Kavanaugh’s Supporters and His Accuser Are at an Impasse Over Her Testimony
How could Dr. Ford’s accusation of sexual assault be the truth if both Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and Mark Judge have no recollection? It’s in the details of Dr. Ford’s story. (3, 4)Christine Blasey Ford, the professor who alleged that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, said a Senate hearing set for Monday to hear her allegation would not be fair and Democrats insisted that an F.B.I. investigation take place first. Backed by President Trump, Senate Republicans rejected any F.B.I. inquiry, and said that Monday was her chance to be heard. Dr. Blasey’s resistance to appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday seemed to galvanize Republicans and drew wavering Republican senators back into Judge Kavanaugh’s camp. Barring new information or an agreement by Dr. Blasey to testify after all, Judge Kavanaugh may now have enough momentum to be confirmed as early as next week. Republicans set a committee meeting for Wednesday for a possible vote to move the nomination to the floor. In a statement, Lisa J. Banks, a lawyer for Dr. Blasey, said on Wednesday that her client was still willing to work with the Judiciary Committee, but was not convinced that a hearing featuring just her and Judge Kavanaugh would be adequate. “The committee’s stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good faith investigation; there are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding,” Ms. Banks said. “The rush to a hearing is unnecessary, and contrary to the committee discovering the truth.”Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor in California, showed courage in coming forth about a sexual assault by a then-teenage Brett M. Kavanaugh at a party held at an all-male elite Georgetown Preparatory School. Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh staunchly denied the incident ever happened or that he was at the alleged party. A party that Dr. Ford who attended the all-female preparatory school, Holton-Arms, cannot precisely pinpoint in time or location (How can Judge Kavanaugh know he was not there?). However, she remembered Mark Judge, a friend of Brett Kavanaugh, an accomplice who made sure others did not hear her screams at the party while Brett Kavanaugh held her down. Mr. Judge also has no recollection of the assault that Dr. Ford alleged where both boys were drunk. (Kavanaugh Accuser’s Schoolmate Says Assault Was Chatter at School Afterward. ) Judge Kavanaugh is a powerful man familiar with the culture in Congress, Christine Blasey Ford is not. In fulfilling her civic duty, Dr. Ford came forth against her better judgment. She wasn’t seeking fame. She didn’t want to relive a very traumatic experience that occurred over 30 years ago in high school. She didn’t want to be viewed as a Democrat co-conspirator attempting to delay Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. She didn’t want to risk her reputation or her families’ safety. But she did because she knew it was the right thing to do. Her request to the Judiciary Committee is not unreasonable. She wants the FBI to investigate the merits of her story before she is attacked by a male-dominated Congressional Committee that appears to have already made up its mind without all the facts. The news pundits make her request confusing by harping on whether she is requesting a criminal investigation or an additional background check. An investigation into whether the party occurred and if a young Brett Kavanaugh was present is crucial. The entire case rests on that fact. Shouldn’t the Senators have it before questioning? It would save a lot of time questioning the validity of her accusation. Christine Blasey Ford is a credible woman with no known motive to lie. Why would she risk her reputation and the safety of her family to question the “unblemished” record of this “distinguished” Judge? Recall the GOP has refused to release all records related to his tenure when Bush was POTUS. If Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge were at the alleged party, that does not mean they lied. Both boys were extremely drunk and apparently displayed “uncontrollable male passion” that could have possibly resulted in a sexual assault with amnesia. Could this be alcohol-induced blackouts in both men? It’s possible. Did Judge Kavanaugh have a drinking problem in his younger days? Were the three teenagers–Dr. Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, and Mark Judge — seen or known to be at any party together? Was there any chatter of a party where the kids were so drunk a girl was attacked? If Judge Kavanaugh has no recollection and an investigation reveals he and Mark Judge were at that party, wouldn’t that trigger a different line of questions by the Senate Judiciary Committee? Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing is raising many red-flags, warnings worth heeding. Why aren’t our elected politicians listening? Why is this critical lifetime nomination process being rushed? The Judiciary Committee and the rest of Congress should do the right thing regardless of party affiliation. Investigate the merits of Dr. Ford’s accusation before questioning since Judge Kavanaugh has no recollection. Related Stories:
In one word, Angela, excellent 🙂
Thanks Pete.
Hello Angela! Yes, they rushing the confirmation process but these people don’t care what happened thirty years ago, look who we have as President!
Hi Rudy, you are absolutely right. They don’t even care about what happened last week.
Trump’s certainly made his mark even without the confirmation of Kavanaugh. God help America, we need it.
Those same people who gave Kavanaugh a free pass are the same ones who lambasted Cosby. Apparently 20-30 years is “a long time ago” when it comes to people like Kavanaugh. 45 looks hypocritical as always for defending that judge while he wanted the Central Park Five slaughtered for the rape they didn’t commit.
If Kavanugh gets confirmed without an investigation, he’ll be impeached after mid-term election. The ire of Americans will rock Trump and those corrupt A*holes in Congress. Enough is Enough!
Yeah, and he’d better should that confirmation happen. I really hope that would be the case if there’s a huge backlash against this confirmation.
It’s already beginning.
Notice how the republicans use white women to bash Kavanaugh’s victims.
Yet we see Kavanaugh, the ultimate sexual predator, marching on to be the next Supreme Court Justice. Justice is hypocritical and racist in America. Republicans and a few Dems count on Kavanaugh continuing that tradition.
I see.
That was all too predictable on their part. Those women in question are obvious stalking horses to give lip service to women’s rights activists and claim “See! We’re not sexist or mysogynistic!”. It’s the same technique whenever the GOP gets caught with (overt) racism and they start bringing in ethnic minorities to give that lip service (see: David Clark, Dinesh D’Souza, Marco Rubio, etc).
Exactly and it’s a sad state of affairs. They count on someone like Kavanaugh to help secure this place in this country.
It’s also interesting that the Democrats don’t know how to fight back or they too are afraid of Trump. They should have made the public aware of the significance of Kavanaugh being confirmed. It means a get out of jail for Trump and his politicians accused of crimes. If confirmed, Kavanaugh will be a justice who can be easily compromised because of his past.
Thanks for bringing that fact up. This isn’t the first time it’s happened with the Dems. They could’ve stopped numerous harmful laws (Cross-check being a major one if they wanted to sink the conservatives). Or you could’ve had someone like John Kerry dethrone Bush by bringing up Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, or the war, but he never did that. Then again, a lot of Democrats have the same donors as the GOP, so that could be a main influence as to why they roll over whenever their opponents do something bad. You’re right that it could be carte blanche for the current administration.
Something is up, they seem not very shrewd or 10 steps behind the Republicans. In any event I may just vote all Democrats to get rid of the Republicans. I’d really hate to do that since I am no fan of the Democrats.
I know that feeling, and I know some others who feel the same way about these upcoming midterms. Maybe it’s cowardice mixed in with lack of political savvy depending on the politician. I could see people making protest votes for the Dems, but I wonder how much it would do. I can see the logic from where you’re coming from. If they legitimately want to fight for good issues and have the track record to back it up, then go for it. I do have to research all the candidates in my home state and that’s not even getting into the local stuff going on near me.
I like the Green Party but understand what’s at stake. I hate it but mine will be protest votes for Dems all the way.
Same here even though I’m independent. While I still have issues with the Dems, I get your logic. You said you’re in NH now? That situation from a geopolitical standpoint makes sense since it’s a big swing state as far as New England is concerned, so the protest votes can really make a dent if a blue wave were to hit NH. The people from your state should definitely find the right national candidates and the local ones so they can Concord [conquer] the polls. Forgive me for my geographical pun. Hahaha! 😛
I remember when Obama won someone stole my Obama sign from my yard.
Many neighbors openly supported Trump from the minute he declared his run for potus. Not sure how they feel now but I doubt much changed. NH is weird. You have a spectrum of people like most other states. At one end you will find people with beautiful hearts, very thoughtful. At the other end, you will find those who can’t even look at you because of your color. As NH is about 95% white, you can imagine the majority sentiment. I know Fox is a favorite channel for news. Can’t enter a gym without it being on.
Wow, just wow.
Is that so where you’re from? Sorry to hear about that. I’ve only been to NH once in my life and that was to visit a Shaker village as part of my family’s vacation around VT during my high school years. I didn’t have any issues with anyone, but I definitely noticed that it was nowhere near as diverse as where I’m from. My original hometown has roughly the same population as Manchester, yet there is a much higher ethnic minority population than NH’s biggest city.
It’s great how you found some nice people around, but I’m sorry to hear about the hateful people in your current home state. Hearing about what happened in Claremont with the biracial boy was a huge wake up call and I was saddened when I saw the pictures and read about that travesty. Fox News is the news of choice in gyms and other public places? Dang. SMH.
I think that Kavanaugh may or may not have had the intent to tape her or just pin her down for a while. Only he knows that and he is not talking. His actions, locking the door, turning up the music are enough evidence to sustain a conviction of attempted rape. The eoman should go ahead and bring charges and see what happens. Maybe he can’t remember but more likely he does not want to admit what he did.
I can see he may not have had intent to rape but don’t buy that neither man can remember. She certainly believes the intent was there.
Sounds like he binged on alcohol and hung out in an environment where unbridled male passion was valued. It’s possible he was under the influence of alcohol. Interesting, I was at Yale medical school the same time Kavanaugh was an undergraduate there.
Did you hear any rumors or gossip about wild undergraduate parties?
No, I don’t think our paths crossed at Yale.