Nadler throws cold water on Kavanaugh impeachment talk, says 'hands full with impeaching' Trump

Image: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler speaks to reporters
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler speaks to reporters on Sep. 12, 2019. Copyright Tom Williams CQ-Roll Call, Inc.
By Haley Talbot and Alex Moe and Rebecca Shabad with NBC News Politics
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"We have our hands full with impeaching the president right now and that's going to take up our limited resources and time for a while," Nadler said.

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WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., responded to calls for an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in light of new sexual misconduct allegations by saying that the panel has "our hands full with impeaching the president."

In a radio interview with WNYC on Monday, Nadler was asked if he'd be concerned with Democrats thinking he's not taking the Kavanaugh allegations seriously enough. He said his committee has too much on its plate.

"We have our hands full with impeaching the president right now and that's going to take up our limited resources and time for a while," Nadler said.

Asked about whether he plans to keep his promise from last October of investigating Kavanaugh over his Senate confirmation hearing, Nadler was candid about his position on impeaching the president.

"Frankly, we are concentrating our resources on determining whether to impeach the president. Personally I think the President ought to be impeached but we have to concentrate on that for the next few months," he said.

The chairman said that his committee plans to question FBI Director Christopher Wray next month about the agency's investigation into Kavanaugh.

Nadler continued by saying he personally believes impeaching the president is "imperative" so that Democrats can "vindicate the Constitution," acknowledging that its purpose would not be removing Trump from office because the GOP-controlled Senate wouldn't do that.

The Judiciary Committee approved a resolution last Thursday that set procedures and rules for future impeachment investigation hearings. The first such hearing will be held on Tuesday afternoon with Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, as the first witness.

Over the weekend, a pair of New York Times reporters in an opinion-section article previewing their upcoming book on Kavanaugh's confirmation said they found new corroboration for accusations that Kavanaugh exposed himself to Deborah Ramirez, a classmate at Yale. NBC News has not verified that reporting.

The reporters said that former Yale classmate Max Stier told senators and the FBI about a different episode of alleged sexual misconduct. Two people with first-hand knowledge confirm to NBC News that the FBI was notified of Stier's claim.

Some top Democrats, including Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called for Kavanaugh to be impeached in light of the new allegations.

Kavanaugh was sworn in to the high court last October after senators investigated sexual assault and misconduct allegations made against him by Christine Blasey Ford and other women during his Senate confirmation process. He has denied the allegations made against him.

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