Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Wednesday that he believed the Supreme Court was headed for a legitimacy crisis after Judge Brett Kavanaugh accused Democrats at a hearing last week of seeking revenge on behalf of the Clintons and of animus toward President Donald Trump.

In an interview with Alexander Burns of The New York Times, Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said Kavanaugh had exposed himself as a “right-wing Republican” who “thinks the Democrats are against him.”

“He basically told you he’s going to join the four other Republicans on the court,” said Sanders, 77. If Kavanaugh is seated, Sanders added, the Republicans will have a 5-4 majority on the court, “and I expect that they will stand together working with big-money interests.”

Sanders spoke about that concern and others in a wide-ranging interview at the University of Maryland, where he also repeatedly urged college students in the audience (and watching on live streams) to register and vote in the midterms. The conversation was part a series called Get With The Times, which aims to inspire students to become involved in issues that matter to them.

“The times are too dangerous for you to sit it out,” Sanders said. “You’ve got to get involved, and you have to participate in any and every way you possibly can.”

Here are some other takeaways:

Trump’s mockery of assault victim ‘unspeakable’

For the past few weeks, the attention of the nation has been sharply focused on sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, Trump’s second nominee to the nation’s highest court.

On Wednesday, Sanders assailed Trump’s mockery of one of the women, Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, calling the president’s behavior “literally unspeakable” and disgusting “beyond words.”

Sanders also said the allegations by women like Blasey were “serious” and “credible.”

“The bottom line is, the FBI should have the time to do a thorough investigation,” he said. “I’m not sure that they will.”

A Democrat who also faces allegations

Sanders was also asked about Rep. Keith Ellison, a progressive Democrat from Minnesota and deputy chairman of the Democratic Party. Earlier this year, Sanders endorsed Ellison in the race for Minnesota attorney general.

Ellison has since been publicly accused by his former girlfriend of having emotionally and physically abused her. In response, the Democratic Party conducted an investigation, and Ellison has denied the allegations.

This week, The Associated Press reported that a draft report had concluded that the allegations could not be substantiated because the ex-girlfriend, Karen Monahan, refused to provide video she said she had of the episode.

And on Wednesday, Sanders attempted to evade questions about whether he still supported Ellison, whom he has reportedly called a “personal friend.” He reiterated that the reports had suggested that the allegations could not be substantiated but also said: “Everybody has a right to be believed.”

He then emphasized the need to “take a hard look at the evidence” before pivoting back to Kavanaugh.

Amazon raised its wages. Which company is next?

Sanders and labor organizers have criticized the wages and working conditions of Amazon employees. On Tuesday the company, squeezed by the pressure, said it would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for its U.S. employees.

Asked about the announcement, Sanders praised Amazon’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos, for “doing the right thing.”

Still, he said Amazon and other large companies might still be tangled in “antitrust issues,” which he said meant “to what degree they control significant segments of the economy.”

And moving forward, Sanders issued a warning to a few other large companies and industries that he said did not pay their workers enough.

“We’re going to start taking a hard look at Walmart” and “workers in the airline industry,” he said. “You are going to have to pay your workers a living wage.”

Sanders then managed to focus some of his big-picture refrains about wages, the economy and societal oligarchy more directly on the audience of college students in front of him.

“We have got to revitalize American democracy,” he said. “The only way that I know that we can take on these billionaires, who have so much economic and political power, is through you.”