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who have stood by Kavanaugh throughout the confirmation process.
“If you have a jury trial and you have a juror that says, ‘I don’t care what the star witness says, that won’t change my vote,’ that juror gets thrown off the jury,” Hostin said. “Why are these senators still on the Judiciary Committee?”
Behar shot back, “It’s a good question… there were rumors about this second accusation last week, and then Lindsey Graham and McConnell come out and say, ‘We’re gonna ram it through. We’re gonna plow it through.’”
On Sunday, The New Yorker published a highly criticized, uncorroborated story in which a second accuser spoke out against Kavanaugh. The article, headlined “Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years,” was co-bylined by Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer. It details a claim by Debbie Ramirez, who said Kavanaugh sexually harassed her during a Yale University party despite a lack of evidence.
The story has been criticized for failing to confirm Kavanaugh actually attended the party, burying the fact that the New Yorker couldn’t confirm the story with witnesses and relied on decades-old hearsay.
“They’ll get their way and then we’ll find out the guy is guilty. What good is that? Then you’ll have to impeach a Supreme Court justice."
Hostin said Senate Republicans “wanted to push the vote forward even though they heard about the second accusation,” to which Behar agreed.
“They’ll get their way and then we’ll find out the guy is guilty. What good is that? Then you’ll have to impeach a Supreme Court justice,” Behar said.
Last week, Behar declared that Kavanaugh is “probably guilty” of the accusations made by Christine Blasey Ford – who says Kavanaugh forced himself onto her and covered her mouth in the 1980s, when Kavanaugh was 17 and she was 15.
“These white men, old by the way, are not protecting women,” Behar said of congressional Republicans who stand by Kavanaugh. “They’re protecting a man who is probably guilty.”
It appears The New Yorker piece was enough for Behar to drop the word “probably” that she used when she was only aware of Ford’s claim.