In 2006, President George W. Bush watches the swearing-in ceremony of Brett Kavanaugh as judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, far right. (AP)
Former President George W. Bush is standing by his earlier support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid the sexual assault allegations raised against him last week.
Politico reported on Tuesday that Bush said he and his wife, Laura, “have known and respected Brett Kavanaugh for decades.”
“We stand by our comments the night Judge Kavanaugh was nominated,” the statement continued.
Kavanaugh served under Bush for five years as a White House counsel and staff secretary. In 2006, Bush appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
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After his nomination was announced in July, Bush voiced his support, for Kavanaugh, calling him “a fine husband, father and friend – and a man of the highest character.”
Just days before the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to vote on the Kavanaugh nomination, a woman named Christine Blasey Ford came forward with sexual assault allegations dating back to the 1980s.
She claims that an intoxicated Kavanaugh pinned her down during a party in Marlyand and attempted to remove her clothing. She said he covered her mouth with his hand as she attempted to scream. At the time of the alleged encounter, Ford was 15 and Kavanaugh was 17, she said.
He has issued full-throated denials of all the allegations.
A hearing in front of the committee is scheduled for Monday, but details remain tentative.
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