LOS ANGELES – Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), released the following statement in response to the Senate’s 50-48 vote confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the United States Supreme Court:
“On Saturday afternoon, 50 members of the United States Senate sold out their integrity to Donald Trump and a grotesque demonstration of wealthy white male privilege. There is no other way to describe the craven confirmation to the Supreme Court of a man facing multiple (and multiplying) credible accusations of sexual assault; of a man who displayed a melodramatic and arrogant solipsism unbefitting any jurist before the Senate Judiciary Committee; of a man who appears to have committed perjury before Congress on multiple occasions and in multiple areas.
“There are now two sexual violators serving on the Supreme Court, but only one Latina, even though Latinos make up 18 percent of the total population and over 25 percent of public school students nationwide. What a metaphor for the Trump era.
“Despite this appalling action by 50 senators, MALDEF will continue its work in the courts, recognizing that they remain a critical means to achieve justice. MALDEF urges all voters and potential voters to remember the senators who chose to elevate false entitlement over the righteousness of a full and fair investigation. We also call upon the next Congress to revisit the credible and troubling allegations against Kavanaugh, to investigate evidence of lying to Congress, and to take all appropriate action, including impeachment and removal if warranted.”