Tapper Grills Sen. Hirono on Keith Ellison Scandal: What About Allegations Against Democrats?

While some Republicans have received scrutiny for standing by Judge Brett Kavanaugh amid controversy over sexual assault allegations against him, Democrats continue to grapple with similar stories about one of their own, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN).

CNN’s Jake Tapper pushed Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) to respond to claims of abuse from one of Ellison’s former girlfriends, who says she suffered physical and emotional trauma while the two were together. However, Hirono gave a rather short remark on the embattled congressman who’s now running for his state’s attorney general seat.

“I’ve been very clear that I make no excuses for anybody who engages in this kind of behavior,” she said. “As far as Keith Ellison, these charges need to be investigated and appropriate action taken.”

Promptly switching topics back to the Kavanaugh scandal, the senator expressed frustration with the apparent lack of answers on the SCOTUS nominee’s past behavior.

“Meanwhile within the next week or so, we have before us a nominee under a cloud,” she told Tapper. “There’s not even a modicum of investigation, and so we are left with basically he said, she said. This happens a lot in the context of sexual assault.”

Hirono’s focus, she said, was on making sure no one is confirmed to sit on the Supreme Court if they have a shady past.

“We already have one person on the Supreme Court who got there under this cloud,” she said. We should not have another.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

[Image via screengrab]

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