Senate’s ‘Appalling’ Behavior Will Become ‘Free-for-All Circus’ Amid Kavanaugh Allegations

Senators’ behavior following the 11th-hour sexual assault allegations leveled against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is “just absolutely appalling” and could lead to “a free-for-all circus,” former independent counsel Kenneth Starr lamented Monday night on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”

“It’s going to be drama, and I think this again is going to be very unfortunate for the country, for our culture, and our values,” Starr, whose investigation led to former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment in 1998, told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

“It’s obviously very unfair to the Senate itself. This is a self-inflicted wound, as I see it, by the Senate, just countenancing this 11th-hour process that Dianne Feinstein is totally responsible for,” Starr said, adding that the Senate “should be acting much more judiciously than it is. And it is — it is going to be, I’m afraid, a free-for-all circus. And that is unfortunate.”

President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace the outgoing Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in July.

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary initially was scheduled to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination Thursday before sending the vote to the full Senate shortly thereafter.

But Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in northern California, stunned the nation and derailed the process when she came forward publicly with allegations against Kavanaugh through an article published Sunday in The Washington Post.

Ford claims Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago when they were teens in high school during a party in Maryland.

The professor initially accused the judge anonymously in July, when she detailed her allegations to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) through her congresswoman, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.).

Feinstein fielded backlash for her decision not to air Ford’s anonymous allegations until so late in the traditional Senate confirmation process.

Kavanaugh has “categorically and unequivocally” denied Ford’s anonymous allegations against him; he released an additional statement on Monday after she came forward, calling it “a completely false allegation” because he has “never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone.”

“This is just absolutely appalling. I wish the Senate had stood firm,” Starr said on Monday night, noting that “due process” in the Senate “broke down terribly” when Feinstein allowed “for this to be enshrouded in secrecy and then dropped like a … bomb” on the nation.

A hearing is set for Kavanaugh and Ford to testify on September 24, thus indefinitely delaying the confirmation process.

Two women who have known Kavanaugh for decades and one of his female former law clerks joined Ingraham Monday night on “The Ingraham Angle” to defend the judge and vouch for his character.

“I think it’s really important for people to listen to him and for him to stand strong in the truth that he knows and defend his character.”

Suzanne Matan, who has known Kavanaugh since high school, noted that their daughters were born a day apart and played on the same lacrosse team.

When Matan first heard the allegations against Kavanaugh, she told Ingraham she “immediately discounted it.”

“He’s bright, he’s honest, he’s kind and he’s respectable. So the allegation is something that is completely opposite of the Brett that I knew then and the Brett that I know now,” Matan said.

Related: Ken Starr Harbors ‘Deepest Concerns’ About ‘Fairness,’ Timing of Kavanaugh Allegations

Matan and Julie DeVol were two of the 65 women who knew Kavanaugh in high school and who signed a letter in his defense after the sexual misconduct allegations arose.

DeVol said that the “65 of us all are on the same page,” even if dozens of the women declined to speak further publicly or have not spoken again in Kavanaugh’s defense.

“Every one of us is in agreement … There’s been people calling them and making them nervous, so they’ve chosen not to come onto TV shows or to use their name. But every one of us still stands by what we said in the letter,” DeVol said.

“I felt strongly that [Kavanaugh’s] got great morals, great character and I’ve known him since 1980. This is not his personality. This is not anything that he would ever do,” DeVol insisted.

Jennifer Mascott, who has known Kavanaugh for 12 years and has clerked for him, noted that he “has categorically denied the allegations. She added, “I think it’s really important for people to listen to him and for him to stand strong in the truth that he knows and defend his character.”

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