Democrats are swooning over the accusation that Judge Brett Kavanaugh snubbed Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed in the Parkland, Florida mass shooting, when Guttenberg tried to shake his hand at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
Guttenberg tweeted: “Just walked up to Judge Kavanaugh as morning session ended. Put out my hand to introduce myself as Jaime Guttenberg’s dad. He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away. I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence.”
Just walked up to Judge Kavanaugh as morning session ended. Put out my hand to introduce myself as Jaime Guttenberg’s dad. He pulled his hand back, turned his back to me and walked away. I guess he did not want to deal with the reality of gun violence.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 4, 2018
Sen Kamala Harris (D-CA), who competed with her colleagues to lead the opposition to Kavanaugh in the hearing, pounced:
If Kavanaugh won’t even give him a handshake, how can we believe he would give gun violence victims a fair shake in court? https://t.co/OiDP6lB1Ez
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) September 4, 2018
According to NBC News, the White House denied Guttenberg’s account and said “an ‘unidentified individual approached’ Kavanaugh, but ‘before the judge was able to shake his hand, security had intervened.'”
Some critics of Kavanaugh circulated a C-SPAN video of the moment Guttenberg approached the judge, claiming it backs up Guttenberg’s account.
Fred Guttenberg, the father of Jamie Guttenberg who was killed in the shooting in Parkland, Fla., tried to shake hands with Brett Kavanaughduring a lunch break. Kavanaugh pulled his hand back, turned his back to Fred and walked away. pic.twitter.com/OAuDBXAF3X
— Together we rise (@Matsamon) September 4, 2018
However, a longer video clip, from another angle, appears to confirm the White House’s version of events.
“My daughter was murdered in Parkland.”
Video shows Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland shooting victim Jamie Guttenberg, attempting to speak with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during a break in today’s confirmation hearing. https://t.co/g944k9nDGc pic.twitter.com/1XNA5lnztt
— ABC News (@ABC) September 4, 2018
What neither video shows is the fact that the hearing had been disrupted almost constantly for hours, with police removing and arresting protesters. The situation was so tense that Kavanaugh’s 10- and 13-year-old daughters were rushed outside.
In addition, Guttenberg had already announced on Twitter before the hearing: “I will be at Kavanaugh hearings and I hope to play a role in ensuring that this man does not become the next Supreme Court Justice.”
I will be at Kavanaugh hearings and I hope to play a role in ensuring that this man does not become the next Supreme Court Justice. https://t.co/6oC7OPlyB8
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 3, 2018
Afterwards, he tweeted the photo — not the video — of his handshake-that-wasn’t:
Here is the photo of me trying to shake Kavanaugh’s hand. https://t.co/5MtQxq5wza
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 4, 2018
He also tweeted that he would be appearing on CNN and MSNBC.
Other tweets express contempt for President Donald Trump.
Update: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member (leading Democrat) on the committee, later owned up to having invited Guttenberg to the hearing:
I invited @Fred_Guttenberg to sit in the audience at today’s hearing because the Supreme Court affects the lives of real people. He knows firsthand how Brett Kavanaugh’s extreme views on guns could lead to more massacres. Thank you Fred, for honoring your daughter.
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 4, 2018
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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