@swansont, Kavanaugh is a Judge. As boasted he's a Yale graduate. Providing knowingly misleading testimony, citing partisan conspiracies, and challenging Senators who questioned him is all ugly behavior by Kavanaugh. If this were a trial Kavanaugh would have been found in contempt of court must likely in my opinion. J.C.MacSwell and MigL seem to be saying they don't care about his behavior or fitness for office. Rather they seem to have a philosophical issue with the fact Ford's claim have been included in his nomination process in the first place. I get the impression they feel it is unfair to Kavanaugh that anything he has not been proven guilty of in a court of law would be brought of. Video could come out tomorrow showing Kavanaugh violently hold Ford down covering her mouth and MigL and J.C. MacSwell would still argue that everything up to the release of the tape had been unfair. They don't seem to care whether he is guilty or innocent. They seem to care that he is treated as 100% innocent every second up to the moment he is proven 100% guilty.
MigL has repeatedly stated that Kavanaugh's fitness for the bench doesn't matter. Opening sentence of MigL's OP is " This is not about B Kavanough's suitability for the Supreme Court". J.C.MacSwell and MigL are doing mental gymnastics that I find disingenuous . I have attempted to stick exclusively to merits of the misconduct claim but the Senate hearings are purely about Kavanaugh's suitability. It is precisely what the Constitution empowers the Senate to evaluate and vote on. Not his guilt or innocence in any specific crime. Suitability is the purpose of these hearings yet per the OP it is off topic to consider suitability. This isn't a trial the Senate job here isn't to determine if Kavanaugh violated a federal or state statutes. This processes only purpose is to determine his lifetime appointment. Ford wrote her Representative, Senator Feinstein, a letter regarding the assault months before hearing began and her Representative brought it up during the hearings. That is how representative govt works. The way this conversation has been boxed in by the OP does it a disservice in my opinion. I do understand MigL's and J.C. MacSwell's point about being innocent until proven guilty but MigL and J.C. MacSwell don't seem to understand the point of the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings. As such we are all just posting past each other.