Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday called on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to withdraw from consideration amid a third round of sexual misconduct allegations against the judge.
Schumer urged Senate Republicans to “immediately suspend” confirmation proceedings related to Kavanaugh’s nomination due to “multiple, corroborated allegations” against him.
“I strongly believe Judge Kavanaugh should withdraw from consideration,” Schumer said in a statement. “If he will not, at the very least, the hearing and the vote should be postponed while the FBI investigates all of these allegations.”
He continued: “If our Republican colleagues proceed without an investigation, it would be a travesty for the honor of the Supreme Court and our country.”
Kavanaugh has been the subject of multiple sexual misconduct allegations in recent weeks. At least three women ― Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick ― said he engaged in sexual misconduct in the early 1980s.
Blasey identified herself in a Washington Post interview published earlier this month as the author of a confidential letter sent in late July to two members of Congress. She alleges Kavanaugh pinned her down, groped her and attempted to remove her clothes during a small party when they were both high school students.
A week later, The New Yorker reported accusations from Ramirez, who alleges Kavanaugh thrust his penis in her face during a drinking party when they were both freshmen at Yale University in the early 1980s.
On Wednesday, Michael Avenatti, best known as the attorney representing former adult film actress Stormy Daniels, released a signed declaration from Swetnick accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
Swetnick alleges she witnessed Kavanaugh and one of his friends at several high school parties getting “drunk” and “being overly aggressive with girls.”
“I witnessed Brett Kavanaugh consistently engage in excessive drinking and inappropriate contact of sexual nature with women during the early 1980s,” Swetnick stated. She alleged she was the victim of a “gang rape” coordinated by Kavanaugh and his friends at one party. She did not name the assailants.
Kavanaugh has vehemently denied sexually assaulting anyone.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday echoed Schumer’s call for Kavanaugh to withdraw.
“A Supreme Court nomination is not worth more than the lives of survivors,” Booker tweeted.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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