Mormon Women’s Group Calls on LDS Senators to Investigate Claims Against Kavanaugh

By Elisa Meyer --
27 Sep 2018 --

There are four Mormon lawmakers in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Mormon Women for Ethical Government, a coalition comprised entirely of women from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), has requested the concerned Senate Judiciary Committee to halt the confirmation vote on Brett Kavanaugh[/tweetit], the Trump administration's nominee to the Supreme Court. The group has 6,000 members and identifies itself as a non-partisan body. They recommend that confirmation proceedings must be suspended until a full and complete investigation clears Kavanaugh of any sexual misconduct.

Mormon Women’s Group Calls on LDS Senators to Investigate Claims Against Kavanaugh[/tweetthis]

The exclusively female group sent its message to every member of the concerned judiciary panel. It, however, concentrated its efforts on four Mormons which are on the latter's committee. The four are all Republicans: Jeff Flake (Arizona), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Mike Lee (Utah), and Orrin Hatch (Utah). In its statement, the group said sexual assault or abuse under any condition deserves the toughest condemnation. In case such allegations against Kavanaugh are proved true, then the Judge should not be confirmed.

The above statement refers to allegations two women made against the Supreme Court nominee. One woman, Christine Blasey Ford, has accused Kavanaugh of pinning her against her will to the ground and wanting to remove her clothes while both of them were attending a high school party during the 1980s. Another woman, Deborah Ramirez, has alleged that he intentionally exposed himself during a college party and went as far as to push his private part to her face a few years after the first incident.

Both claims were denied by Kavanaugh. Flake, one of the Senators named in the list of contacted representatives, asked Ford to go for a public testimony regarding her claims. The Senator tweeted the same on September 18. He wrote that when Dr. Ford made this allegation, he asked the committee to delay the vote concerning the appointment of Kavanaugh. Not all committee members were benign. Hatch has termed these allegations a "smear campaign." Lee said he wants to hear more details of the testimony. Crapo did not publicly comment on the matter.

When Dr. Ford came forward, I said that her voice should be heard and asked the Judiciary Committee to delay its vote on Judge Kavanaugh. It did so. I now implore Dr. Ford to accept the invitation for Monday, in a public or private setting. The committee should hear her voice.
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 19, 2018

Sharlee Mullins Glenn, the founder of the group and now its president, told the media that not a single of the above-mentioned four senators have offered their response to the letter sent to them.

Christine Blasey Ford is currently testifying to a Senate Judiciary Committee today. She will be interrogated by a sex crimes prosecutor.

“This is not just about Judge Kavanaugh. This is about how men treat women in our society, particularly men who hold positions of power.” https://t.co/Fx40ECUgND
— Heidi Lou Who (@HKP2012) September 26, 2018