Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh claims he had no idea the man who approached him in his confirmation last Tuesday was the father of a student who was killed in the Parkland, Fla., shootings.
He explained if he had realized the identity of Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime Guttenberg was one of the 17 high school students killed in the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February, he would have spoken to him.
Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the high court, said he assumed the man who touched his arm was a protestor.
Fred Guttenberg (L), father of Parkland, Florida, shooting victim Jaime Guttenberg, tries to speak with Judge Brett Kavanaugh as he leaves for a break during his confirmation hearing
Judge Brett Kavanaugh listens to Fred Guttenberg, a parent of a student who was a victim at the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland,Florida
Brett Kavanaugh turns away from Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in the Parkland shooting
Fred Guttenberg’s 14-year-old daughter Jaime Guttenberg was one of the 17 high school students killed at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School
‘As I was leaving the hearing room for a recess last Tuesday, a man behind me yelled my name, approached me from behind, and touched my arm. It had been a chaotic morning with a large number of protestors in the hearing room. As the break began, the room remained noisy and crowded,’ Kavanaugh wrote in response to written ‘questions for the record’ from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
‘When I turned and did not recognize the man, I assumed he was a protestor. In a split second, my security detail intervened and ushered me out of the hearing room. In that split second, I unfortunately did not realize that the man was the father of a shooting victim from Parkland, Florida. Mr. Guttenberg has suffered an incalculable loss. If I had known who he was, I would have shaken his hand, talked to him, and expressed my sympathy. And I would have listened to him,’ he concluded.
Guttenberg, who was invited to Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing by ranking Democratic member of the judiciary committee Sen. Dianne Feinstein, approached the judge during a break in opening statements.
Photos of Kavanaugh turning away from Guttenberg went viral and led to an outcry against the judge.
Guttenberg tweeted about the incident, writing: ‘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.’
At the time, the White House pushed back, saying security had stopped Guttenberg from speaking to Kavanaugh.
‘As Judge Kavanaugh left for his lunch break, an unidentified individual approached him. Before the Judge was able to shake his hand, security had intervened,’ White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah, who’s handling Kavanaugh’s confirmation, tweeted.
Then Guttenberg snapped back at Shah, saying Feinstein introduced him.
‘Incorrect. I was here all day and introduced by Senator Feinstein. No security involved. He turned and walked away,’ he tweeted in reply.
Guttenberg has become a gun control advocate and fierce critic of the National Rifle Association since his 14-year-old daughter was one of the 17 students who on died on Valentine’s Day in the mass shooting.
Fred Guttenberg tweeted Kavanaugh turned away from him when he introduced himself
Jamie Guttenberg was killed in the Parkland, Fla., massacre
He became a national figure in February when he challenged Florida Sen. Marco Rubio about his gun rights position in a CNN town hall following the shooting.
Guttenberg told The Washington Post he is certain Kavanaugh heard him and disputed that the presence of security had any role in the lack of interaction.
‘There was no security intervention,’ Guttenberg said. ‘When he turned that way and started moving, they started following him. But he had every ability to engage me.’
Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday was interrupted multiple times by protesters, who were expressing concern about President Donald Trump’s nominee’s record on abortion rights.
By the end of that first day, 71 protestors had been arrested.
It was so chaotic Kavanaugh’s young daughters were escorted from the room.