Kavanaugh Pledges To Be ‘Independent, Impartial’ If Confirmed As Senators Weigh Votes

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, talks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.

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Updated at 10:12 p.m. ET

Judge Brett Kavanaugh issued a mea culpa of sorts on the eve of a key Senate vote that could determine whether or not he reaches the Supreme Court, admitting in an op-ed that his testimony last week forcefully defending himself from sexual assault allegations “might have been too emotional at times.”

“I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said. I hope everyone can understand that I was there as a son, husband and dad. I testified with five people foremost in my mind: my mom, my dad, my wife, and most of all my daughters,” Kavanaugh wrote Thursday evening in the op-ed published online by Wall Street Journal.