Yesterday, the stakes of Kavanaugh’s nomination were raised even higher after Michael Cohen alleged under oath Donald Trump was a co-conspirator in a crime meant to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. The Senate should not confirm a nominee that believes the president is above the law, and Senate Republicans should delay his confirmation hearing.
Kavanaugh refused to say that the president must comply with a subpoena or provide records in an investigation.
Senator Schumer: “And on the issue of executive power, Judge Kavanaugh would not say that the President must comply with a subpoena or provide records.”
Kavanaugh has said that presidents should not be subject to criminal or civil investigations while in office.
Washington Post: “U.S. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy who was nominated replace him, has argued that presidents should not be distracted by civil lawsuits, criminal investigations or even questions from a prosecutor or defense attorney while in office.”
Kavanaugh has said that the only remedy for a president who has committed a serious crime is impeachment.
Washington Post: “If a president were truly malevolent, Kavanaugh wrote, he could always be impeached. Kavanaugh’s position that presidents should be free of such legal inquiries until after they leave office puts him on the record regarding a topic of intense interest to Trump — and could be a central focus of his confirmation hearing to succeed Kennedy, legal experts said.”
Kavanaugh has said that the president can ignore laws he thinks are unconstitutional.
CNN: “Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2013 asserted that it’s a ‘traditional exercise’ of presidential power to ignore laws the White House views as unconstitutional, as he defended the controversial practice of signing statements prevalent in George W. Bush’s White House.”
Kavanaugh suggested the unanimous Supreme Court ruling requiring Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes was wrongly decided.
Associated Press: “Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh suggested several years ago that the unanimous high court ruling in 1974 that forced President Richard Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes, leading to the end of his presidency, may have been wrongly decided.”