Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, the Republican nominee challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in this November’s Senate race, called for the establishment of a special counsel to investigate Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and her staff for the leaking of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s confidential letter in which she accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her 36 years ago.

“I am calling for a special counsel to investigate the conduct of Sen. Feinstein, her staff, and all other relevant parties, for violating the confidentiality of Dr. Ford and obstructing the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Potentially also of obstructing an FBI background investigation,” Hawley said in a press call Monday morning.

Hawley also called on McCaskill to join him in that call for special counsel.

“I know that Sen. McCaskill and Sen. Feinstein are very close. Sen. McCaskill has worked with Sen. Feinstein on immigration and related issues, and, of course, Sen. McCaskill is very closely aligned with Chuck Schumer. However, I call on Sen. McCaskill today to put partisanship aside and support a special counsel to investigate these potential abuses,” Hawley said.

“Sen. McCaskill has said they she does not approve of the way the allegations came forward and, quoting her now, she said, ‘It would have been much more ideal if this issue had come up sooner rather than later.’ If those statements are true, Sen. McCaskill should support an investigation of the behavior and the tactics used by her Senate Democrat allies,” Hawley noted.

McCaskill announced on September 19 that she was opposed to confirming Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. A recent poll in Missouri shows that Hawley now leads McCaskill in that race by two points.

“The last few weeks have brought disgrace to the United States Senate. The Constitution gives the Senate the high responsibility of confirming justices to the Supreme Court,” Hawley said in a press call Monday morning.

Hawley’s full statement, which he delivered on the press call, can be read here:

The last few weeks have brought disgrace to the United States Senate. The Constitution gives the Senate the high responsibility of confirming justices to the Supreme Court. The Democrats have turned this responsibility into a partisan circus. They’ve tried to smear the name of a good man. They have violated the express wishes of Dr. Ford in this process, and all for the purpose of stalling this nomination until after the midterm elections, and gaining power. The behavior of Sen. Feinstein, in particular, and her staff, and all the Senate staff has been inexcusable. It raises troubling ethical questions. Dr. Ford’s letter was hidden from the committee for months, while an FBI investigation was ongoing. Then, only after the FBI background investigation was complete, and only after Judge Kavanaugh had set for hours of testimony and answered over 1600 written questions, did Dr. Ford’s letter suddenly leak to the press, all without her approval, or her consent. And, we learned at the hearing last Thursday that Sen. Feinstein and her staff recommended a partisan lawyer to Dr. Ford while the letter was being withheld from the committee and the FBI, and while, in fact, they were, Sen. Feinstein was meeting with Judge Kavanaugh. These were deliberate maneuvers by partisan Democrats and their staffs to exploit Dr. Ford and ultimately block Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. All of this for political gain, and at the price of smearing Judge Kavanaugh. And Claire McCaskill has gone right along with it every step of the way. She told supporters in June, we now know, in a leaked video, that it was vital to save the Supreme Court from President Trump. Chuck Schumer, of course, promised that he would do whatever it took to sink the Kavanaugh nomination, and here we are. This behavior is not only a disgrace to the Senate, it raises very troubling ethical questions, possibly legal questions. And that’s why today I am calling for a special counsel to investigate the conduct of Sen. Feinstein, her staff, and all other relevant parties, for violating the confidentiality of Dr. Ford and obstructing the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Potentially also of obstructing an FBI background investigation. I know that Sen. McCaskill and Sen. Feinstein are very close. Sen. McCaskill has worked with Sen. Feinstein on immigration and related issues, and, of course, Sen. McCaskill is very closely aligned with Chuck Schumer. However, I call on Sen. McCaskill today to put partisanship aside and support a special counsel to investigate these potential abuses. Sen. McCaskill has said they she does not approve of the way the allegations came forward and, quoting her now, she said “It would have been much more ideal if this issue had come up sooner rather than later.” If those statements are true, Sen. McCaskill should support an investigation of the behavior and the tactics used by her Senate Democrat allies.

“My view is the American people deserve to know how Dr. Ford’s confidentiality was violated, and what exactly Sen. Feinstein and her Democrat colleagues and staff were doing behind the scenes for months,” Hawley said. (emphasis added)

“If Sen. McCaskill is in search of the truth, she should join me today in supporting the investigation of Sen. Feinstein, staff, and all relevant parties,” Hawley concluded.