Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday that she was “very comfortable” with voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, despite the sexual-assault allegations leveled against him by Christine Blasey Ford.
“I believed that a sexual assault had happened to her...what I think she is mistaken about is who the perpetrator was...I do not believe her assailant was Brett Kavanaugh.” Sen. Susan Collins
The Maine Republican told CBS Corp.’s CBS, -1.25% “60 Minutes” on Sunday that “Given [Kavanaugh’s] denials and the lack of evidence that this happened, I just did not think that it was fair to ruin the life of this distinguished judge and his family over allegations that cannot be proven.”
Collins was a key vote in Saturday’s confirmation, and has been harshly criticized by liberals, sexual-assault survivors and at least one Democratic senator for supporting Kavanaugh.
Read: McConnell calls Kavanaugh’s confirmation his proudest Senate accomplishment
She had said previously the vote was one of the hardest she’s ever cast, and said in Sunday’s interview it was not the result of “political calculus,” but that “I just had to do what I think is right.”
“I have had to have security because of threats against me and family members and staffers, and this has been unlike anything I have ever been through,” says Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine about the Kavanaugh confirmation process. pic.twitter.com/HrAzoAqQtO
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 7, 2018
Collins, who is pro-choice, told “60 Minutes” that she believes Kavanaugh will not overturn the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. “He views precedent not just as a legal doctrine, but as rooted in our constitution,” Collins said.
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Collins is up for re-election in 2020, and criticized a campaign to fund her eventual opponent, calling it an effort to “buy votes and buy positions.” A coalition of liberal groups had threatened to raise money to fund Collins’ opponent if she did not reject Kavanaugh. So far, that effort has raised more than $3 million, although no challenger has entered the race yet.
