Senate Judiciary Final Report: “no evidence to substantiate any of the claims of sexual assault made against Justice Kavanaugh”

The Senate Judiciary Committee has released its Final Report (pdf.)(full embed at bottom of post) detailing the extensive investigation conducted into allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation proceedings.

The report completely clears Kavanaugh. Here is a portion of the Summary (emphasis added):

“In addition to conducting interviews, Committee investigators continuously monitored social media and news reports. They also reviewed all documentary evidence submitted by Justice Kavanaugh, his accusers, and other witnesses. Finally, the Committee conducted a supplemental daylong hearing and asked the White House to direct the FBI to reopen its investigation of Justice Kavanaugh to explore potential credible allegations pending against the nominee. The Committee received that supplemental FBI background investigation report on October 4. All senators and a limited number of appropriately cleared Committee staff had the  pportunity to review it in a secure facility on October 5 and 6.After an extensive investigation that included the thorough review of all potentially credible evidence submitted and interviews of more than 40 individuals with information relating to the allegations, including classmates and friends of all those involved, Committee investigators found no witness who could provide any verifiable evidence to support any of the allegations brought against Justice Kavanaugh. In other words, following the separate and extensive investigations by both the Committee and the FBI, there was no evidence to substantiate any of the claims of sexual assault made against Justice Kavanaugh. The details of the Committee’s investigation, broken down by claim, are provided below.”

The Report then goes on to examine each of the allegations against Kavanaugh by accuser. A lot of the information previously was known, but the Report adds many details and documents the extensive witness interviews and documents. There are hundreds of pages of supporting documents. The names or personally identifying witnesses is blacked out.

The Ford Allegations

Conclusion:

“Committee investigators found no verifiable evidence that supported Dr. Ford’s allegations against Justice Kavanaugh. The witnesses that Dr. Ford identified as individuals who could corroborate her allegations failed to do so, and in fact, contradicted her.”

Some interesting details:

“In addition to conducting the hearing, the Committee contacted seventeen individuals with information relevant to Dr. Ford’s allegations. Investigators began with the three individuals Dr. Ford identified as attending the 1982 gathering: Mark Judge, Patrick J. (P.J.) Smyth, and Leland Keyser. On September 18, P.J. Smyth and Mark Judge submitted statements denying that they attended any such gathering. Mr. Judge also attested that he has no memory of the alleged incident and never saw Justice Kavanaugh act in the manner Dr. Ford alleged. On September 22, Leland Keyser, a close friend of Dr. Ford, submitted a statement saying that she did not know Justice Kavanaugh and had no memory of the alleged gathering. In a September 28 e-mail to Committee staff, Ms. Keyser’s attorney reiterated that Ms. Keyser does not know Justice Kavanaugh, has no recollection of being at a gathering with him, and cannot corroborate Dr. Ford’s account because she “has no recollection of the incident in question.” Other individuals contacted by Committee investigators included and , two men who separately and independently had contacted the Committee claiming that they believed they had an encounter with Dr. Ford around the time of the alleged incident. Although each individual described details that in some respects seemed to fit Dr. Ford’s allegations against Justice Kavanaugh, both men described consensual encounters. The Committee also contacted fourteen former classmates of Justice Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford. None of them had any knowledge of the conduct alleged against Justice Kavanaugh by Dr. Ford or of the gathering at which she claimed to have been assaulted. The Committee also reviewed a letter submitted by 65 women who have known Justice Kavanaugh since high school stating that he has a reputation for treating women with decency and respect.”

* * *

 XXXXXXXX (Sept. 24, Sept. 25): XXXXXXXX stated that after graduating from high school in Hampton, Virginia in 1982, he made several trips to D.C. that summer. During one of the trips, he attended a house party where he kissed and made out with a woman he met who he believes could have been Dr. Ford. XXXXXXXX said that based on old photographs of Justice Kavanaugh he has seen on the news, he believes the two of them share a similar appearance. XXXXXXXX (Sept. 26): XXXXXXXX stated that when he was a 19 year-old college student, he visited D.C. over spring break and kissed a girl he believes was Dr. Ford. He said that the kiss happened in the bedroom of a house which was about a 15-to20 minute walk from the Van Ness Metro, that Dr. Ford was wearing a swimsuit under her clothing, and that the kissing ended when a friend jumped on them as a joke. XXXXXXXX said that the woman initiated the kissing and that he did not force himself on her. XXXXXXXX (Sept. 25): XXXXXXXX said that she attended UNC with Dr. Ford who along with her friend XXXXXXXX, used to purchase drugs from XXXXXXXX and regularly attended parties with members of his fraternity. XXXXXXXX said that she was present at XXXXXXXX apartment one night in April 1987 when Dr. Ford and XXXXXXXX arrived to consume drugs. XXXXXXXX said that the Dr. Ford she knew had an active and robust social life in college.

* * *

 Statement of William Rand (dated Oct. 5): Rand went to the University of North Carolina with Dr. Ford from 1984 to 1986. In his statement, he attested that Dr. Ford had a very robust and active social life which contradicts Dr. Ford’s narrative that she had a limited social life due to the alleged sexual assault. He also stated that Dr. Ford did not seem to be afraid to be in rooms or apartments with only one entrance, which contradicts her claim to the Committee that she had to build a second front door to her house due to the trauma of the alleged assault.34

* * *

“Several media outlets have reported that the FBI’s supplemental report indicated that Leland Keyser, a friend of Dr. Ford, felt pressure from Dr. Ford’s allies to revisit her initial statement to the Committee that she did not know Justice Kavanaugh or have any knowledge of the alleged incident.78 According to the news articles, Keyser reported that former FBI employee Monica McLean, whom Dr. Ford allegedly coached in a polygraph exam years earlier, and others contacted her to suggest she “clarify” her account. Committee investigators continue to pursue this lead to determine whether McLean or others tampered with a critical witness.”

The Ramirez Allegations

Conclusion:

“Committee investigators found no verifiable evidence to support Ramirez’s allegations.”

Some interesting details:

“Despite the refusal of Ramirez’s legal team to assist the Committee in its investigation, Committee investigators attempted to investigate her claims to the greatest extent possible, and interviewed seven witnesses regarding the allegation. They included Justice Kavanaugh’s former roommate at Yale, James Roche, several of his college classmates, and classmates and friends associated with Ramirez. Committee investigators also reviewed documents submitted by several former Yale classmates. The Committee also reviewed public statements from three other Yale classmates but found them immaterial because the speakers had no knowledge of the event. Finally, Committee investigators interviewed Justice Kavanaugh in a transcribed phone call onSeptember 25. He unequivocally denied that the alleged incident ever took place.”

* * *

 XXXXXXXX (Oct. 1): XXXXXXXX graduated from Yale in 1988, a year after Justice Kavanaugh and Deborah Ramirez. XXXXXXXX said a different classmate named XXXXXXXX was a member of the same fraternity (DKE) as Justice Kavanaugh and allegedly had a reputation for exposing himself publicly. Indeed, XXXXXXXX provided a yearbook photo that shows XXXXXXXX exposing himself. XXXXXXXX said that he had personally witnessed XXXXXXXX expose himself at a party. XXXXXXXX said that XXXXXXXX was in the same residential college as Ramirez (Pierson) and he feels that if a student other than XXXXXXXX engaged in similar lewd behavior, it would have been widely known and discussed around campus.

The Swetnick Allegations

Conclusion:

“The Committee found no verifiable evidence to support Swetnick’s allegations. Indeed, the evidence appears to support the position that Julie Swetnick and Mr. Avenatti criminally conspired to make materially false statements to the Committee and obstruct the Committee’s investigation. Accordingly, the Committee referred both to the Department of Justice and FBI for investigation and potential violations of 18 U.S.C. § 371, § 1001, and § 1505 on October 25, 2018. In addition, on October 26, 2018, the Committee made a second criminal referral against Michael Avenatti to the Justice Department and FBI for investigation of potential violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 (knowingly providing materially false statements) and 1505 (obstruction of a congressional investigation), based upon the NBC story that evidenced that Mr. Avenatti may have fabricated allegations by a second declarant.68”

Other Allegations

The Report goes over the Rhode Island, Colorado and California accusations and finds no evidence so support the allegations, some of which have been recanted.

My Conclusion

I think Prof. Margot Cleveland summed it up best:

“Final Point: On Tuesday, remember what Dems did to Kavanaugh.”

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Senate Judiciary Final Kavanaugh Report 11-02-2018 by Legal Insurrection on Scribd

Tags: Brett Kavanaugh, Trump Appointments

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