Republican Lisa Murkowski Unsure if She Will Support Brett Kavanaugh After Bogus Sexual Assault Allegations

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Sep 25, 2018   |   4:35PM   |   Washington, DC

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a key swing vote for Republicans, said she wants to be fair about the allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

A pro-abortion Republican, Murkowski has not yet decided how she will vote on the judge’s confirmation.

“We are now in a place where it’s not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified,” Murkowski told the New York Times this week. “It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.”

She and fellow pro-abortion Republican Sen. Susan Collins are being heavily lobbied by the abortion industry to oppose Kavanaugh. Republicans hold a slim, two-member majority in the Senate, so every vote is important. Neither have announced their decision on whether to support his confirmation, but both did vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch.

The New York Post reports:

Murkowski — a potential swing vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination — also said she worked behind the scenes last weekend to keep negotiations over Ford’s planned appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee from breaking down over an “arbitrary timeline.”

Murkowski said she canceled a meeting of a committee she chairs so she can watch Ford and Kavanaugh’s scheduled testimony on Thursday.

“All you can try to do is be as fair as possible to ensure that at the end of the day justice is delivered,” she said.

Kavanaugh repeatedly has denied any wrongdoing. His accuser Christine Blasey Ford claims he sexually assaulted her in high school, more than 30 years ago. She is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

SIGN THE PETITION: Vote to Confirm Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Murkowski, Collins, and several moderately pro-life Senate Democrats have been the target of abortion activists who fear a conservative-majority Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood, NARAL and other pro-abortion groups have been pouring millions of dollars into the mid-term elections and lobbying efforts against Kavanaugh.

Abortion activists also have left threatening phone messages for Collins and her staff. One allegedly threatened to rape one of her female staffers.

Kavanaugh has served on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. for more than a decade, where he wrote decisions protecting religious liberty and enforcing restrictions on abortion. Pro-life leaders believe he would do the same on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pro-abortion groups have labeled Kavanaugh a “serious threat” to “women’s right” to abortion, while national pro-life leaders have expressed high hopes for Kavanaugh and the future of unborn babies’ rights.

Action: Contact U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.