Chaffetz says Kavanaugh investigation is yet another 'fishing expedition' by House Dems

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Rep. Jerry Nadler goes after Justice Brett Kavanaugh's White House records

Dave Brat and Bradley Moss weigh in on House Democrats' request for documents from the White House related to Brett Kavanaugh.

Former Republican congressman and Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz said Wednesday that House Democrats are pursuing yet another "fishing expedition," this time by seeking records from Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh's time in the George W. Bush administration.

Speaking on "Outnumbered," Chaffetz questioned the reasoning behind the move, which comes nearly one year after the contentious Senate confirmation fight over Kavanaugh.

"This is where the House Judiciary is spending their time? All the issues that face our nation, this is where they're spending their time?" the former House Oversight Committee chairman asked, arguing there's no "precursor" to launch such an inquiry.

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"We think there might be something wrong, but don't know what it is. There is just a pattern here with Democrats who are on these fishing expeditions as opposed to pursuing something where they have actual evidence of wrongdoing."

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The top Republican on the committee on Tuesday accused the panel's Democratic chairman, Rep. Jerry Nadler, of "harassment" and unethical conduct.

Nadler's request came days after a liberal lion of the high court, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, defended Kavanaugh as a "very decent, very smart individual," and long after progressive activists have largely moved on to other matters.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., said in a statement that Nadler's request is so "far outside the scope of judicial ethics, it’s harassment."

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"Senate Democrats spent months launching false accusations in an attempt to smear Justice Kavanaugh’s reputation and block his confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, and now House Democrats want to follow suit with yet another fishing expedition to tarnish his good name," Collins said.

Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe agreed with the sentiments, arguing that Kavanaugh already "turned over more documents than the last five Supreme Court nominees combined."

"I think he has been litigated in the public eye as well as any other nominee [before Congress]. I think that's done and it's a lifetime appointment," she said.

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Tens of thousands of documents relating to Kavanaugh's time in the White House Counsel's Office were withheld during his confirmation process, the Democratic lawmakers said, after they were processed by a private attorney for potential privilege issues.

"As a result of this process, the Senate Judiciary Committee received only a small fraction of Justice Kavanaugh’s White House record before voting on his nomination," Nadler wrote.

Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.