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Dems Claim Kavanaugh Lied Under Oath Years Ago. WaPo Fact Checks It False

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Grace Carr Reporter
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The Washington Post fact checked a claim by Democrats that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2004 and 2006 while giving testimony about his role in court recommendations and surveillance during the George W. Bush presidency.

WaPo’s Monday fact check addressed allegations by Democrats that Kavanaugh lied during confirmation hearings to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“Time and again, Kavanaugh appears to have misled the Senate under oath,” Democratic Vermont Sen. Patrick J. Leahy wrote in a Sept. 13 op-ed.

Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin also tweeted about “new evidence” suggesting Kavanaugh lied under oath.

Democrats claim that Kavanaugh was not truthful about the nature of his role in the selection process of Bush’s federal court candidates as well as his knowledge about an NSA surveillance program designed to monitor terrorist activity. The Democratic Coalition and People for the American Way also filed complaints against Kavanaugh over the allegations.

Kavanaugh served as a judge on the D.C. Court of Appeals from 2006 until his nomination to the Supreme Court.

In his hearings to the appeals court, Kavanaugh said that he did not have a “primary” role in the nominations. He evaluated, discussed and held meetings with the judicial selection committee and played a supporting role in the committee’s recommendations to the president, according to Kavanaugh’s testimony. (RELATED: Keith Ellison Accuser Blasts #MeToo Politics)

Both Kavanaugh and The White House reject the allegations that he was untruthful during his appeals court confirmation hearings. “Brett Kavanaugh was not involved in meetings or drafting of legal memoranda related to the terrorist surveillance program,” The White House said in a statement, according to WaPo.

“Durbin’s statement that there’s new evidence that Kavanaugh misled the Judiciary Committee … is worth Two Pinocchios,” WaPo determined. (RELATED: Abortion Group: Kavanaugh Accuser Should ‘Never Have Had To Come Forward’)

WaPo also fact checked the claim that Kavanaugh was aware of and had a role in Bush’s NSA Terrorist Surveillance Program and determined the claim is false, giving it Three Pinocchios. Leahy is “throwing red meat out without much to back him up, and he gets Three Pinocchios for this one.”

The claims come amid accusations by Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh assaulted her when they were in high school.

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