As the midterms on Nov. 6 approach, Senate Republicans are doing their best to push through the confirmation vote of Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee appointed by President Trump to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

In the meantime, Senate Democrats are doing everything they can to prevent the vote from happening before the midterms, including incompetently, handling the new sexual assault accusations levied against Kavanaugh.

Accusations of alleged sexual assault should not be used by politicians as a tool to potentially defame their careers. Instead, accusations should be treated as criminal cases by law enforcement rather than political trials by politicians.

Five days after Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, Senator Dianne Feinstein published a letter she received on July 30 from Christine Blasey Ford, in which Ford accuses Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in the early 1980s.

The allegation is that Kavanaugh then 17, pushed her onto a bed at a party with assistance from his close friend, Mark Judge. Kavanaugh then allegedly sexually assaulted her, taking advantage of the loud music to drown out her screams.

Yet many important details are still unknown, such as when the party was, where it was, and who went.

These are serious accusations against Kavanaugh, which he and Judge have both denied, and should have been taken more seriously. Kavanaugh should have been asked about this during the hearing, as this letter was given to Feinstein months prior. If the accusations are true, Kavanaugh’s appointment should be revoked.

However, the accusations have instead been utilized by Feinstein as a last-minute smear campaign to waste time. The Democrats are expected to win the Senate in the midterms, and  pushing the confirmation vote back to November would reduce the number of senators that approve Kavanaugh.

It is yet another tactic to obstruct the confirmation, similar to their prior attempt to force the Senate to analyze over 100,000 documents about Kavanaugh despite already announcing their disapproval of his appointment.

“I will oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same. The stakes are simply too high for anything less,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the day of Kavanaugh’s nomination.

It has been 81 days since Kavanaugh’s appointment. In comparison, the average number of days for confirmation of the seven remaining justices is 73 days.

Ford has demanded that certain terms be met in order for her to testify including Kavanaugh not being present during the hearing. Additionally, she insisted on having only senators ask questions and having Kavanaugh testify first. Not being able to confront your accuser is a violation of the Sixth Amendment.

Lastly, the accused are innocent until proven guilty, not the converse. The terms presented by Ford and her lawyers pervert the seriousness of the case, making it seem they are more interested in headlines rather than a having a fair case.

After Ford’s accusation, additional stories and accusations have come out, including an accusation that Kavanaugh was part of a gang rape. All accusations are serious and devastating, yet all lack any evidentiary backing. These accusations should be handled by professional lawyers rather than by politicians, as politicians would exploit these victims for their own use.

According to a timeline composed by PBS, Kavanaugh has been through multiple background checks conducted by the FBI. There were no instances of sexual assault in his record before his appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2006.

These accusations should have been brought up during the confirmation hearings. Senator Feinstein had knowledge of the letter for more than a month prior. The accusations themselves are not political, but rather their timing make this appear to be an unsubstantiated witch hunt by Senate Democrats.