Latest Delay Tactic? Dems Refuse to Meet with Kavanaugh, Citing Trump Links to Cohen and Manafort

WASHINGTON – By the end of this week, Judge Brett Kavanaugh will have met with more than half of the Senate, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). But many Democrats are still refusing to meet with the Supreme Court nominee and are calling for his hearings to be postponed, citing the connection between President Donald Trump and the legal troubles of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen.

After Tuesday's courtroom outcomes for Manafort and Cohen, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) canceled her meeting with Judge Kavanaugh.

"I have canceled my meeting with Judge Kavanaugh. @realDonaldTrump, who is an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal matter, does not deserve the courtesy of a meeting with his nominee—purposely selected to protect, as we say in Hawaii, his own okole," she tweeted.

I have cancelled my meeting with Judge Kavanaugh. @realDonaldTrump, who is an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal matter, does not deserve the courtesy of a meeting with his nominee—purposely selected to protect, as we say in Hawaii, his own okole.

— Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) August 22, 2018

And Schumer called for a postponement of the hearing on the Senate floor.

"In my view, the Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately pause the consideration of the Kavanaugh nomination," said Schumer. "At the very least, the very least, it is unseemly for the president of the United States to be picking a Supreme Court justice who could soon be effectively a juror in a case involving the president himself."

Senate Judiciary Committee Press Secretary George Hartmann told CBN News this is just a delay tactic by opponents of Kavanaugh.

"Calls to delay the hearing are just the latest delay tactic by opponents of a highly qualified nominee," said Hartmann.

It's a sentiment Carrie Severino from the Judicial Crisis Network agrees with.

"Right now, four of the sitting justices, plus Justice Kennedy, were appointed by presidents who at the time were under investigation for one thing or another, so the idea that that is something novel is really, ya know, not fair," Severino told CBN News.

Also this week, Kavanaugh met with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a key swing vote, who called their meeting "productive" and "informative." The pro-choice Republican lawmaker appeared pleased with Kavanaugh's avowed stance on Roe v. Wade.

"He said that he agreed with what Justice (John) Roberts said at his nomination hearing in which he said that it was settled law," Collins told reporters after the meeting.

Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch used similar language when pressed on the issue during their hearings.  Still, pro-life advocates hope the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh would one day lead to a change.

 "We pray that one day the Supreme Court will recognize the dignity of the unborn," Daniel Darling, author of The Dignity Revolution, told CBN News.

Despite the legal drama surrounding the president's former associates, Senate Republicans remain confident Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed before the midterm elections.