Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) said Sunday she would have handled the sexual misconduct allegation against Brett Kavanaugh differently than Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif) has.
Feinstein reportedly received a letter in July from an anonymous woman alleging the Supreme Court nominee forced himself on her in high school, and she did not reveal it until after his Senate hearing, just as the confirmation vote nears. Waters appeared on MSNBC's "AM Joy" with Joy Reid and said she was not sure what the value of a confidential letter is.
"What good does the information do if the woman won't come forward, if we can't unveil the information, if it can't be shared with anybody?" Waters asked. "I don't know how it could be helpful."
The woman who wrote the letter reportedly wishes to remain anonymous and does not want to press charges or move forward with the complaint.
Kavanaugh has denied these allegations, saying: "I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time."
During her appearance, Waters also called the ongoing allegations and the battle in the Senate over them a "most unfortunate situation."
Waters went on to chide Feinstein for her handling of the situation. Feinstein has had the letter since July and did not discuss the matter with fellow Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees Supreme Court nominations.
"Maybe she did not understand what she should do with confidential information, and while I'm not absolutely criticizing her on that, if I'd had that information, I think that I would have treated it differently," Waters said.
Feinstein's apology to Kavanaugh over protesters' frequent interruptions during his confirmation hearing also earned Waters' criticism.
Feinstein told Kavanaugh on Sept. 5, "I'm sorry for the circumstances, but we'll get through it."
Waters told Reid, "If I had any criticism at all for Dianne Feinstein, it was because she apologized to Kavanaugh for protesters who came to that hearing to let people know that they were very concerned about this nominee...If I had any criticism at all, it would be about basically apologizing for protesters."