The Democrat and Republican seeking to become Connecticut’s next attorney general sound an awful lot like their respective national party cohort when it comes to addressing Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the US Supreme Court.
The issue of sexual assault was raised during the first debate between Republican Sue Hatfield and Democrat William Tong.
Kavanaugh is now facing multiple allegations of sexual assault dating as far back as to his days in high school. His confirmation vote has been delayed following testimony from one of his accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and the FBI is now conducting a deeper investigation into his past.
When asked about his nomination, Monday, Hatfield said Kavanaugh must be afforded the highest degree of due process.
"I believe in the presumption of innocence,” said Hatfield, a state prosecutor who lives in Pomfret. “When defendants come through the courthouse doors. I never say this person is guilty because they're coming to court. I follow the law and I let the law be my guide. Not politics."
Hatfield said she supported the investigation that was the result of a compromise among members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The final confirmation vote on Kavanaugh is expected by Friday.
Tong, who’s chaired the Judiciary Committee in the Connecticut House of Representatives for the past four years, said support or opposition to Kavanaugh shines light on a candidate’s character.
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"I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and I called on Judge Kavanaugh to step aside and withdraw as a nominee for the Supreme Court this week,” said Tong, who works in a corporate law firm in Stamford, “I think it's incredibly important for the attorney general to provide legal leadership, policy leadership, legislative leadership and also moral leadership."
