Kavanaugh open thread: Bring on more hearings?
New Kavanaugh statement: “This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone.”
The drama surrounding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has not gone away. In this post, we will continue to update as new developments emerge during the day.
If you come across any interesting news reports, please place them in the comments and we will consider promoting them into the post.
New Hearing on Monday?
DiFi tells reporters in capitol that Senate Republicans just told there will be a new Kavanaugh hearing MONDAY
— Jonathan Martin (@jmartNYT) September 17, 2018
Public hearing to hear from Kavanaugh and Ford will be Monday, @senorrinhatch tells reporters
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 17, 2018
Senate Majority Leader McConnell addresses the allegations
.@Senatemajldr: “But now, now, at the 11th hour, with committee votes on schedule, after Democrats have spent weeks and weeks searching for any possible reason that the nomination should be delayed, now, now they choose to reveal this allegation.”#Kavanaugh #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/p9V3OVOSjO
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 17, 2018
Facts, changing stories, and things
https://twitter.com/AG_Conservative/status/1041763823039008774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Two women claiming to have dated Kavanaugh in high school issue statements
New statements issued by “two women who dated” Kavanaugh pic.twitter.com/q8xe4Po6aj
— Robert Costa (@costareports) September 17, 2018
Kavanaugh Denies Being at Party
From The Daily Mail:
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is denying he was at the high school party in question where Christine Blasey Ford said he attempted to rape her as a friend watched when they were both students in suburban Washington D.C. during the 1980s.
Kavanaugh spoke with Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for about 10 minutes Monday afternoon, where Kavanaugh denied to him that he was at the high school-era party in question, a Hatch aide told NBC News.
Hatch says Kavanaugh is ‘honest’ and ‘straightforward,’ and he thinks woman who has brought accusation is ‘mixed up.’
Trump responds
https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1041769383620759553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Accuser Willing to Testify
Debra Katz, the lawyer representing Christine Blasey Ford, told CNN that her client is willing to testify in front of Congress.
JUST IN: “The answer is yes,” says the attorney for Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford on whether she is willing to testify in public, adding that she has not been asked to do so https://t.co/ldiFVBCMo0 pic.twitter.com/SBTPOUY97V
— New Day (@NewDay) September 17, 2018
From CNN:
Katz said on Monday that her client considers Kavanaugh’s alleged actions an attempted rape.
“She believes that but for his inebriation and his inability to take her clothes off, he would have raped her,” Katz said.
Katz said Ford originally had “a great deal of ambivalence” about coming forward and had decided to keep her allegations confidential, but “that decision was essentially taken away from her as those allegations were leaked” and members of the press began approaching her. Katz said Ford stood by her story, and that now she had come forward, they expected serious opposition.”
“She’s now going to have to live with the tremendous efforts by people to annihilate her and to try to discredit her,” Katz said. “She’s telling the truth. She took a polygraph. She mentioned this … in her therapy sessions in 2012.”
She added, “We all know what she’s going to have to withstand as a result of having come forward.”
Katz said they want the Senate to treat the allegations seriously and her client with respect.
Conway: Trump Believes Senate Should Hear From Accuser
President Donald Trump’s senior advisor Kellyanne Conway told Fox & Friends that the president supports Ford testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
.@KellyannePolls reacts to claims made by Kavanaugh accuser @foxandfriends https://t.co/90r2IyBbDF pic.twitter.com/FQEoaROnlY
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 17, 2018
From Mediaite:
“This woman should not be insulted and she should not be ignored,” Conway opened, before explaining the many options that the Judicial Committee — and ostensibly the White House — has in terms of hearing what Dr. Ford has to say. “She will be heard,” was perhaps a surprising (and refreshing) note to hear from Ms. Conway for Democrats who are overly eager to paint a Trump administration in the most unflattering manner possible.
Conway also said that the accusation should not disrupt Kavanaugh’s nomination and the confirmation schedule.
WAJ adds: This appears to be the emerging strategy, let she said/he said play out quickly in public, then declare that it is disputed and the decades of Kavanaugh’s excellent public service weigh in his favor. That said, expect deep digging into the accuser’s past.
Ford Didn’t Say Anything Before 2012
Ford’s lawyer admitted on Sunday that her client never told anyone about the alleged assault before 2012. She only brought it up when her and her husband sought out couples therapy.
Her husband said that “he remembers her naming Kavanaugh as the aggressor in 2012.” A review of the therapist’s notes revealed “a description of the alleged incident but did not name Kavanaugh.”
Report: Kavanaugh Releases New Statement, Hires Attorney
Statement from Judge Brett Kavanaugh: “This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday…
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 17, 2018
2/ “… I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.”
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 17, 2018
CNN has reported that Kavanaugh has hired attorney Beth Wilkinson to represent him. The report also said that “Kavanaugh is not opposed to sharing his point of view, answering more questions or providing more information about a recent allegation of physical and sexual assault, whether it be through congressional committee staff interviews or closed or open testimony, two sources close to the process have told CNN.”
Judge Kavanaugh is willing to add to his dozens of hours of sworn testimony.
He categorically denies the allegations and is ready to defend his honor and integrity. https://t.co/g1Uv3VrIsG
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) September 17, 2018
Kavanaugh’s Mom Presided Over Foreclosure Case That Involved Ford’s Parents
A story circulating Twitter has come out on Mediaite since Fox News host Laura Ingraham tweeted it out. This story states that Kavanaugh’s mother Martha presided over a foreclosure case that involved Ford’s parents in the 1990s. It’s important to note that Martha came in late in the case.
Feinstein Says There’s More to Kavanaugh
Wait, what?! Now Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has rejected the plan set forth by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) because “there’s more that senators don’t know.”
See, Grassley wants “to arrange separate, follow-up calls with Kavanaugh and accuser Christine Blasey Ford before the vote, but just for aides to top members.”
What else does she know? It’s bad enough that she’s sat on this letter from Ford since July and never brought it up during closed door meetings with Kavanaugh or at the confirmation hearings.
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