Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said during a Tuesday floor speech that "you can practically hear Democrats trying to move the goalposts" in an effort to prevent Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation.
"If you stop and listen, you can practically hear the Democrats trying to move the goalposts on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court," McConnell said.
McConnell outlined how Democrats, in an effort to maintain their opposition to the nominee, have continually changed the standard Kavanaugh must meet in order to deserve confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Remember, before Judge Kavanaugh was even named, several Democrats on the Judiciary Committee indicated they'd oppose whomever – whomever the nominee might turn out to be. The junior senator from California, for example, explained on television that whoever President Trump chose would bring about "the destruction of the Constitution of the United States, as far as I can tell." That, incredibly enough, was a member of the Judiciary Committee. Of course, mere hours after Judge Kavanaugh was announced, my friend, the Democratic leader, made the announcement that has now become famous -- "I will oppose him with everything I've got," he said. And not long after that, another Democrat on the Judiciary Committee proclaimed that anyone supporting Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation was, listen to this, "complicit in the evil." Complicit in the evil.
These statements are the context for every action the Democrats have taken during this entire process. These statements remind us Democrats may be trying to move the goalposts every five minutes, but their goal has not moved an inch. They will not be satisfied unless they have brought down Judge Kavanaugh's nomination.
The majority leader also blasted Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick, as a "tabloid lawyer." Swetnick claimed Kavanaugh committed a series of "gang rapes" when he was in high school, but she offered no additional evidence or witnesses to support her allegations. She also backtracked on some of her initial claims during an interview Monday night.
"A tabloid lawyer organized a red-carpet rollout for someone who wanted to accuse Judge Kavanaugh of masterminding some kind of high school drug and serial sexual assault ring. Hosting one wild party after another, filled with sexual violence for which there conveniently happened to be zero witnesses – zero witnesses, but plenty of people to refute the claims," McConnell said.
He said his Democratic colleagues have rushed to claim Swetnick's allegation as credible.
"This didn't stay in the tabloids, by the way. This fantastic story was effectively read into the record of the Judiciary Committee by the ranking member, who decided it deserved a mention in her remarks during last Thursday's hearing. And every Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee seized on this outlandish tale in a formal letter in which they called on Judge Kavanaugh to withdraw his name from consideration. This is how desperate some became for any way to stop this stunningly qualified nominee," McConnell said. "I guess upholding any standards of any kind was just too much to ask."
McConnell highlighted how every "trivial" point from Kavanaugh's past is now being treated as a "bombshell" against him. He signaled out a recent New York Times story that details a bar fight in which Kavanaugh was questioned by the police. Kavanaugh's friend Chris Dudley threw a glass bottle at someone's head and was arrested. Kavanaugh was accused of throwing ice at someone.
"Last night the New York Times unleashed this major story: Get this – Judge Kavanaugh may have been accused of throwing some ice across a college bar in the mid 1980s. Talk about a bombshell," McConnell joked. "One can only imagine what new 'bombshell' might be published today or tomorrow."