Democrats call for Supreme Court judge Kavanaugh's impeachment after fresh sexual assault claim
Several Democratic presidential hopefuls have called for Brett Kavanaugh, a US Supreme Court justice, to be impeached after a new sexual assault accusation was made against him.
Kamala Harris called Justice Kavanaugh's place on the nine-member panel "an insult to the pursuit of truth and justice" as she called for him to be removed from office, along with candidates Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg and Julian Castro.
Bernie Sanders said he too "supported any appropriate constitutional mechanism to hold him accountable".
Joe Biden, the front runner in the race, called the accusations “profoundly troubling” but stopped short of calling for the judge's impeachment, which would require the House of Representatives to introduce articles of impeachments and the Republican-controlled Senate to vote in favour with a two-thirds majority.
The Democrats' comments were in response to a report by the New York Times over the weekend that details claims Justice Kavanaugh, 54, exposed himself to a fellow student at Yale University during a drink-fuelled party in the 1980s.
As a federal judge who overwhelmingly sided with corporate power and Wall Street, Brett Kavanaugh should never have been nominated.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 15, 2019
A male student, who said he witnessed the alleged incident, reported it to the FBI last year after President Donald Trump nominated the conservative judge to the Supreme Court. According to the New York Times, the allegation was never investigated.
The newspaper's report was adapted from a forthcoming book by the article's authors, which detailed an assertion by the male classmate that friends of Kavanaugh "pushed his penis into the hand of a female student."
The claims have revived a partisan divide over the judge's nomination to the Supreme Court, with Mr Trump suggesting Democrats were threatening to impeach Justice Kavanaugh in a bid to "influence his opinions".
The report made waves over the weekend as it re-examined sexual assault allegations levelled against the judge at his Senate confirmation hearing last year.
On Monday, The New York Times said its story had omitted key details such as the fact that the alleged victim declined to be interviewed and "friends say she does not recall the episode."
The male witness, who claimed to have seen Justice Kavanaugh "with his pants down at a drunken dorm party", also declined to speak publicly about the alleged incident.
Mr Trump seized on the clarification as he issued a full-throated attack on the newspaper, urging Justice Kavanaugh to sue his detractors for libel and even suggesting the US Justice Department should "come to his rescue".
Mr Trump tweeted:
Just Out: “Kavanaugh accuser doesn’t recall incident.” @foxandfriends DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT THESE HORRIBLE PEOPLE WILL DO OR SAY. They are looking to destroy, and influence his opinions - but played the game badly. They should be sued!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 16, 2019
"The one who is actually being assaulted is Justice Kavanaugh - Assaulted by lies and Fake News," he added.
Justice Kavanaugh first faced allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour last year, when a woman claimed he had assaulted when the pair were teenagers in high school. Several other allegations followed, all of which Justice Kavanaugh has vehemently denied.
At the time, Republicans suggested the accusers were working with Democrats to derail the judge's confirmation hearing and thus prevent a conservative majority on the America's highest court.
