Several top Republicans on Monday came to the defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in light new allegations of sexual misconduct during his college years, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., slamming the attacks as a "one-year anniversary re-enactment."
"Leading Democrats have tried to grab onto yet another poorly-sourced, thinly-reported, unsubstantiated allegation against Justice Brett Kavanaugh," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "There they go again.
"Call it a one-year anniversary re-enactment," he added. "Senate Democrats re-opening the sad and embarrassing chapter they wrote last September."
The New York Times initially reported Saturday that a male former Yale University classmate had told the FBI about witnessing an episode similar to, but separate from, a previously publicized account by a female classmate, Deborah Ramirez, who said an inebriated Kavanaugh had thrust his penis in her face during a college party in the 1980s.
However, the Times updated the report Sunday to say that Ramirez was said to have no recollection of the alleged incident. She also declined to speak to the Times about the incident.
The Times' article was published based on a new book that discusses Kavanaugh's early life and claims that he had assaulted Ramirez at the college party.
In addition, The Federalist reported that alleged witness, Max Stier, defended former President Bill Clinton during the 1990s, while Kavanaugh worked for Independent Counsel Ken Starr.
"The latest allegation was blasted out by a major newspaper despite the apparent lack of any corroborating evidence whatsoever," McConnell said of the Times. "The reporting was so thin, the story ran not in the news section, but on the opinion page.
"We all remember this pattern from last time around: Shoot first and correct the facts later," McConnell said.
He noted that several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have called for impeaching Kavanaugh — yet, despite the Times correction, "no one in that group has backed off of their ridiculous threat."
The Senate confirmed Kavanaugh, 54, last October after a contentious hearing that included testimony on sexual-assault allegations from university professor Christine Blasey Ford.
Kavanaugh, a federal appellate court judge, denied the allegations.
President Donald Trump also bashed the Times report Monday, tweeting that the newspaper should be sued.
Another Senate Republican, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, also slammed the newspaper report as among the "baseless attacks" by "Democrats and their allies in the media" with "no evidence and no regard for due process and basic fairness."
"Even The New York Times had to issue a 'correction' that should've been called a 'retraction,'" Cotton said.
"This is what happens when partisans become obsessive and when reporters spend a year digging for dirt and find nothing, but don’t want to return their fat book advance."
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