Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh claims he had no idea the man who approached him in his confirmation last Tuesday was the father of a student who was killed in the Parkland, Fla., shootings.
He explained if he had realized the identity of Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime Guttenberg was one of the 17 high school students killed in the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February, he would have spoken to him.
Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the high court, said he assumed the man who touched his arm was a protestor.
Fred Guttenberg (L), father of Parkland, Florida, shooting victim Jaime Guttenberg, tries to speak with Judge Brett Kavanaugh as he leaves for a break during his confirmation hearing
Judge Brett Kavanaugh listens to Fred Guttenberg, a parent of a student who was a victim at the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland,Florida
Brett Kavanaugh turns away from Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting
Fred Guttenberg's 14-year-old daughter Jaime Guttenberg was one of the 17 high school students killed at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School
'As I was leaving the hearing room for a recess last Tuesday, a man behind me yelled my name, approached me from behind, and touched my arm. It had been a chaotic morning with a large number of protestors in the hearing room. As the break began, the room remained noisy and crowded,' Kavanaugh wrote in response to written 'questions for the record' from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
'When I turned and did not recognize the man, I assumed he was a protestor. In a split second, my security detail intervened and ushered me out of the hearing room. In that split second, I unfortunately did not realize that the man was the father of a shooting victim from Parkland, Florida. Mr. Guttenberg has suffered an incalculable loss. If I had known who he was, I would have shaken his hand, talked to him, and expressed my sympathy. And I would have listened to him,' he concluded.
Asked by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal if he had asked police to intervene, Kavanaugh wrote, 'No.'
He added: 'No one acted at my request. If someone purported to act on my behalf, they did so without my knowledge and contrary to my wishes.'
Kavanaugh was responding to 1,287 submitted questions from senators on the committee, almost all from Democrats.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted the Democrats' excessive questioning as a way to 'gum up the process.'
'Submitting this many written questions appears to be just one more effort to gum up the process. It's unnecessary and dilatory, especially when many have already decided to vote against Judge Kavanaugh. What more do they need to know to vote 'no'?' Grassley said in a statement.
He also noted this is the most amount of written questions posed to a nominee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has delayed a vote on Kavanaugh by a week until next Thursday, September 20. A full Senate vote on his confirmation is expected for the last week in September.
White House spokesman Raj Shah said Kavanaugh has 'completed the most comprehensive, thorough and transparent review of any nomination for the Supreme Court in U.S. history.'
'Between four days of hearings and written responses, Judge Kavanaugh has responded to over 2,000 questions publicly, in addition to questions from Senators in a confidential session. This comes after Chairman Grassley granted each Senator access to over 450,000 pages of records from the Judge's executive branch service, more than the previous five Supreme Court nominees combined. In addition, Judge Kavanaugh met personally with 65 different Senators and submitted 17,000 pages of answers, writings, and speeches in response to the Committee's bipartisan questionnaire, on top of the over 300 opinions he's written as a sitting Judge that are available for public review,' Shah said in a statement.
'Despite the endless complaints from critics, the Committee has received more material regarding Judge Kavanaugh's nomination than any nominee in history – by a wide margin. Its members have more than enough information to consider his nomination, and we look forward to them advancing it to the full Senate,' he said.
Guttenberg, who was invited to Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing by ranking Democratic member of the judiciary committee Sen. Dianne Feinstein, approached the judge during a break in opening statements.
Photos of Kavanaugh turning away from Guttenberg went viral and led to an outcry against the judge.
Guttenberg tweeted about the incident, writing: 'Just walked up to Judge Kavanaugh as morning session ended. Put out my hand to introduce myself as Jaime Guttenberg's dad. He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away. I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence.'
At the time, the White House pushed back, saying security had stopped Guttenberg from speaking to Kavanaugh.
'As Judge Kavanaugh left for his lunch break, an unidentified individual approached him. Before the Judge was able to shake his hand, security had intervened,' White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah, who's handling Kavanaugh's confirmation, tweeted.
Then Guttenberg snapped back at Shah, saying Feinstein introduced him.
'Incorrect. I was here all day and introduced by Senator Feinstein. No security involved. He turned and walked away,' he tweeted in reply.
Guttenberg has become a gun control advocate and fierce critic of the National Rifle Association since his 14-year-old daughter was one of the 17 students who on died on Valentine's Day in the mass shooting.
Fred Guttenberg tweeted Kavanaugh turned away from him when he introduced himself
Jamie Guttenberg was killed in the Parkland, Fla., massacre
He became a national figure in February when he challenged Florida Sen. Marco Rubio about his gun rights position in a CNN town hall following the shooting.
Guttenberg told The Washington Post he is certain Kavanaugh heard him and disputed that the presence of security had any role in the lack of interaction.
'There was no security intervention,' Guttenberg said. 'When he turned that way and started moving, they started following him. But he had every ability to engage me.'
Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing on Tuesday was interrupted multiple times by protesters, who were expressing concern about President Donald Trump's nominee's record on abortion rights.
By the end of that first day, 71 protestors had been arrested.
It was so chaotic Kavanaugh's young daughters were escorted from the room.
Protesters dressed in The Handmaid's Tale costume, protest outside the hearing room where Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee
U.S. Capitol Police removed multiple protestors throughout Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing
Kavanaugh addressed other sensitive topics in his answers' to the senators questions, which are known as 'questions for the record.'
The inquiries follow two days of hearings in the judiciary committee last week where Kavanaugh answered over 20 hours of questions from members of both political parties.
Under committee rules, senators from both sides of the aisle are allowed to follow up their verbal questions in a hearing with written questions.
Their inquiries ranged from inquires about legal theory to how he purchased his home to his season tickets for the Washington Nationals baseball team to whether he was on a 'sexually explicit email list.'
Democratic Senator inquired about Kavanaugh's relationship with Judge Alex Kozinski, who retired in December 2017 after a growing number of allegations of improper sexual conduct.
Kozinski served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit for over 30 years and Kavanaugh clerked for Kozinski in 1991.
More than fifteen women came forward with allegations against Kozinski, including that he showed them pornography, inappropriate touching and kissing, and inappropriate sexual contact.
In his resignation statement, Kozinski said the women must have misunderstood his 'broad sense of humor.'
Coons asked Kavanaugh to respond to 11 questions relating to the retiring judge including whether Kavanaugh was a member of Kozinski's 'sexually explicit email list' known as 'the Easy Rider Gag List.'
Judge Brett Kavanaugh with his daughters Margaret and Liza at Game 5 of the 2017 National League Division Series between the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals
Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Women's reproductive rights activists that oppose Kavanaugh's nomination protest wearing black veils and tape over their mouths outside his hearing room
Kavanaugh offered a stark, one-sentence denial: 'I do not remember receiving inappropriate emails of a sexual nature from Judge Kozinski.'
Kavanaugh, in response to other questions, said he didn't see Judge Kozinski engage in sexually inappropriate behavior or harass anyone.
'I was unaware of any allegation that Judge Kozinski shared pornography with law clerks until I read the story in the news in late 2017,' he wrote. The Los Angeles Times broke the news on Kozinki's alleged behavior in 2008.
But, Kavanaugh noted, he has no reason to doubt the women's claims.
He also pointed out the many other people who worked around Kozinski did not report anything.
'Judge Kozinski worked in a small courthouse in Pasadena with ten other judges, numerous law clerks, and court employees. Apparently, none of them knew of any misconduct, or they presumably would have reported it,' Kavanaugh wrote.
Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court also received numerous questions about his financial disclosures, including questions on how he bought his home, his purchase of season tickets to the Washington Nationals' baseball team, his poker playing and his membership in the tony-D.C. area Chevy Chase Club.
Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse inquired whether Kavanaugh has a gambling problem.
The judge answered with a firm 'no.'
The assertion that Kavanaugh might have a gambling problem comes from a disclosed 2001 email, where he is apparently apologizing to his friends for losing his cool after losing a 'game of dice.'
'The game of dice referred to in that email was not a game with monetary stakes,' Kavanaugh wrote.
He also noted he does occasionally gamble and, in a response to a specific question about whether he's ever visited any casinos in New Jersey, he said yes.
'Like many Americans, I have occasionally played poker or other games with friends and colleagues,' Kavanaugh wrote.
'I recall occasionally visiting casinos in New Jersey when I was in school or in my 20s. I recall I played low-stakes blackjack. I have not accrued gambling debt,' he noted.
He also wrote that 'I have not had gambling debts or participated in 'fantasy' leagues.'
Brett Kavanaugh sits with his wife, Ashley, daughter Liza, and daughter Margaret as he is introduced to senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee
Brett Kavanaugh greets girls who he has coached in basketball, including his daughter Liza, bottom left, during a break in the third day of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing
Brett Kavanaugh, center, poses for a photograph with his current and former basketball team members he coaches
Family members of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, including his wife, Ashley, and two daughters, Liza and Margaret, on his first day of confirmation hearings
Brett Kavanaugh, with daughter Liza, departs his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing last Tuesday
In 2016, Kavanaugh reported debts of $60,000 to $200,000. The White House said that was the result of baseball tickets he bought for friends who then eventually paid him back and also from home improvement measures.
The debts were not on his 2017 financial disclosures because he had repaid them.
Kavanaugh detailed his financial information, noting the only debt he and his wife held was their home mortgage and they borrowed from their 401K for the down payment, an option available to first time home owners. That money has been repaid, Kavanaugh noted.
He also said their income increased in the last few years because of a ' significant annual salary increase for federal judges; a substantial back pay award in the wake of class litigation over pay for the Federal Judiciary; and my wife's return to the paid workforce following the many years that she took off from paid work in order to stay with and care for our daughters.'
He pointed out that he and his wife Ashley, like many homeowners, have 'sunk a decent amount of money into our home for sometimes unanticipated repairs and improvements. As many homeowners probably appreciate, the list sometimes seems to never end.'
He then goes on to offer a laundry list of typical homeowner problems: 'replacing the heating and air conditioning system and air conditioning units, replacing the water heater, painting and repairing the full exterior of the house, painting the interior of the house, replacing the porch flooring on the front and side porches with composite wood, gutter repairs, roof repairs, new refrigerator, new oven, ceiling leaks, ongoing flooding in the basement, waterproofing the basement, mold removal in the basement, drainage work because of excess water outside the house that was running into the neighbor's property, fence repair, and so on.'
'Maintaining a house, especially an old house like ours, can be expensive' he noted.
The Kavanaughs own a $1,225,000 home in Chevy Chase, Md.
Kavanaugh, who has spoken about coaching his daughter's basketball team, noted he is a 'huge sports fan.'
He wrote that when the Nationals came to Washington D.C. in 2005, 'I purchased four season tickets in my name every season from 2005 through 2017. I also purchased playoff packages for the four years that the Nationals made the playoffs (2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017.)'
The first day of Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing was chaotic
One by one protestors disrupted Kavanaugh's hearing
He also pointed out he is a regular attendee at games: 'I have attended all 11 Nationals' home playoff games in their history. (We are 3-8 in those games.) I have attended a couple of hundred regular season games.'
He said he and his friends split the game tickets.
'As is typical with baseball season tickets, I had a group of old friends who would split games with me. We would usually divide the tickets in a 'ticket draft' at my house. Everyone in the group paid me for their tickets based on the cost of the tickets, to the dollar. No one overpaid or underpaid me for tickets. No loans were given in either direction.'
He also said he and his wife paid the 'full price' for their membership at the Chevy Chase Club and they pay regular dues. ' We did not and do not receive any discounts.'
He did not disclose how much they paid but the initiation fee is said to be $92,000 and the annual dues total more than $9,000.
Kavanaugh said his family uses the club's hockey ring and gym.
'The club is a minute's drive from our house, and there is an outdoor ice hockey rink and a very good youth ice hockey program. We joined primarily because of he ice hockey program that my younger daughter participates in, as well as because of the gym,' he wrote.
Link hienalouca.comhttps://hienalouca.com/2018/09/14/kavanaugh-no-idea-stranger-who-approached-him-in-senate-hearing-was-father-of-parkland-survivor/
Main photo article Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh claims he had no idea the man who approached him in his confirmation last Tuesday was the father of a student who was killed in the Parkland, Fla., shootings.
He explained if he had realized the identity of Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime Guttenberg ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/04/22/4FB2608E00000578-6131689-Fred_Guttenberg_L_father_of_Parkland_Florida_shooting_victim_Jai-a-2_1536095818965.jpg
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