Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., will vote against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — a decision that comes after she said the sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh would not be a factor in her vote for the judge.
“I have been thorough in examining Judge Kavanaugh’s record,” McCaskill said in a statement Wednesday evening. “And while the recent allegations against him are troubling and deserve a thorough and fair examination by the Senate Judiciary Committee, my decision is not based on those allegations but rather on his position on several key issues, most importantly the avalanche of dark, anonymous money that is crushing our democracy.”
I will vote no on Judge Kavanaugh. pic.twitter.com/AeNC6clHbq
— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) September 19, 2018
The statement comes after the Missouri Democrat said during an event in Lebanon, Mo., that she would “set them aside,” when asked about the allegations brought forth by Christine Blasey Ford, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her 36 years ago when the two were in high school. She alleges Kavanaugh pinned her down on a bed and attempted to remove her clothing during a party at a Maryland house.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
McCaskill had said she would make a decision on her vote “very shortly,” and that it would be based on his judicial track record and policies.
“I’m going to make the decision based on his positions, his writings in his decisions, and what I’ve discovered in the documents I’ve had a chance to review,” she said, per the News-Leader. “That’s how I’ll make my decision.”
McCaskill is facing a tough re-election fight against conservative Republican Josh Hawley in a state President Trump won by 19 points in the 2016 presidential election.
The Democratic senator declined to say whether she believed Ford’s accusations.
“I don’t think that this is a trial, and I don’t think I should be called upon to make that decision without hearing her testify,” McCaskill said.
She continued: “I’ve tried many of these cases where the victim tells their story and the defendant has a different story, and it’s a matter of credibility, and I think anybody who makes up their mind without hearing them testify about the facts and the circumstances are doing both of them a disservice.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has invited Ford to testify before the panel next week. Ford’s lawyers have said they want the FBI to conduct an investigation into the allegations before she testifies.
