Kavanaugh says he may have been too emotional at Senate hearing

Washington: US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has said he “might have been too emotional” and “said a few things I should not have said” during last week's Senate hearing on sexual assault allegations against him.

In an article published on the Wall Street Journal's website on Thursday, US time, a day before the Senate plans to take a crucial test vote on his confirmation, Kavanaugh said his testimony “reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character”.

He said he was more emotional than he had ever been. “I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad,” he wrote.

Going forward, he wrote, “you can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career: hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good”.

At last week's hearing, as he denied the allegations against him, Kavanaugh made no secret of his anger at Democrats on the committee.

Brett Kavanaugh gives his opening statement before the Senate judiciary committee in Washington.

Brett Kavanaugh gives his opening statement before the Senate judiciary committee in Washington.Credit:AFP

“This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fuelled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside, left-wing opposition groups,” Kavanaugh told the committee.

In the days after the hearing, many Democrats have questioned whether he has the proper judicial temperament to serve on the nation's highest court.

Retired justice John Paul Stevens, a Republican appointee who retired in 2010, said on Thursday that Kavanaugh didn't belong on the Supreme Court, the Palm Beach Post in Florida reported. Stevens said he had praised Kavanaugh in previous years and thought he was qualified for the court, the newspaper said.

“I've changed my views for reasons that have no relationship to his intellectual ability,” Stevens said, according to the newspaper. “I feel his performance in the hearings ultimately changed my mind.”

Bloomberg

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