Dianne Feinstein Chides Chuck Grassley At Kavanaugh Hearing

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By Dave Goldiner September 27, 2018

Sen. Dianne Feinstein chided her colleague Sen. Chuck Grassley for mishandling the sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh as the explosive hearing kicked off.

The Jewish senator swatted away Grassley when he interrupted her opening statement, then went on to welcome Christine Blasey Ford — and reminded the nation of how the GOP had sought to avoid more scrutiny of the allegations.

“What I find so disturbing is the rush to judgment,” Feinstein said.

Feinstein recounted allegations by Julie Swetnick and Debbie Ramirez that she said had not been properly investigated.

“Each of these allegations are troubling and each should be investigated by the FBI,” she said. “And yet Republicans continue to ask us to blindly move forward.”

Republicans were hoping to avoid looking insensitive toward Blasey Ford, especially given their handling of the nomination of Clarence Thomas two decades ago.

Yet Grassley seemed to undermine that goal by cutting her off in front of a television audience of millions of Americans.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner