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Perdue on Kavanugh: 'American people deserve' the truth about allegations

"I hope we will get to the truth. I think that's what the American people deserve," said Sen. Perdue.
Sen. David Perdue appeared on NBC's 'Meet The Press' on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018

WASHINGTON -- Georgia Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) says he hopes this week's continued confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will bring about the truth regarding the accusations of sexual assault against the judge.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has come to a tentative agreement to question both Judge Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of sexually assaulting her while they were in high school decades ago, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, during public hearings on Thursday.

Perdue appeared on NBC's Meet The Press on Sunday morning to discuss the hearings. Moderator Chuck Todd asked the senator whether or not he thought the hearings would actually get to the bottom of the overall situation.

“I hope we will get to the truth. I think that’s what the American people deserve, and that’s what we’re trying to do this week. I hope both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford get an open hearing. I fully expect that will happen this week," Perdue said. "These are serious allegations. I hope Dr. Ford can be put in a comfortable situation where she can provide the information. This is a democracy. We have a judicial system where you are innocent until proven guilty.”

Todd asked about the role of the FBI in the hearings, pointing out that during the Clarence Thomas hearings in the early 1990s, the FBI only took three days to investigate allegations against Thomas prior to testimony by Anita Hill.

“Their job is not to determine who is telling the truth, but to make sure the issue is brought before the body looking at it, and that's the Senate Judiciary Committee at this point. This information was made public through Senator Feinstein. The FBI’s role, in this case, is not to determine who is telling the truth, it’s to make sure that the Senate has the information," Perdue said. “The burden here is to find the truth, just like it is in any courtroom. Judge Kavanaugh has had six FBI investigations. This isn’t the first time he’s been fully vetted.”

"Are things being rushed a bit," Todd asked, pointing to the length of time it took to confirm other Supreme Court justices. "What's wrong with taking a couple of extra days to make sure that we get this right? Is that because it is because we are close to the election?"

"There's no rush here," Perdue said. "We're on a similar timetable that we did in earlier situations where similar allegations were made. Look, if we don't get all of the information this week, I have total confidence that Senator Grassley will take his time and make sure we get all the information we need. There is absolutely no rush to judgment. I think any objective person looking at the way Senator Grassley has handled this would walk away thinking he has done everything he can to make sure this information comes before the Senate and that this person is treated with all the respect she is due.”

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