I started asking these questions about sexual harassment because it is so hard to hold lifetime appointees to the Federal bench accountable, and because I did not want the #MeToo movement to be swept under the rug.

We owe it to the American people, and to all of the independent-minded judges I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks, to preserve the integrity of our Constitution and the fairness and order of a system that has served us well for so…

A lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, of someone who will provide the fifth vote on issues impacting the lives of every working American, is a battle worth fighting.

I expect Judge Kavanaugh to make similar promises over the next few days, only to do, sadly, the exact opposite if confirmed.

Your failure to do so would reflect a fundamental mistrust of the American people.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

I pointed to an op-ed that had been written by two former White House staff secretaries, John Podesta and Todd Stern, entitled 'Staff Secretaries Aren't Traffic Cops: Stop Treating Kavanaugh Like He Was One.'

We do not have the documents.

I do not think it has ever been the case in a hearing like this that the Members of this Committee have to pre-clear what we propose to query the nominee about. I think that is totally unprecedented.

It is regular order for us to receive all the documents that this Committee is entitled to.

That is unprecedented. That is not regular order.