Sen. Feinstein Invited Parkland Father Who Attempted Handshake Ambush of Kavanaugh; Father Had Vowed to ‘Play a Role’ in Stopping Nomination

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Fred Guttenberg, the father of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg who was slain in the Parkland school massacre last February, tried to ambush Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh with an attempted photo-op handshake as the hearing went to break Tuesday after the morning session. The day before, Guttenberg had posted to Twitter a vow to “play a role in ensuring that this man does not become the next Supreme Court Justice.” Guttenberg also posted that he would be attending the hearing as a guest of Sen. Dianne Feinstien (D-CA), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“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.”

Feinstein confirmed the invitation in a statement posted to Twitter Tuesday evening, “I invited @Fred_Guttenberg to sit in the audience at today’s hearing because the Supreme Court affects the lives of real people. He knows firsthand how Brett Kavanaugh’s extreme views on guns could lead to more massacres. Thank you Fred, for honoring your daughter.”

Guttenberg denied any role by Feinstein in the attempted handshake ambush, “To be clear, I was invited by Senator Feinstein to attend today. Anyone who knows me knows I will talk to anyone. I initiated an effort to introduce myself to Kavanaugh. It was my decison and I own it. Anyone trying to come up with some politial master plan is simply wrong.”…”Thank you for inviting me. I hope my attempted hand shake to the judge did not cause you much trouble.”

Photos and videos of the attempted ambush–which Kavanaugh did not fall for, he refused to shake hands and walked away as security intervened–made the rounds with opponents of Kavanaugh’s nomination criticizing him for not shaking hands with Guttenberg.

AP photographer Andrew Harnik posted a photo of the ambush to Twitter with the caption, “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”

Another photo shows Guttenberg wagging his finger at Kavanaugh after being refused a handshake.

Video clips were also posted, including one posted by Deputy White House Press Secretary Raj Shah.

C-SPAN’s Jeremy Art:

Raj Shah: “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…NEW VIDEO of hearing room clearly shows security intervened when Judge #Kavanaugh was approached.”

https://twitter.com/RajShah45/status/1037040825778274306

https://twitter.com/RajShah45/status/1037046732310360064

A liberal replied to Shah, posting a video clip from MSNBC. In the video Guttenberg is seen touching Kavanaugh on the back with his left hand to get his attention. A major security fail given all the disruptive protests during the hearing. Perhaps the large black hearing pass Guttenberg was wearing gave him privileged access courtesy of Senator Feinstein.

On Monday Guttenberg said he would be attending the hearing to stop Kavanaugh, “I will be at Kavanaugh hearings and I hope to play a role in ensuring that this man does not become the next Supreme Court Justice.”

A Mother Jones reporter posted a heads up on Twitter as the hearing began to keep an eye on Guttenberg, “If you’re watching the Kavanaugh hearings, keep your eyes peeled for @fred_guttenberg. The father of an MSD student killed on 2/14 is a guest of Sen. Feinstein. As he’s done on his other visits to Capitol Hill, he refuses to sit down, his protest against federal inaction on guns.”

The Sun Sentinel quoted a Feinstein staffer on her invitation to Guttenberg:

“Ashley Schapitl, a Feinstein spokeswoman, said the California senator invited Guttenberg to attend the hearing because he had a “personal stake in Brett Kavanaugh’s views on the law.””

Andrew Pollack, a fellow father of a student slain at Parkland, 18-year-old Meadow Pollack, ripped Guttenberg on Twitter for going after Kavanaugh, “Judge Kavanaugh was not responsible for the Parkland school shooting that killed my daughter. @RobertwRuncie, FBI, and Sheriff Israel are. Judge Kavanaugh is a decent man and should be confirmed.
Stop weaponizing Parkland to advance a dangerous political agenda!

Pollack also rebuked Feinstein for the setting up the ambush, “Certain politicians like @SenFeinstein and the media never miss out on a chance to use the deaths of the innocent victims of the Parkland school shooting. Truly pathetic and disgraceful. What is wrong with these people? #FixIt”

Pollack’s son Hunter, a Parkland survivor, added, “It’s very clear what your intention was with this tweet. Once again #Parkland is trending with something not relevant to our families loses.”

https://twitter.com/PollackHunter/status/1037115995071111168

Fred Guttenberg announced he will appear on CNN and MSNBC Tuesday night.

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UPDATE: ABC News posted a video with more angles than JFK assassination conspiracy films.

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Kristinn Taylor
Kristinn Taylor has contributed to The Gateway Pundit for over ten years. Mr. Taylor previously wrote for Breitbart, worked for Judicial Watch and was co-leader of the D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com. He studied journalism in high school, visited the Newseum and once met David Brinkley.

You can email Kristinn Taylor here, and read more of Kristinn Taylor's articles here.

 

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