September 27, 2018

The Honorable Charles Grassley

135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Grassley:

We, the undersigned, are writing today to request your resignation as Chair of the U.S. Senate
Committee on the Judiciary.

We are organizations and leaders from across the country, and have watched with alarm as you
have taken the bipartisan institution of the Judiciary Committee and injected partisan politics
and misogynistic bullying into its leadership. There are many of us who have expressed public
disagreement with your decisions in the past, but this goes beyond simply disagreeing with your
stance on a nominee or a policy position. Your actions have threatened the independent nature
of the judiciary, a bedrock institution that must provide a check on the executive and legislative
branches in order for our democracy to thrive.

Your tenure as Chair began with unprecedented obstruction of judicial nominations put forward
by President Obama, including the hearings that never occurred for Supreme Court nominee
Merrick Garland. And while you used the blue slip process of giving deference to home state
Senators to block nominees made by President Obama​1​, you have ripped up that precedent to
further steamroll nominees of President Trump​2​. In addition, you have moved away from other
long standing committee practices, speeding up the process for nominees making it harder to
thoroughly vet them, and by de-emphasizing the ratings provided by the American Bar
Association​3​.

In recent days your failed leadership has once again been on full display. You have publicly
bullied​4​ a woman who has stepped forward to report allegations of sexual assault. You and your
staff had knowledge​5​ of the allegation prior to it becoming public, and prepared a defense for the
nominee while expeditiously moving through the nomination process with the hope it would
never be uncovered. Once the allegation was made public, you rejected past precedent, and
refused a request for the FBI to investigate further​6​, instead relying on your staff to investigate.
However, your staff has behaved in a wholly inappropriate manner, sending tweets that indicate
bias​7​ that would compromise their investigation, as well as needing to resign due to their own
prior sexual misconduct allegations​8​. Finally, in the face of mounting criticism about your
handling of this process, you claimed the role of victim not for Dr. Blasey Ford, but for yourself​9​.

The nomination process of a Supreme Court nominee is not about you personally, but it is about
whether Americans have confidence in your leadership. After the events of the past few weeks,
we have lost all confidence you can lead the Judiciary Committee without tainting this and any
subsequent nomination process with politics.
For the good of the country, and for the future of an independent judicial branch free from
politics, we urge you to resign as Chair of the Committee on Judiciary immediately.

Sincerely,

Progress Iowa
Daily Kos
Tax March
MoveOn
CREDO
One Wisconsin Now
Americans for Democratic Action Iowa
Iowa Citizen Action Network
Courage Campaign
Why Courts Matter Pennsylvania
Citizen Advocacy Center
Battle Born Progress
Joyce Moore Financial Services
TaxMarch MN
NCJW Southern Maine
Sisterhood of Iowa
Indivisible Chester County
Indivisible Berks
Progress Michigan
Progressive Turnout Project
Indivisible York
Why Courts Matter Iowa
ProgressNow Colorado
Indivisible Iowa
Pennsylvania Together
Youth Progressive Action Catalyst
Keystone Progress
Forward Montana Foundation
Progress Virginia
Cumberland Valley Rising
Indivisible Iowa SD 33/34/35
March for our Lives
End Citizens United
Susquehanna Valley Progress
Granite State Progress
Columbia County Indivisible
Tuesdays With Toomey Philadelphia
Philly Neighborhood Networks
Women's Medical Fund
Indivisible Clinton County PA
Indivisible KY
One Iowa Action
ProgressNow Arizona
Susquehanna Valley Progress
Torah Trumps Hate
Indivisible Iowa
Buchanan County Indivisible
Manchester Area Progressive Alliance (Indivisible)
Regina Russell, Elected Dem Cmte Women, Sunbury, Pa
Justice For All
412 Resistance
Central PA Action Agenda

Notes
1. Senate GOP used “blue slips” to block Obama judicial nominees, but now wants to trash the practice
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/05/25/blue-slips-and-judicial-nominees-in-senate/
2. POLITICO: Grassley rips up ‘blue slip’ for a pair of Trump court picks
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/16/chuck-grassley-trump-court-picks-245367
3. Roll Call: Senate Republicans Steamroll Judicial Process
https://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/the-senates-consent-machine
4. Washington Monthly: Chuck Grassley is bullying Christine Blasey Ford
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/09/18/chuck-grassley-is-bullying-christine-blasey-ford/
5. POLITICO: Grassley knew about allegation
https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/1040616745499848704
".@ChuckGrassley releases a letter from 65 women who knew Kavanaugh in high school (showing Rs
knew about this high-school rape allegation.) These women say Kavanaugh “behaved honorably and
treated women with respect.”
6. Washington Examiner: Grassley rejects FBI probe, still pushing for testimony from Kavanaugh’s
accuser
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/grassley-rejects-fbi-investigation-still-pushing-for-te
stimony-from-christine-blasey-ford
7. Roll Call: Judiciary Staffer’s Tweets Fuel Fight Over Kavanaugh Accuser
https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/staffers-tweets-fuel-fight-kavanaugh-accuser
8. USA Today: Aide to Sen. Chuck Grassley resigns amid reports he had been accused of sexual
harassment
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/22/sen-chuck-grassley-aide-garrett-ventry-resigns-
sexual-harassment-complaint/1394249002/
9. Radio Interview with Hugh Hewitt
https://youtu.be/wuCF24G6gW8