Hirono: Collins' Characterization Of Blasey Ford's Allegations Is 'Insulting' [View all]

[DonViejo]

Source: Talking Points Memo


By Matt Shuham
October 7, 2018 10:41 am

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said Sunday that it was “insulting” for Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) to say that Christine Blasey Ford simply “thinks” that she was sexually assaulted by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Collins, Hirrono asserted in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, “said that Dr. Ford thinks that she was assaulted” — Hirono emphasized the word “thinks” — “which is even more insulting than saying that she gave a very credible account.”

Hirono was responding to an interview Collins gave Bash aired earlier in the hour, in which Collins explained how she could believe Blasey Ford was sexually assaulted while not believing Blasey Ford’s assertion that she was “100 percent” certain Kavanaugh was the perpetrator.

“I believe that she believes what she testified to,” Collins said of Blasey Ford, adding later: “I do believe that she was assaulted, I don’t know by whom, and I’m not certain when, but I do not believe that he [Kavanaugh] was the assailant.” Hirono wasn’t satisfied with that answer, given Collins’ crucial vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

“To say that she thinks that Dr. Ford thinks that she was assaulted, what is that?” Hirono asked. “Is she mistaken? She, herself, said that she serves so many survivors from her state and elsewhere. All of us have been hearing stories and accounts from survivors going back many, many years where they kept all these painful, traumatic accounts to themselves.”

Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/hirono-collins-response-to-blasey-fords-allegations-is-insulting

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UPDATE:

Hirono: Kavanaugh’s SCOTUS seat has 'big asterisk'

By VICTORIA GUIDA 10/07/2018 10:24 AM EDT

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) on Sunday said the confirmation of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was tainted by the “sham” investigation into allegations of sexual assault, but declined to call for his impeachment.

“He’s going to be on the Supreme Court with a huge taint and a big asterisk after his name,” Hirono said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Everyone knows when you just interview a small number of people and not the dozens of others who wanted to be interviewed by the FBI, it’s a sham. And it raises more questions than it answers.”

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee, promised in a New York Times interview to open an investigation into Kavanaugh if the lower chamber flips to Democratic control.

Asked about that remark, Hirono said, “Jerry Nadler will do what Jerry Nadler will do,” but added that she is focused “like a laser beam on the elections” and vowed to fight Republican efforts to secure more lifetime appointments for conservative judges on lower courts.

“The confirmation battle may be over, but the court packing battle is certainly not over,” she said.

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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/07/kavanaugh-confirmation-hirono-880289