A Question for Judge Kavanaugh

I have never met Judge Brett Kavanaugh. I know him only by reputation. And his reputation is stellar. He is a fine circuit judge and is obviously qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. Moreover, I have supported the confirmation of every Supreme Court nominee during my professional career except Harriet Miers, who was in my view manifestly unqualified for such a position.

Nevertheless, there is something that bothers me about Judge Kavanaugh. Hopefully someone will ask him about this subject during his confirmation hearings. In his speech thanking the President, Judge Kavanaugh said "No president has ever consulted more widely or talked with more people from more backgrounds to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination."

Now if I wrote that sentence in law review article, the first question I would have to answer is: "What is the basis for that statement?" In other words, why do I think this is true? In Kavanaugh's case, the answer is that he cannot possibly know that what he said is true. First, he was not privy to all of the President's conversations about the nomination. Second, he was not privy to the vast majority of the conversations about prior nominations. Third, I see no reason to think that the statement is true.

This leads to a rather unfortunate conclusion. Judge Kavanaugh's first statement to the American people as a Supreme Court nominee was either sloppy, false, or dictated to him by the White House. (It sounds a lot more like something that the President would say.) I don't think this is praiseworthy.

To be fair, Prime Minister Hacker once pointed out that "press statements aren't made under oath." I can certainly understand that hyperbole can happen after receiving the honor of a lifetime. But I think that the Judge might want to consult a little more widely before he makes the same claim under oath.