Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lashed out at Democrats in a furious floor speech on Thursday about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, arguing the allegations against him are “uncorroborated mud.”
McConnell spoke just hours after senators began reviewing a report from the FBI on the allegations, which Democrats quickly criticized as lacking breadth.
“The fact is that these allegations have not been corroborated,” said McConnell, who on Wednesday night filed a motion to end debate on Kavanaugh’s nomination. “None of these allegations have been corroborated by the seventh FBI investigation.”
{mosads}McConnell spoke after he and other Republicans emerged from a secure location in the Capitol basement where they were briefed on the report, which they estimated to be 50 pages and include interviews or statements from 10 people.
McConnell lashed out at the frenzy that the allegations against Kavanaugh have sparked questioning if the Senate was going to set a “fundamentally un-American precedent” by blocking his nomination.
“Our society is not a place where uncorroborated allegations of misconduct from nearly 40 years ago, allegations which are vigorously disputed, can nullify someone’s career or destroy their reputation. Is that what the Senate is going to be known for?” he asked.
Kavanaugh will need at least 50 senators to vote to end debate for his nomination to move forward. Signs were positive for President Trump’s nominee on Thursday morning, as two key GOP senators who had been undecided signaled general satisfaction with the FBI report.
McConnell urged his colleagues not to be “hoodwinked” into opposing Kavanaugh.
“We will not be hoodwinked by those who have tried to hard to smear a good man, to drag him through the mud,” he said.