Complaints against Brett Kavanaugh dismissed by federal judiciary council

By: CNN

Posted: Dec 18, 2018 3:23 PM EDT

By Joan Biskupic, CNN

(CNN) -- A judicial council from the Denver-based US appeals court has dismissed 83 complaints that were lodged against new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh based largely on statements he made during his contentious September confirmation.

In a 10-page order, the council said that the complaints -- the first of which were referred to the court by Chief Justice John Roberts on October 10 -- could not be acted on because Kavanaugh, as a justice, is no longer covered by the judiciary's misconduct rules.

"Complainants' allegations vary ... but they generally allege the Justice Kavanaugh made false statements during his nominations proceedings to the DC Circuit in 2004 and 2006 and to the Supreme Court in 2018; made inappropriate partisan statements that demonstrate bias and a lack of judicial temperament; and treated members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with disrespect," wrote 10th Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich.

Kavanaugh, who had served for 12 years on a lower federal court, won the life-tenured seat in October after a bitter partisan fight. Senate Democrats criticized his conservative positions on the law during the first round of hearings, but the more volatile session came when Christine Blasey Ford accused the nominee of sexually assaulting him when both were teenagers in suburban Maryland.

In an emotional response, Kavanaugh denied the claims and attacked Democratic senators as they questioned him. The Senate approved him by a 50-48 vote on October 6. Only one Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, voted for the appointee of President Donald Trump.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.