Hirono: Kavanaugh's drinking habit should be investigated by FBI

SCREEN CAPTURE / MSNBC

SUPREME COURT nominee Brett Kavanaugh's love of beer may be his downfall. At least one senator thinks his alleged excessive drinking and bouts of drunkenness should be part of the FBI investigation.

Monday (Oct. 1) on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the expanded FBI investigation into Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh should include whether the Kavanaugh was “a very belligerent, aggressive drunk” in his youth.

Even if the sexual assault allegations against him prove to have no basis, Brett Kavanaugh should be disqualified from being named to the Supreme Court based on his out-of-control behavior alone during his testimony last Thursday.

The was he conducted himself in rebuttal to the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who claimed that the future judge sexually assaulted her when they were in high school, is not the behavior one wants for someone who will be making judgments affecting our lives and the way our government conducts business as a member of the highest court in the land.

I can understand why he behaved the way he did -- angry, belligerent, teary-eyed when he talked about his family -- but for someone who will be making very important decisions that will uphold and interpret the laws of our country impacting every phase of our daily lives -- we want someone who has a little more measured. We don't want major rulings being made based on his emotions.

Even if the worst of the allegations against him prove untrue, his penchant for heavy drinking -- "I like beer," he defiantly exclaimed repeatedly during his testimony -- should be another black mark against his nomination, says Hirono.

Former Yale classmates have come forth to counter what Kavanaugh said under oath. Liz Swisher, a Seattle medical doctor, told CNN she drank with Kavanaugh often and that he “drank heavily” and was a “sloppy drunk.” Yale classmate Chad Luddington issued a statement to the media in which he said he was “deeply troubled" at how Kavanaugh mischaracterized his drinking. Luddington described Kavanaugh's drinking as “frequent” and “heavy.” He said that Kavanaugh, after drinking, was “often belligerent and aggressive,” would “slur” his words and would be seen “staggering.”

On MSNBC, Hirono said, “As most normal people would think, that whether or not Judge Kavanaugh lied to the committee, which should be a total nonstarter for anybody wanting to go to the Supreme Court, is not even the area of focus. It’s so limited, I called it basically—I think the word farce would not be far off to talk about this so-called investigation. It is not going to get us anywhere near the truth. But the other thing that I found totally bizarre and astounding was when Judge Kavanaugh accused the Democrats of engaging in a plot to do him in, and he dragged in Hillary Clinton and all that. This is a conspiracy theory. This is what he believes. This is what he’s going to take to the Supreme Court. And he also was so partisan that it was unbelievable. He even wrote a law review article in 2016 where he said a judge should be totally nonpartisan. That’s not what was shown to us.

“There were inconsistencies about his drinking and information we have from various of his classmates, that he was a very belligerent, aggressive drunk," Hirono continued. 

"So I would like the FBI to go and interview all of these people, and we have to draw our conclusions, but it was unbelievable, the portrayal of himself as some kind of a boy scout, all he cared about was studying, going to church, doing projects and playing basketball or sports. It was pretty unbelievable to me. And very clearly, when he was asked specific questions about the meaning of the terms in his yearbook, what the meanings of those words were. And as (former FBI director James) Comey said, when you lie about something like that, it just points to the need to dig deeper.”

She added, “I think there’s a pattern of him not being candid with the committee, it goes back to his nomination hearings in 2006” when Kavanaugh was interviewed for the position as a federal judge.

Hirono questioned Kavanaugh's positions on several issues besides his drinking habits and behavior towards women.

During last week's confirmation hearings, Hirono exposed Kavanaugh's belief that Native Hawaiians, and possibly Native Alaskans, shouldn't be given the same status as Native Americans because Hawaiians migrated to the islands. If Kavanaugh holds that belief, he could rule that Native Hawaiians do not deserve government assistance or allowed to live lands designated for them.

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