WATCH: Did Kavanaugh Snub Parkland Father Fred Guttenberg at Confirmation Hearing?
As the morning session of Brett Kavanaugh‘s tumultuous Senate confirmation hearing concluded, there was a moment where the aspiring Supreme Court justice may or may not have ignored the father of a student who died this year in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
With the hearing having just been sent to recess, Fred Guttenberg — father of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg who was killed in the shooting — approached Kavanaugh and tried to introduce himself. Video and photographs from the senate suggest that Kavanaugh was aware of Guttenberg and looked him in the eye, but walked away without saying anything.
Fred Guttenberg, the father of Jamie Guttenberg who was killed in the shooting in Parkland, Fla., left, tries to shake hands with @realDonaldTrump‘s Supreme Court nom., Brett Kavanaugh, right, during a lunch break. Kavanaugh did not shake his hand. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) @ap pic.twitter.com/smcCGuLT6X
— Andrew Harnik (@andyharnik) September 4, 2018
Guttenberg got on Twitter afterwards and expressed his thoughts about the encounter:
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.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 4, 2018
Shortly afterwards, Guttenberg got a response from White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah, who offered this explanation, and subsequently shared a video from a different angle:
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. https://t.co/ylOhtA1s6G
— Raj Shah (@RajShah45) September 4, 2018
NEW VIDEO of hearing room clearly shows security intervened when Judge #Kavanaugh was approached. pic.twitter.com/ZGRRCcWroW
— Raj Shah (@RajShah45) September 4, 2018
Guttenberg is disputing Shah on this.
Incorrect. I was here all day and introduced by Senator Feinstein. No security involved. He turned and walked away.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 4, 2018
NBC News showed another angle of the confrontation:
Fred Guttenberg, father of Parkland victim, Jaime, tries to shakes hands with Brett Kavanaugh: “My daughter was murdered at Parkland.”
White House says an “unidentified individual approached” Kavanaugh, but “before the judge was able to shake his hand, security had intervened.” pic.twitter.com/IerpDMOW0h
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 4, 2018
So what do you think? Was it deliberate on Kavanaugh’s part? Was he escorted out by security? Or did he just not register Guttenberg’s presence before walking? Tell us what you think.
Watch above, via C-SPAN.
[Image via screengrab]
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