Former Maryland congressman and 2020 presidential candidate John Delaney (D.) said Friday it's "kind of a waste of time" for Democrats to attempt to impeach Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Delaney appeared on "The Howie Carr Show", where he was pressed on Kavanaugh and whether he believed he was a rapist and should be impeached.
"I don't think Brett Kavanaugh should be impeached off the Supreme Court," Delaney said. "I mean he's on the Supreme Court. He was nominated and he was approved by the Senate and he's on the Supreme Court and talking about impeachment is kind of a waste of time."
Host Howie Carr followed up by asking whether he believed any of the accusations that were waged against Kavanaugh back in the fall, prompting Delaney to say there is a scenario where he can believe both Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, to some extent.
"This thing happened a long time ago. I don't know what happened. I think something happened to Dr. Ford obviously, whether it was Judge Kavanaugh or not, I don't really have any—I kind of believe them both to some extent," Delaney said.
Delaney is likely to face some scrutiny from his rival 2020 Democratic opponents over the issue of Kavanaugh if it becomes an issue during the Democratic primary. Several Democratic senators running for president, including Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.), were vocal during the nomination hearing about their opposition to Kavanaugh.
Booker said last summer that any senator who didn't oppose his confirmation is complicit in "evil." He also said, "This toxic culture, this pernicious patriarchy in this country has to stop. It's real in this country and people are suffering."
"This hearing is a sham and Dr. Ford and the American people deserve better," Harris tweeted back in September.
Moments ago I walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Kavanaugh. This hearing is a sham and Dr. Ford and the American people deserve better.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 28, 2018
Kavanaugh was confirmed in October with a 50-48 vote that was largely on party lines, with the exception of Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.):
Kavanaugh is Trump's second Supreme Court pick to be confirmed and his 69th successful appointment to the federal bench. The vote comes after a long and bitter confirmation process, in which Kavanaugh was accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct and assault when he was in high school and college.
The first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, told the Washington Post that Kavanaugh, then a junior in high school, attacked her when they were at a party in Maryland in the early 1980s. A second allegation came from a woman named Deborah Ramirez, who accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself at a dorm party during his freshman year at Yale. Another allegation was brought forth from a woman named Julie Swetnick, who is represented by anti-Trump lawyer Michael Avenatti. Swetnick claimed Kavanaugh was involved in a series of "gang rapes" when he was in high school, but she offered no additional evidence or witnesses to support her allegations.
Kavanaugh has vehemently denied all accusations and there have been no corroborating witnesses to the alleged assaults.