Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti on Thursday said that it has been "apparent" since day one of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's hearings that Democrats wanted to delay the vote to confirm him until after the elections in November.
Continetti appeared on MSNBC's "Meet the Press Daily," where he discussed the coordinated response to Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh and how her lawyers have moved the goal posts on expectations for next week's hearing.
Ford, a professor of psychology at Palo Alto University in California, has accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly pinning her to a bed, groping her, and trying to stifle her screams at a high school party in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, as has his former classmate Mark Judge, who Ford claims was also in the room at the time of the alleged incident.
Host Chuck Todd said that it seemed like a "no-brainer" for President Donald Trump to scrap Kavanaugh and nominate somebody else for the Supreme Court, noting that Judge Amy Coney Barrett could excite the conservative base more than Kavanaugh.
"I think the Democrat strategy–it was apparent on day one of the confirmation hearings–is to delay the nomination past the election, to delay the nominations to defeat the nomination. And if you're able to defeat the nomination, then the question becomes, well, who next? And, what is the time frame for confirming that judge to the Supreme Court?" Continetti said. "The time frame goes beyond the election, an election in which it's very possible the Democrats win both the House and the Senate."
He went on to say that there could be an empty seat on the Supreme Court for two years if Democrats win the House and the Senate, referencing an idea Sen. Mazie Hirono (D., Hawaii) floated earlier in the week at a press conference.
"That's why the White House and Republicans nationally are behind this nomination, at least want to see both sides tell their story next week," Continetti said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing for Ford and Kavanaugh to testify on Monday. Ford also has the option of being interviewed in private if she prefers.
Ford's lawyer, Debra Katz, has said that her client is prepared to testify next week, but that Monday is "not possible." Katz added that Ford wants the FBI to conduct an investigation into her allegation before she testifies, despite the alleged assault not being a federal crime.
"You say, well, OK, we're going to hold off until the FBI completes its investigation," Continetti said. "Well, now we see that the FBI probably won't be investigating this matter, but now we're not going to agree to appear on Monday, so what Chuck Grassley is probably trying to do right now, assuming he's talking with Katz, is 'When do you want to talk, if not Monday?'"