If Democrats retake the Senate in the 2018 midterm elections, another investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh might be ahead.
Ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said “I’d be in favor of opening an investigation into the allegations” during a Wednesday debate against her challenger, state Sen. Kevin de Leon, who also expressed support for such an investigation.
Kavanaugh faced accusations from several women of sexual misconduct, including from Christine Blasey Ford, of California, who alleged Kavanaugh forced himself upon her at a high school party in the 1980s.
Ford had contacted Feinstein before her allegations became public, prompting some Republicans to call for an investigation of Feinstein’s office to determine if Ford’s allegations were leaked to the press from someone in Feinstein’s office. Ford had requested that her allegations be kept confidential.
Feinstein has asserted that her office was not responsible for leaking Ford’s allegations, but Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said that Feinstein’s staff “betrayed” Ford as he urged for an investigation into the Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking member.
Kavanaugh has denied all allegations of misconduct and was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month, following an FBI probe examining the allegations that could not confirm them.