Politics

CA Supreme Court Chief Justice Leaves GOP Over Kavanaugh

(LEFT: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images RIGHT: REUTERS/Robert Galbraith)

Mike Brest Reporter
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California Supreme Court Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye explained during an interview on CNN Friday night that she has decided to leave the Republican Party — she cited the Brett Kavanaugh debacle prior to his confirmation as the reason for her decision.

President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court in July to fill the seat vacated by retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Months later, three allegations of sexual misconduct were levied against Kavanaugh.

The first allegation, which was from Christine Blasey Ford, led to a hearing where both Ford and Kavanaugh testified under oath in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. (RELATED: Christine Blasey Ford Presents Sports Illustrated’s Inspiration Of The Year Award)

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“I had been thinking about it for several years, and of course, I left it right after the Kavanaugh hearings and really the Kavanaugh hearings were mostly, for me, a symptom and really a condition of why I was thinking about leaving in the first place. And that was — the label didn’t fit anymore,” Cantil-Sakauye stated.

She continued, “The values were different from what I value as a person, and as a professional. And the pure polarization, lack of civil discourse, led me to take that action.”

“So, when you say Kavanaugh, is it because you think that he did what she said he did and that would, you know, disqualify him or was it just how it was handled on Capitol Hill? Which part of it did you feel was such an offense to your values?” Burnett asked.

Cantil-Sakauye added, “Well, I think for me, it was the latter. Of course, Justice Kavanaugh is qualified and the president has the prerogative to name to the Supreme Court, but it was the hearing itself and how it was handled and the tone and the polarization and the conduct and the procedure that greatly disturbed me, and that’s really what led me to make the decision to go online and to finally change my party.”

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