Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Hillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Key Democrat opposes GOP Section 230 subpoena for Facebook, Twitter, Google MORE (R-S.C.) on Thursday warned Democrats to “watch out for your nominees” while expressing frustration with the allegations of sexual misconduct that have been levied against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“Well, let me put it this way to my Republican colleagues: if this becomes the new standard where you have an accusation for weeks, you drop it right before the hearing, you withhold from the committee a chance to do this in a professional timely fashion,” Graham said.

ADVERTISEMENT

“When they say they’re going to do this [it] is to delay the vote, get the Senate back in 2018 so they can fill the seat. I don’t want to publicly reward that kind of behavior. I think we’ve been very fair,” he continued, referencing Democrats' hope to win back control of the Senate in this year's midterm elections.

Graham's comments came during a break in Thursday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a college professor who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting her when the two were in high school in the early 1980s.

“And to my Republican colleagues, if you can ignore everything in this record — an allegation that’s 35 years old, that’s uncertain in time, place, date and no corroboration, if that’s enough for you, God help us all as Republicans,” Graham continued. “Because this happens to us, but this never happens to them.”

“Let me tell my Democratic friends, if this is the new norm, you better watch out for your nominees,” he added.

Ford first went public with her allegations in an interview published in The Washington Post on Sept. 16. Ford told the Post that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and attempted to remove her clothes while stifling her screams for help. Ford described the alleged incident in an emotional testimony before the committee on Thursday, seeming to choke back tears.

Ford told the Senate panel that she thought Kavanaugh was going to rape her and might accidentally kill her when he allegedly put his hand over her mouth to muffle her cries for help.

Kavanaugh has denied the allegations brought against him by Ford, in addition to several other allegations of sexual misconduct that have surfaced against him from two other women. He is scheduled to testify before the committee on Thursday afternoon.

Ford first approached her congresswoman, California Rep. Anna Eshoo Anna Georges EshooDemocratic chairman says White House blocked FDA commissioner from testifying Hillicon Valley: Zuckerberg acknowledges failure to take down Kenosha military group despite warnings | Election officials push back against concerns over mail-in voting, drop boxes Democrat asks intel agencies if they're surveilling members of Congress MORE (D), about the incident in July when it was reported that Kavanaugh was on President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE’s shortlist for nominees to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

According to the Post, a letter was sent from Eshoo’s office in late July to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel FeinsteinTrump faces tricky choice on Supreme Court pick The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' Abortion stirs GOP tensions in Supreme Court fight MORE (D) detailing the allegation.

Feinstein didn’t release a statement regarding the letter until later this month after news of the letter leaked.