“To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you’re legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) boomed during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate Judiciary hearing Thursday. It was one line in a shockingly fiery speech Graham delivered during the questioning of Kavanaugh about allegations that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford more than 30 years ago. (He has denied the accusation.) Graham didn’t really question Kavanaugh — instead he expounded on the Supreme Court nominee’s own defense, expressing remorse for the way Kavanaugh and his family have been treated and decrying the politics that put him in that situation. “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics and if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy!” Graham said, his face contorted in anger. Graham’s affront on behalf of Kavanaugh seemed stark compared to his treatment of Ford — who also had to go through intensive cross-examination, including having all of her questions from Republican senators relayed to her through a prosecutor, Rachel Mitchell. Indeed, Graham went so far as to say that Ford was “just as much of a victim as you [Kavanaugh] are.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) pointed out the contrast on Twitter: Lindsay Graham is so angry on behalf of Kavanaugh. Where was this outrage when Dr. Ford was testifying? #kavanaughHearings — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) September 27, 2018 But others had a different take on Graham’s performance: . @LindseyGrahamSC has more decency and courage than every Democrat member of the committee combined. God bless him. — Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) September 27, 2018 Indeed, Graham’s statement seems to signal that Republicans are willing to accept Kavanaugh’s forceful denials over Ford’s testimony. Read Graham’s comments during the exchange below. Sen. Lindsey Graham: Are you aware that at 9:23 pm on the night of July the 9th, the day you were nominated to the Supreme Court by President Trump, Sen. [Chuck] Schumer [D-NY] said 23 minutes after your nomination, “I’ll oppose judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything, I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same. The stakes are simply too high for anything less.” If you weren’t aware of it, you are now. Did you meet with Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA] on August 20? Brett Kavanaugh: I did meet with Sen. Feinstein. Graham: Did you know that her staff had already recommended a lawyer to Dr. Ford? Kavanaugh: I did not know that. Graham: Did you know that her and her staff had this allegations for over 20 days? Kavanaugh: I did not know that at the time. Graham: If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you [Democrats] want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You’ve said that. Not me. You got nothing to apologize for. When [you see Justices] Sotomayer and Kagan, say hello because I voted for them. I’d never do to them what you’ve done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics and if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy. Are you a gang rapist? Kavanaugh: No. Graham: I cannot imagine what you and your family have gone through. Boy, you [Democrats] all want power. God, I hope you never get it. I hope the American people can see through this sham. That you knew about it and you held it. You had no intention of protecting Dr. Ford. None. She’s as much of a victim as you are. God, I hate to say it because these have been my friends, but let me tell you, when it comes to this, you’re looking for a fair process, you came to the wrong town at the wrong time, my friend. Do you consider this a job interview? Kavanaugh: The advice and consent rule is like — Graham: Do you consider that you’ve been through a job interview? Kavanaugh: I’ve been through a process of advice and consent under the Constitution which — Graham: Would you say you’ve been through hell? Kavanaugh: I’ve been through hell and then some. Graham: This is not a job interview. Kavanaugh: Yeah. Graham: This is hell. This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap. Your high school yearbook. You have interacted with professional women all your life, not one accusation. You’re supposed to be Bill Cosby when you’re a junior and senior in high school. And all of a sudden you got over it. It’s been my understanding that if you drug women and rape them for two years in high school, you probably don’t stop. Here’s my understanding. If you lived a good life, people would recognize it like the American bar association has the gold standard. “His integrity is absolutely unquestioned. He is the very circumspect in his personal conduct, harbors no biases or prejudices. Entirely ethical. Is a really decent person. Is warm, friendly, unassuming. He’s the nicest person.” ... One thing I can you should be proud of: Ashley, you should be proud of this. That you raised a daughter who had the good character to pray for Dr. Ford. To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you’re legitimizing the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics. ... I hope you’re on the Supreme Court. That’s exactly where you should be. And I hope that the American people will see through this charade. And I wish you well. You well. And I intend to vote for you, and I hope everybody who’s fair minded will.<doc-sep>Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham angrily blasted the Democrats’ handling of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process as “the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics.” “If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us,” Graham (R-SC) said, his voice shaking, as he addressed Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. “What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020 — you’ve said that, not me. see also Kavanaugh chokes back tears during heated, emotional testimony Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday vigorously denied allegations from Christine Blasey... “This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics, and if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy.” Graham then asked Kavanaugh if he thought Thursday’s hearing was a job interview. The senator then said: “This is not a job interview. This is hell, this is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this.” He finished his speech by declaring, “To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you are legitimizing the most despicable thing I’ve seen in my time in politics.”<doc-sep>(CNN) — South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham forcefully defended Brett Kavanaugh against an allegation of sexual assault during a tense Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday and accused Democrats of wanting to “destroy” the life of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Immediately following an aggressive line of questioning by Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, Graham said angrily, “What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020.” The Republican from South Carolina then turned his attention back to Kavanaugh and asked: “Are you a gang rapist?” Kavanaugh replied: “No.” The Republican senator also asked Kavanaugh, “Would you say you’ve been through hell?” Kavanaugh responded, “I’ve been through hell and then some.” Graham expressed sympathy for the Supreme Court nominee and his family, saying, “I cannot imagine what you and your family have gone through.” He added, “I hope the American people can see through this sham.” During Thursday’s hearing, senators have had the option to hand off their questioning to Rachel Mitchell, a career prosecutor with decades of experience prosecuting sex crimes. GOP senators opted to defer to Mitchell during questioning of Christine Blasey Ford, while Democrats asked their own questions. Graham appeared eager to speak himself, however, when it came time to question Kavanaugh, and several Republicans followed his lead. Graham had a message for Republicans on the panel as well, saying, “To my Republican colleagues, if you vote ‘no’, you’re legitimizing the most despicable thing that I have seen in my time in politics.” He told Kavanaugh that he hopes the nominee ends up on the Supreme Court, saying, “that’s exactly where you should be.” White House officials such as Kellyanne Conway and press secretary Sarah Sanders praised Graham’s comments. “. @LindseyGrahamSC has more decency and courage than every Democrat member of the committee combined. God bless him,” Sanders tweeted. Earlier in the day, Graham compared the judge’s treatment to Ford’s experience, the woman who came forward to accuse him of sexual assault. “I’m not going to reward people for playing a political game, I think, with her life,” Graham said. “She is just as much a victim of this as I think Brett Kavanaugh (is). Because somebody betrayed her trust, and we know who she gave the letter to.” Graham made those comments to reporters on Capitol Hill following Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee and ahead of Kavanaugh’s scheduled reappearance before the panel. Kavanaugh testified later on Thursday afternoon. Graham expressed deep seated anger with his Democratic counterparts for their handling of the accusations from Ford and for California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s decision not to inform others about the allegations after Ford reached out to her confidentially earlier this year. He accused Democrats further of trying to use the allegations against Kavanaugh to delay the confirmation process and ultimately prevent President Donald Trump from getting Kavanaugh on the court. “All I can say is that we’re 40-something days away from the election.” Graham said. “And their goal, not Ms. Ford’s goal, is to delay this past the midterms so they can win the Senate and never allow Trump to fill the seat.” Graham called Ford a “nice lady,” but said her story was uncorroborated and pointed to Kavanaugh’s denial of her allegations. He suggested a rejection of Kavanaugh’s nomination based on these allegations would set a bad precedent as well. “God help anybody else that gets nominated,” Graham said. He also took issue with the notion of waiting for an FBI investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh. “The FBI is going to tell us what?” Graham said. “What house are they going to go to? What city are they going to go to? Who are they going to talk to? Because they tell us the month, barely the year, so this is all delay?”<doc-sep>
Kavanaugh Confirmation Graham erupts in anger at Kavanaugh hearing Lindsey Graham had had enough. The South Carolina Republican erupted in anger during his turn to question Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday afternoon, marking a pivotal turn away from the GOP’s previously measured attempt to rely on outside counsel for questioning the high court nominee. It was a stunning moment, but one that clearly had been coming for days for anyone watching the 63-year-old senator closely. A furious Graham accused Senate Democrats of “the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics" — an effort to ruin Kavanaugh’s reputation and sink his nomination for the Supreme Court. At another point, Graham said of Kavanaugh's confirmation process: "This is not a job interview. This is hell." “What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020,” Graham roared in the seventh hour of Judiciary Committee testimony over whether Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford in 1982. After Graham’s outburst, the two Senate Republicans immediately following him, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), took the same approach of questioning Kavanaugh directly. Rachel Mitchell, the sex crimes prosecutor brought into handle the questioning of Christine Blasey Ford, sat quietly in the front of the committee dais for the rest of the afternoon session, ignored by the very senators who had hired her. “Judge, I can't think of a more embarrassing scandal for the United States Senate since the McCarthy hearings,” a fuming Cornyn said, speaking to the judge. “You’re right to be angry.” Throughout the nearly two-week lead-up to Thursday’s unprecedented session, Graham has become visibly more upset each day as Ford and two other women, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick, came forward to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct. Kavanaugh, a current federal appeals court judge, has vehemently denied the allegations. The last couple months have been a very difficult period for Graham, the South Carolina Republican has acknowledged. The death of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of Graham’s closest friends, hit him hard. Hurricane Florence hit South Carolina and plunged lawmakers from the Carolinas into crisis mode. And the troubled Kavanaugh nomination has become a personal challenge for him. Graham was once a virulent critic of President Donald Trump, but has now become one of the president’s most vocal advocates on the Hill. In that role, Graham has often found himself defending the indefensible whenever Trump tweets or says something offensive, even when the president criticized McCain. For Trump, Kavanaugh’s fate has become a personal crusade. And after hearing Ford’s testimony and Democrats grill Kavanaugh, Graham wasn’t having it anymore. “If you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you did to this guy,” Graham yelled at Democrats. “Boy, you guys want power. God, I hope you never get it. I hope the American people can see through this sham. That you knew about it and you held it." Graham then turned to Kavanaugh. “Are you a gang rapist?” Graham asked. Kavanaugh calmly replied, “No.” Graham was the first Republican senator to directly question either Kavanaugh or Ford, ditching the GOP’s tactic of relying on their hand-picked outside prosecutor, Rachel Mitchell. “Are you a gang rapist?” Graham exclaimed, as Kavanaugh calmly replied, “No.” Graham, who was first elected to Congress in 1994, came to national attention in 1998. He was a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton. Graham then served as a "manager" of Clinton's Senate impeachment trial. The irony of his demonstration is that Graham, who wants to chair the Judiciary Committee someday, sought to use a sex scandal to take out a president at that time. Now, two decades later, Graham is defending a Republican Supreme Court nominee from accusations of sexual misconduct. At Thursday's hearing, Graham also spoke directly to undecided Republicans, pleading them to line up in support of Kavanaugh, despite four hours of gut-wrenching testimony from Ford. “To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you’re legitimizing the most despicable thing I’ve seen in politics,” Graham said, before turning to Kavanaugh. “I hope you’re on the Supreme Court. That’s exactly where you should be.”