(CNN) — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wrote an op-ed that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday arguing he is an “independent, impartial judge” and conceding he “might have been too emotional” in his testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
“I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been,” Kavanaugh writes in the Journal. “I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters.”
Kavanaugh and California professor Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 27 after Ford accused the nominee of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school. Ford alleges a drunken Kavanaugh pinned her down at a party and attempted to remove her clothes, covering her mouth when she tried to scream. Kavanaugh vehemently denies the allegation.
In his opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the hearing, Kavanaugh said he had written the monologue the previous day.
During his testimony, Kavanaugh alternated between angrily yelling at Democrats on the committee and tearing up. He accused Democrats of creating “a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election. Fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
“The Supreme Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution,” Kavanaugh writes in the op-ed in the Journal. “The justices do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. They do not caucus in separate rooms.”
He adds, if confirmed to the nation’s highest court, “I would always strive to be a team player.”
Kavanaugh writes he has been “subjected to wrongful and sometimes vicious allegations,” and that his time in high school and college “has been ridiculously distorted.” He writes his wife and daughters “have faced vile and violent threats.”
“Against that backdrop,” the nominee writes, he testified before the Judiciary Committee “to defend my family, my good name and my lifetime of public service.”
“My hearing testimony was forceful and passionate. That is because I forcefully and passionately denied the allegation against me,” Kavanaugh continues. “At times, my testimony—both in my opening statement and in response to questions—reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused, without corroboration, of horrible conduct completely contrary to my record and character.”
Kavanaugh writes his testimony “also reflected my deep distress at the unfairness of how this allegation has been handled.”
“I revere the Constitution,” Kavanaugh writes. “I believe that an independent and impartial judiciary is essential to our constitutional republic. If confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep an open mind in every case and always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.”
