A Smear Campaign? Dems Aim to Derail Kavanaugh Nomination by Any Means Necessary

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats have promised to fight Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination in any way possible and are wasting no time attacking his credentials.

One of their most recent attacks against the judge involves a conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh in order to protect himself from the ongoing Mueller investigation.  

"He chose the one person that has written that he should have immunity from any investigation," Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) told reporters.

"Judge Kavanaugh, if he is a justice, would be the swing vote in deciding whether he can pardon himself — get out of jail free pass. That's the accountability that will be lost if Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed," echoed Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

That claim originates from an article Kavanaugh wrote in the Minnesota Law Review back in 2009.

In it, he discusses his experience working for independent counsel Ken Starr as he investigated then-President Bill Clinton, followed by his time working for President George W. Bush.

After witnessing the day-to-day challenges faced by the president, it led Kavanaugh to raise questions about investigations of a sitting president.

He wrote: "We should not burden a sitting president with civil suits, criminal investigations, or criminal prosecutions. The president's job is difficult enough as is. And the country loses when the president's focus is distracted."

Democrats argue this means Kavanaugh would likely pardon the president in the case of an indictment.  

But the White House disagrees, pointing out that in the article the judge suggested Congress pass a law that would defer civil suits until a president leaves office.

"It's very important people understand this point," White House spokesperson Kerri Kupec told CBN News. "He did not espouse a constitutional viewpoint on this. It was a legislative fix that only Congress can do."

Georgetown law professor Randy Barnett and other legal experts also refute this. 

"I think this is preposterous and I think that most of the things that have been said about him so far by the Democrats are preposterous," claimed Barnett.

Barnett says while Democrats are justified in their concerns about a judge selected by a Republican president, this is mainly political theater.

"I think this is just what you might call the phony war leading up to the real war and the real war will start when all the documents are going to be produced about his tenure in the Bush White House, his tenure on the Starr special counsel's office," he continued.

With the Senate hearings expected to begin in September, senators will certainly be closely combing through that paperwork, as well as the more than 300 opinions written by Kavanaugh during his 12 years as a district judge.