Hill Republicans claim Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein engineered the knee-capping of Kavanaugh from both inside and outside Congress — and they have a strong case, though Feinstein insists she merely dealt cards she was handed.

For starters, they argue that Feinstein, who is the top Democrat on the Senate committee vetting Kavanaugh, orchestrated an "11th-hour ambush" of the conservative nod by withholding a letter from the committee's Republican majority alleging sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh until the day the panel was preparing to take a vote to confirm him — almost two months after receiving the letter and well after the vetting and hearing process.

"You chose to sit on the allegations until a politically opportune moment," a furious Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) scolded Feinstein in a letter dated Sept. 19.
"I cannot overstate how disappointed I am in this decision," he added. "It has caused me to have to reopen the hearing."