Ayanna Pressley Wants to Impeach Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh
She's introducing a resolution to get things started in the House.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
When Brett Kavanaugh was first appointed to the Supreme Court, Ayanna Pressley was one of his most vocal critics—and while nearly a year has passed since, Pressley’s position is unwavering.
Pressley will introduce a resolution Tuesday calling for an impeachment inquiry to begin against the justice, in the wake of a New York Times report that detailed a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.
“I believe Christine Blasey Ford. I believe Deborah Ramirez. It is our responsibility to collectively affirm the dignity and humanity of survivors,” Pressley said in a statement. “Sexual predators do not deserve a seat on the nation’s highest court and Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process set a dangerous precedent. We must demand justice for survivors and hold Kavanaugh accountable for his actions.”
Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court last October despite vivid testimony from California psychologist Christine Blasey Ford alleging that the justice had pinned her to a bed, groped her, and tried to remove her clothes while covering her mouth while they were in high school. The Times story from this past weekend reports an additional allegation of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh, this time as a Yale student. A witness notified senators and the FBI during Kavanaugh’s hearings, but the claim went uninvestigated. The Times notes that the alleged victim does not recall the incident.
Kavanaugh has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct, including those uncovered this week by the Times.
The three-paragraph resolution that Pressley will file would authorize an impeachment inquiry, call for a committee to conduct depositions and hand out subpoenas, and authorize funding for the probe.
Pressley’s is one voice in a chorus of Democrats calling for Kavanaugh’s impeachment. Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren have all made similar statements.
Last year the Kavanaugh nomination was rammed through the Senate without a thorough examination of the allegations against him. Confirmation is not exoneration, and these newest revelations are disturbing. Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 15, 2019
As a Boston City Councilor last year, Pressley wrote a passionate op-ed in the Globe affirming her support for Blasey Ford and her confidence that Kavanaugh proved himself “unhinged, unfit, and unqualified” during his hearings. She also spoke at an anti-Kavanaugh rally that took place during Senator Jeff Flake’s visit to Boston.
‘I am outraged, because this is outrageous!’: Ayanna Pressley, presumptive future congresswoman, gives impassioned speech at anti-Kavanaugh rally as Sen. Jeff Flake visits Boston https://t.co/v7xRxVuDxG pic.twitter.com/D4LVgParOW
— NBC10 Boston (@NBC10Boston) October 1, 2018
As a survivor of campus sexual assault herself, Pressley has been a staunch advocate for survivors of sexual violence throughout her tenures as a City Councilor and Congresswoman.
“I struggled for years to tell my own story,” she wrote in her op-ed. “I know how it feels to be a survivor in a country…where survivors are made to feel marginalized and ostracized. It is a country that none of us should be comfortable living in, and a country none of us should be willing to accept.”
