Cindy Carr, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org
Despite yesterday’s guilty plea by Donald Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen and conviction of former Campaign Manager Paul Manafort, Sen. Collins says she sees “no basis” for delaying Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. Collins’ comments come as a flood of her colleagues are calling for the hearings to be delayed because of the failure to disclose 97 percent of Kavanaugh’s documents from his time in the George W. Bush White House and yesterday’s events.
Trump’s lawyers have said that if Special Counsel Robert Mueller subpoenas Trump, they’ll file a “motion to quash” the subpoena that would likely go to the Supreme Court. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh -- who previously said that a sitting President should be above the law, should not be subject criminal indictment no matter what evidence is uncovered, and can ignore the laws he or she thinks are unconstitutional -- could be the deciding vote on this decision.
A new poll released yesterday found that 49 percent of Maine voters do not want Collins to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, with 47 percent saying they’d be less likely to vote for her in 2020 if she does vote to confirm Kavanaugh. Fifty-six percent of voters also want Collins to review Kavanaugh’s full record before voting.
Sen. Collins has been a fierce advocate for Mainers and people across America for years, but she must fulfill her duties as a senator and protect her legacy by calling for a delay in Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing and demanding his full record be released. Anything less and she won’t be doing her job.
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