Sen. Elizabeth Warren became the most prominent Democratic presidential hopeful to join the calls for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to be impeached following new allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Kavanaugh’s nomination “was rammed through the Senate,” Warren tweeted Sunday. “Confirmation is not exoneration, and these newest revelations are disturbing. Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached.”
Earlier in the day, Sen. Kamala Harris of California also called for Kavanaugh’s impeachment, saying he was confirmed to the Supreme Court “through a sham process.” Now, Kavanaugh’s “place on the Court is an insult to the pursuit of truth and justice,” Harris wrote. “He must be impeached.”
The first Democratic presidential contender who called for Kavanaugh’s impeachment was Julián Castro. “It’s more clear than ever that Brett Kavanaugh lied under oath,” Castro tweeted Saturday night. “He should be impeached.”
Castro called for Kavanaugh’s impeachment shortly after the New York Times published an explosive report that detailed a new allegation of sexual misconduct against the Supreme Court justice. Although senators and the FBI knew about the allegation, they failed to follow up, according to the Times piece.
Trump launched a strong defense of Kavanaugh on Twitter Sunday with a series of tweets accusing the media of launching an attack against him to influence his opinions. “Can’t let Brett Kavanaugh give Radical Left Democrat (Liberal Plus) Opinions based on threats of Impeaching him over made up stories,” Trump tweeted. “Fake and Corrupt News is working overtime!” Earlier, Trump wrote that Kavanaugh “should start suing people for libel, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue.”
Impeaching a Supreme Court justice requires a similar process as removing the president from office, with the House of Representatives voting on impeachment and the Senate deciding whether to remove from office. So even if Democrats unite to impeach Kavanaugh in the House, the Republican-led Senate would not vote to remove him from office. And while impeaching a justice is technically possible, it’s exceedingly rare and has only happened once in U.S. history. The House voted to impeach Samuel Chase in 1805, but he was not actually removed from office by the Senate.
