Tina Sánchez: Opposes Brett Kavanaugh because no one is above law

I am a lawyer. I don’t know Brett Kavanaugh, but I know that even if he is qualified to serve as a Supreme Court justice at this time, that is insignificant.

There are countless judges equally, if not more, qualified. It is sufficient to understand that his work as a lawyer and judge shows that this nomination is predicated on one thing: an intention that he will explicitly serve the political agenda of the GOP and, when necessary, protect President Donald Trump from the legal consequences of his corruption.

In his work, Kavanaugh has clearly stated that he believes a president is above the law and, as a matter of law, should not be faced with the demands of the legal process while in office. This contravenes a lawyer and judge’s duty to support and uphold the Constitution.

I help immigrants to become U.S. citizens and they can tell you that this government was intentionally designed with a system of checks and balances so that no one branch can dominate. That system is in peril at this moment. No president, including Richard Nixon, has faced more likely legal demands than those awaiting Trump when the Mueller investigation concludes.

How convenient and dangerous for the powers behind Trump to have a Supreme Court justice who can — and has stated he should — shield the president from complying with legal process, exempting him from testifying in depositions in pending cases brought by adult entertainers and vendors, and from subpoenas and testimony in the Russia investigation and in all the related cases against Manafort, Flynn and others which are pending. Anyone who believes Kavanaugh’s nomination is anything other than an attempt to wrap Trump in a Kevlar-coated legal opinion is disingenuous or intentionally ignorant.

Senators shouldn’t vote against Kavanaugh because of a lack of qualifications, or judicial temperament. They must vote against Kavanaugh because to vote otherwise is to abdicate any respect for the rule of law and to make Trump not a president but a king.

This is America and still, for now at least, no one is or should be above the law.

Tina Sánchez

Northampton