Booker: Oppose President Trump's pick for Supreme Court or be 'complicit in the evil'

Herb Jackson | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Cory Booker: Oppose President Trump's pick for Supreme Court or be 'complicit in the evil' Sen. Cory Booker said at a July 24, 2018 news conference it would be "complicit in the evil" not to oppose Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Cory Booker is catching heat from conservatives, including some Senate colleagues, for saying people would be "complicit in the evil" to support President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

"There is so much at stake here that this has nothing to do with politics," Booker said at a Capitol news conference Tuesday organized by the group Repairers of the Breach, a group of liberal religious leaders.

"This has to do with who we are as moral beings... In a moral moment, there is no bystanders. You are either complicit in the evil, you are either contributing to the wrong, or you are fighting against it," Booker said.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., condemned Booker's remarks Thursday, noting that part of his speech used a passage from a psalm about "walking through the valley of the shadow of death."

"He hasn't even met with Judge Kavanaugh, hasn't heard a word of testimony, and he's citing scripture?" McConnell said.

"He's claiming that the senators and the American people who have an open mind on this nomination are complicit, complicit in the evil? This is truly outrageous and not a single Democrat has come forward to condemn what he had to say," McConnell said.

Booker cited were the court's recent rulings to restrict enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, equate corporations with people to open the floodgates for campaign contributions, and to restrict some of the benefits Congress approved in the Affordable Care Act.

He also said rights to abortion and same sex marriage would be jeopardized by Kavanaugh's confirmation.

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Several conservative news outlets seized on his attempt to equate support for Kavanaugh with 'evil,' which received a positive reaction from those in the Capitol conference room where he spoke after fellow Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

The sponsors of the event say their goal is to educate church and lay leaders "who pursue organizing strategies" and say they want to "challenge the version of the ultra-conservatives who have misinterpreted Christianity and other faith traditions as a faith that hates the poor".

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in an interview he went to the senate floor to condemn Booker's remarks Wednesday because they were "so over-the -top I felt like somebody ought to say get a grip."

"To call somebody who supports a judicial nominee complicit with evil is beyond anything I've heard around here and I've heard a lot," Cornyn said. "I assume that would include people in his own political party who are going to join in support of Justice Kavanaugh."

The story continues below the video.

Booker's remarks were used as a campaign weapon in Indiana by Republican candidate Mike Braun, who called on Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, an opponent of abortion rights who has not said how he would vote on Kavanaugh, to denounce Booker.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, sent a link on Twitter to an article about Booker's comments by the National Review with the comment: "Just a few weeks in and it's already startlingly clear that Senate Democrats will not challenge Kavanaugh on substance (because they won't land a blow) so they'll stick to Armageddon-style rhetoric."

Radio host Hugh Hewitt said on Twitter the tape of Booker should be played as often as the tape of President Trump talking with his attorney Michael Cohen about payments to a Playboy model.

Booker did not respond to a request for comment and was not seen going into or out of the Senate Democrats' regular Thursday lunch meeting.

Booker, has been outspoken against Kavanaugh's selection.

In particular, Booker has focused on the judge's writings that challenged whether the president can be subject to criminal investigations or indictment while in office.

Booker contends that by picking Kavanaugh, Trump is trying to innoculate himself from questions related to independent counsel Robert Mueller's investigation that could come before the court.