Only four times in a hundred years has the American Civil Liberties Union stepped away from its carefully guarded apolitical position to make a pronouncement on the confirmation of a political nominee. This is one of those times.
In the wake of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sworn testimony of sexual abuse at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh, the American Civil Liberties Union has announced its opposition to his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
As a matter of organizational policy, the ACLU does not support or oppose candidates for political or judicial office. In this instance, the national board held an extraordinary meeting, and has chosen to make an exception to that policy.
The letter from the ACLU follows an equally remarkable letter from the American Bar Association that was issued on Thursday.
The basic principles that underscore the Senate’s constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI.
On Friday, the dean of Yale Law School joined in the plea for additional investigation. But the ACLU letter goes beyond asking for an investigation.
The ACLU’s board of directors, deeply concerned by the allegations raised in recent weeks, has made a rare exception to its longstanding policy and voted to oppose the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
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