Abigail Dillen, incoming president at Earthjustice, offered the following statement regarding the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in light of recent allegations that Judge Kavanaugh violently sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California:

“No law firm takes public opposition to a judicial nominee — especially one for the highest court in America — lightly. We at Earthjustice are no exception.

“When Judge Kavanaugh was nominated, we thoroughly examined his record. We read his opinions. We were guided by our powerful desire for an impartial Justice who would uphold the law for all people — especially those who have borne the brunt of air and water pollution, toxic waste, and other forms of environmental degradation in our country, and who will experience the effects of climate change most intensely.

“And after we scrutinized Judge Kavanaugh’s record, it was clear: Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a dangerous choice to serve on the Supreme Court.

“We reached this conclusion based on what we could see. Yet, there is still so much unknown that the American public deserves to know. To this day, 90% of Judge Kavanaugh’s records of service in the White House have been hidden from view by partisan lawyers and Trump administration unfounded claims of ‘privilege.’ This entire nomination process has been an unprecedented sham and an insult to democracy. What are Senate Republicans afraid of?

“Judge Kavanaugh’s record was disqualifying on its own, but even to those who were willing to overlook it for the sake of tilting the scales of justice in favor of the wealthy and the powerful, the revelations of the last week should have ended the discussion.

“This was an opportunity to not perpetuate the same culture Anita Hill was subjected to 27 years ago — one that belittles, mistreats, and attempts to silence women. As Anita Hill said herself earlier this week, ‘A fair, neutral and well-thought-out course is the only way to approach’ getting to the facts. It is clear now that Chairman Grassley and his supporters in this effort have no interest in allowing the American public to know the facts.

“We see Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and we stand with her. It is disgraceful that a man facing credible accusations of violent sexual assault stands at the doorstep of the United States Supreme Court.

“It is disgraceful that Dr. Blasey Ford, a victim of an alleged sexual assault, would be subjected to a campaign of targeted harassment for daring to tell her story.

“It is disgraceful that Chairman Grassley and his Republican colleagues are falling over each other to rush a sham hearing where they will, as men — let’s not forget that all eleven Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are white men — smear and distort her story for partisan political benefit.

“The Senate must reject this nomination and start over — now.”