Now that the woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of misconduct when he was a teenager has stepped forward, it seems to me that the Senate leadership has no reasonable alternative but to conduct hearings on the allegations. Due diligence requires it.
I do not know whether the allegations are truthful but they deserve to be heard and reviewed. I’m also not sure what other than showing due diligence hearings would accomplish. Judge Kavanaugh has denied them. The other individual named in the allegations has already come forward denying them. Scores of women who were acquainted with Judge Kavanaugh contemporaneous to the timeframe in which the actions alleged took place have already come forward testifying to his character.
Basically, the harm has already been done. True or not Judge Kavanaugh’s reputation has already been sullied as have any future actions of his as a Supreme Court justice. I wouldn’t be surprised if Judge Kavanaugh withdrew his nomination. That depends on his temperament.
I won’t speculate any farther on what might happen. I think this whole episode is yet another step along a path we will deeply regret taking, an assault on collegiality in the Senate. Sen. Feinstein should have come forward with the accuser’s letter when it came to her attention. The accusations were either material to the nomination or they weren’t.
“She admits she doesn’t remember key details like exactly when the incident occurred or where specifically, and she says the first time she told anyone about it was when she was in couples counseling with her husband in 2012 — 30-some years after the night in question.â€
This should be dismissed with prejudice. Kavanaugh should be appointed.
Feinstein is the most corrupt Senator in Washington, and one of the most corrupt politicians in our history.
If we have to submit to the malicious lies of leftists, then the US is finished and should be broken up, however bloody a business that would be.
She played politics with the nomination waiting until the most harmful time to release the information. Of course after what McConnell did with Garland, and delaying so many other nominations, this hardly compares.
Steve
You’re right. It’s much worse.
McConnell’s methods of managing nominations was ordinary parliamentary and political action. it didn’t cast Garland into disrepute and it was generally business as usual in the Congress. Feinstein’s action interferes with the ability of the Senate to do its work forevermore. It was a serious escalation. I agree that Sen. Feinstein’s strategy is politically savvy. It’s also scurrilous. The Senate is supposed to be above trench warfare.
Due diligence does not require it. Diligence, like any other discovery process, has reasonable man standards and employs judgment. If it didn’t, diligence would never end, even among cooperating parties. With adversarial parties capable of dishonest acts it would present an insurmountable hurdle.
There have been numerous opportunities and activities in fact (by the Senate and FBI, and god knows how many reptiles) to perform diligence. An fantastical account raised at the 11th hour by people with obvious adversarial motives and set forth in an unprovable and implausible evidence set doesn’t pass any standard of reasonableness.
The vote should be held Thursday.
Not sure what I think of this. I think Feinstein held the letter, thinking there might be more. If the encounter happened, one reason it might not have repeated was it was an excessive drinking incident, and at some point he got his drinking under control. Had he been reported to law enforcement, he may not have a criminal record today, depending on how the juvenile court system worked and whether he completed a satisfactory rehabilitation program/ alcohol counseling.
If the incident had shown up in background investigations, he may not have been nominated, simply because there were several other candidates of similar qualifications. If he had served the terms of a court order, it would have been ugly. While no doubt some Democrats would feel that society needs to forgive people that have a criminal record, particularly for a 17 year old, other Democrats would feel that the incident exposes his true nature behind a well-polished veneer.
All that said, I don’t know what I could learn that would make be believe its likely that the incident happened. It seems unknowable. A statement to a therapist means nothing to me.
Politically, Republicans are being suited as anti-women; so they have a woman problem, which seems to be more the issue than anything. I would consult with Collins on what to do now.
I don’t really have a dog in this fight – I’m more concerned about process than outcome. So I guess we have a new standard for SCOTUS nominees – they must be completely squeaky clean with no allegations of any impropriety at any time in their past or they are unfit for the SCOTUS. Personally, I think a zero-defect mentality is bad for the court generally and the confirmation process specifically.
I agree with Dave that this is an escalation. What the GoP did with Garland was a terrible precedent, but this is another ratchet in the wrong direction, one that was designed to purposely subvert the judicial committee’s confirmation process.
I frequently mention my complaints about our politics becoming increasingly ends-justify-the-means. I don’t see any other way to look at what Feinstein has done here and partisans on both sides are acting predictably. Feinstein is savvy enough to know that Ms. Ford’s name would come to light eventually after she leaked this, with all the personal and professional consequences for her, but pawns must be sacrificed and blocking this nomination is more important.
What does this say to future people in Ms. Ford’s position? Is getting outted in service of partisan ends going to make people more or less likely to come forward with information about nominees?
As far as the allegations, it’s a situation that ultimately impossible to adjudicate empirically. Outside of any additional evidence, anyone who claims differently is pushing an agenda.
All-in-all it’s a shit-show and another sign that our political class is augering this country straight into the toilet.
I have two observations.
First, Kavanaugh will not be confirmed before the midterms; and there is unlikely time to confirm another justice before this session of Congress ends. This raises the stakes of the midterms by a lot. In 1994, 2006, 2010, all that could be contested was control of Congress to serve as a check on the President. This election with how Mueller’s investigation is going, control of the Judiciary and possible impeachment and removal from office of President Trump are on the table. This is a rare opportunity to not just check the President but completely reverse the 2016 election results; how this affects the calculations of the voters in the 15 states and 60 CD’s that will determine the election is unknown.
Second is a wry reminder the issues raised are not new. The Bible has the story of Abraham and Sarah, and how Sarah pretended to be Abraham’s sister multiple times to avoid being assaulted and almost did anyway. There’s Joseph and Potiphar’s wife; imagine Potiphar’s dilemma figuring who told the truth/who lied. There’s King David and Bathsheba, a story of a chief magistrate abusing his authority to have an affair and kills his own general to cover it up. All that to say after several thousands years, it seems the human condition hasn’t really changed.
I sympathize with Kavanaugh’s wife. By all accounts (so far) he has been a man of integrity to her; hopefully she gets a chance to publicly affirm that, if nothing to lessen the scars their children may carry from this. But the US Senate should carefully scrutinize what is alleged and weigh the consequences of whatever it decides.
Agree this needs to be investigated, yet this is also an allegation that is impossible to resolve other than he said vs she said, so the nomination is dead in the water.
Doubtful Feinstein and her ilk come to regret playing by mean girls club rules.
“mean girls club rules” Now have precedent, and and will deter even more qualified people from seeking office. What we’ll get more of are Clintons and Weiners to choose between. You have to deny and attack the accuser full on. Maybe she had too many boyfriends in high school, maybe she pole-danced her way through college, maybe she had an abortion or two. Maybe she sought counseling for mental issues, maybe at some point SHE drank too much, maybe her husband cheated on her, maybe still does. Get a private detective, get a swarm of them. She can be painted dirty somehow. Play to win.
In all likelihood that’s a scribe’s error.
It would be interesting if there were parallel universes to figure out if in the chance Kavanaugh gets confirmed, how this affects his Jurisprudence. Clarence Thomas has been a reliable “conservative” vote since his confirmation hearings.
If he doesn’t get confirmed, what would Kavanaugh do? Unlike Bork; he been accused of personal misconduct of the most serious nature; a career in academia/private industry is impossible with that kind of label. Would he have the respect necessary to continue as a Federal appeals judge?
Quite a dilemma.
Should Kavanaugh be confirmed, which I still think is more likely than not, I think there will be an outcry for him to recuse himself on any case having to do with sexual politics in any way, shape, or form.
I know how I would handle this situation if I were in the president’s or Sen. McConnell’s and it would be pretty harsh. I don’t want to say much more for fear of giving them any ideas.
This is politics at its dirtiest. There are 10 Democratic Senators up for election in states that went for Trump. They are trying like Hell to avoid having to cast a vote for or against confirmation. McConnel should schedule a vote for confirmation regardless of the committee proceedings. He has already ended the Blue Slip maneuver along with calling the Senate into session this month effectively crippling their campaigns. They want dirty, they get dirty right back.
” Feinstein’s action interferes with the ability of the Senate to do its work forevermore. It was a serious escalation.”
Not even remotely true. We went through this with Thomas and nothing changed. The Senate still does its work. No matter when this information was released, Kavanaugh’s reputation takes a potential hit, but I don’t see anything that makes him more believable than his accuser, so I don’t see anyway around a hearing, unless we just decide that stuff you do at 17 doesnt count.
The real issue is the timing. They are rushing to get Kavanaugh through before the midterms just in case they lose, though even then my bet is they just pass him in the lame duck session. This is totally different from what we saw with Garland where he was delayed and never even got a hearing or vote. Then, look at all of the nominations McConnell delayed at the end of the Obama term. He guaranteed that the GOP will dominate the courts for years. Not because the GOP was running up dominant votes, but because of his manipulations. He has really been a master at this, and the GOP has benefitted greatly, but do you really think the Dems aren’t going to look for revenge? Are you advocating that they should just roll over?
“I know how I would handle this situation if I were in the president’s or Sen. McConnell’s and it would be pretty harsh.”
Already decided Kavanaugh is innocent of any wrongdoing have we?
Steve
Listen guys and gals. There is nothing here to diligence. There is nothing that can really be adjudicated. This is just grotesque political theatre.
It’s too long ago for one. It’s one of the reasons we have statutes of limitations in the law. But this isn’t a legal court. This is completely designed for the court of public opinion. And what a miserable mess. He said she said. She’s a known anti-Trump activist. She is hazy on facts. The only supposed independent witness doesn’t know what she is talking about. There is zero corroboration (until someone in need of cash can be found).
There has been sanctimonious talk about the hallowed process. The “process†has been corrupted beyond recognition and Feinstein is a clear sleazy participant. This is now going to be a circus with, as I say, no way to fairly adjudicate the issue. The time for process came and went, and the basis for a hearing for the accuser did also. A real process does not allow for the previous detailed examination by FBI, Senate and third parties………and then an 11th hour revelation of 36 year old uncorroberated charges of a murky nature and dubious motivation to get equal standing.
This is a sad chapter for the Senate, for Feinstein and for the Court.
Guarneri,
Bring it brother. One of the best I’ve read in a long time.