Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting, slammed Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, saying his life and family haven’t been ruined by allegations of sexual assault.
Kavanaugh appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday and said his life, his reputation and his family were forever changed since Christine Blasey Ford accused him of trying to rape her at a party in 1982.
Guttenberg took to Twitter on Thursday after the hearing, denouncing the judge for portraying himself as a “victim.”
{mosads}“Justice Kavanaugh your life and family are not ruined,” Guttenberg wrote. “Try having a child murdered by a weapon that you refer to as ‘common use.’ You will get through this and hug both of your children tonight.”
Kavanaugh forcefully denied the allegations during the hearing and accused Democrats of opposing his nomination in an act of “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.”
“This whole two-week effort has been 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,” a seething Kavanaugh said.
He had heated exchanges with Democratic senators who pressed him with questions about his drinking habits and past behavior.
Guttenberg said Kavanaugh’s performance showed that he is partisan and “does not have the temperament for the court.”
“Even worse, you are just a bad person,” Guttenberg tweeted.
Guttenberg has become an outspoken gun control advocate after his 14-year-old daughter Jaime was one of the 17 people killed by a gunman inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February.
Kavanaugh has been praised by pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association as a potential tie-breaking vote on the Supreme Court in favor of gun rights.
Guttenberg approached Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month and said the judge turned his back when he reached out to shake his hand.
White House spokesman Raj Shah described the interaction as “an unidentified individual” approaching Kavanaugh.
“As Judge Kavanaugh left for his lunch break, an unidentified individual approached him,” Shah wrote in a tweet responding to Guttenberg. “Before the judge was able to shake his hand, security had intervened.”
Guttenberg later said that he was “certain” Kavanaugh had asked security to remove him from the hearing.
“As soon as I said [my daughter was] ‘murdered in Parkland,’ he just did an immediate turn and went away,” Guttenberg said. “All he had to do was extend his hand back and say, ‘I’m sorry for your loss, tell me about your daughter.’”