General Discussion

"Senate Republicans were trying to rush a vote while they knew Deborah Ramirez would come forward with her story," Gillibrand wrote, referencing the New Yorker's reporting that indicates GOP staffers knew about Ramirez's accusation as they tried to push Kavanaugh's confirmation process forward last week.

"They deny Dr. Ford an FBI investigation, won’t subpoena corroborating witnesses, and now, this," Gillibrand wrote. "It’s an embarrassment. They have absolutely no interest in the truth."

"Enough is enough," she continued. "One credible sexual assault claim should have been too many to get a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court and make decisions that will affect millions of women’s lives for generations."

"Two is an embarrassment," she added. "It’s time for a new nominee."

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/408031-gillibrand-calls-for-kavanaugh-nomination-to-be-withdrawn

“I believe Dr. Blasey Ford because she’s risking everything — her safety, her security, her reputation, her career — to tell this story at this moment for all the right reasons,” Gillibrand said in a powerful speech on the Senate floor. “If we allow women’s experiences of sexual trauma to be second to a man’s promotion, it will not only diminish this watershed moment of societal change we are in, it will bring shame on this body and on the court.”

Gillibrand criticized Republicans for “bullying” and “patronizing” Ford, and lambasted President Donald Trump for belittling Kavanaugh’s accusers.

Trump’s raging “remind[ed] us once again that he has been credibly accused of sexual assault himself and denigrates not just women who accuse him but survivors everywhere,” Gillibrand said in her speech.

She noted that the “retaliation and scorn” Kavanaugh’s accusers have faced shows why many sexual assault survivors don’t come forward with their stories.

“This process is sending the worst possible message to girls — and boys — everywhere,” Gillibrand said. “It’s telling American women that your voice doesn’t matter. It’s telling survivors everywhere that your experiences don’t count, they’re not important and they are not to be believed.”

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kirsten-gillibrand-kavanaugh-senate-speech_us_5bacac30e4b091df72edfd5f

"Why isn't Judge Kavanaugh asking for an FBI investigation if (he has) nothing to hide?" Hirono asked during a news conference introducing a letter from 1,000 alumnae of the Holton-Arms School supporting Christine Blasey Ford, who was attending the school when she alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.

"The option is show up Monday or don't show up at all," Gillibrand said. "I consider that to be bullying. I consider that to be disregarding. I consider that to be something set up for failure. They would like a he-said-she-said scenario, because you know what happens in those scenarios? The men are typically believed."

Gillibrand also said Republicans aren't taking Ford's accusations seriously, citing a top Judiciary Committee staffer's now-deleted tweet that said Republicans are "unfazed and determined" to confirm Kavanaugh.

"Well, obviously they are not objective. They are not the professional staff that would be necessary in the FBI to do this kind of investigation -- someone who is nonpartisan, someone who has been trained to do this level investigation," she told CNN. "And so having that quote out there, they've already ... decided. They don't want the facts. They don't want this investigation done."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/20/politics/mazie-hirono-kirsten-gillibrand-republicans-brett-kavanaugh/index.html