When ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Sen Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) dropped her bombshell Sept 14 about President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee 53-year-old Brett Kavanaugh having sexually assaulted a 15-year-old while drunk 36-years-ago at a high school party, everyone thought it was a desperate attempt to scuttle the nomination. Details of the incident reported in the Washington Post Sept. 16 by the alleged victim 51-year-old Palo Alto University psychology professor Christine Blasey-Ford, raised eyebrows even to skeptical GOP elected officials. Sen. Susian Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) asked for a delay in Thursday’s Committee vote pending a hearing in which Ford and Kavanaugh can tell their stories. At this point, only Kavanaugh has agreed to attend a Monday, Sept. 24 Judiciary Committee hearing for both sides.
If Ford chooses to not show or doesn’t make alternative arrangement, GOP senators, including Collins and Murkowski, are likely to close ranks around Kavanaugh. While the Judiciary Committee has made several attempts to confirm Ford’s willingness to testify Sept. 24, the Commmittee’s heard nothing yet. Ford’s attorney, and primary media contact, Debra Katz, hasn’t responded to requests for Ford to testify at next Monday’s hearing. “Judge Kavanaugh is anxious to do it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I don’t know about the other party,” referring to Ford, no response has made Democrats nervous. Blasey-Ford told the Washington Post Sept. 22 that Kavanaugh groped her at a high school party in a bedroom, using his hand to cover her mouth to stop her from screaming. Ford told the Post she feared for her life at the time, not knowing if she’d survive.
Ford’s graphicl description of her sexual assault resonated with today’s #MeToo movement, where women have come out of the closets to report incidences of sexual assault. What bothered Republicans is how Feinstein held the letter from Ford for months until she dropped the bomb literally six days before the Committee confirmation vote. GOP members of the Judiciary Committee cried foul, blaming Feinstein for an 11th-hour publicity stunt to torpedo Kavanaugh’s nomination. Feinstein received the letter back in June from Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). Why Feinsten dropped the bomb only days before the final Committee vote is anyone’s guess. Sure looks like to Republicans like a dirty trick to sabotage Kavanaugh. Whatever the circumstances, Kavanaugh’s in deep trouble unless Blasey-Ford does not show up or reschedule Monday’s hearing.
Blasey-Ford’s attorney Debra Katz had her submit to a lie detector exam by a qualified examiner knowing the gravity of her allegations. No one’s yet asked Kavanaugh to submit to a polygraph test, something very doubtful. But let there be no mistake, if Blasey-Ford testifies that she was sexually assaulted by a 17-year-old Kavanaugh, drunk or not, it’s not going to be easy to get Collins or Murkowski’s votes, essentially killing his nomination. Unless the Committee exposes gaping holes in her testimony or is exposed as false memory syndrome, Kavanaugh’s in deep trouble. Whether he’s denied Blasey-Ford’s allegations or not, the fact that she’s giving the best recollection of that one fateful night in Maryland in 1982, it’s bound to peel off enough GOP votes to sink Kavanaugh’s nomination. Kavanaugh can only hope she’s a no show and wins by default.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged the FBI to continue its investigation, allowing the Committee to call witnesses. “My view: Professor Ford is telling the truth. But if you don’t want the hearing to be just a “he said, she said” affair, an independent investigation, a background check by the FBI is essential,” said Schumer. Schumer tips his hand openly about already convicting Kavanaugh of Blasey-Ford’s allegations. But Chuck’s real motive, however possible, is to sabotage Kavanaugh’s nomination for political purposes. Schumer doesn’t need the FBI or any other witnesses to torpedo Kavanaugh’s nomination. He only needs Blasey-Ford to show up and tell her story. Back in 1991, at Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearing, a young law clerk Anita Hill was grilled by the Committee for alleging she was sexually harassed while clerking for Thomas.
Kavanaugh better have the luck of the Irish hoping that Blasey-Ford’s a no-show or doesn’t reschedule time to testify. If she’s a no show, even senators like Collins and Murkowski will be inclined to vote for confirmation. With a two-vote margin, Kavanaugh can’t afford to lose any votes when it goes to the Senate floor. If Blasey-Ford gives all the gory details in the Committee, before the American public, it’s going to be difficult to GOP senators to dispute her testimony without political fallout. Whether Kavanaugh denies the allegations or not, the fact that a credible psychology research professor came forward to tell her story going to create reasonable doubt. With all the women coming forward with their deep secrets in the #Me-Too age, it’s more difficult to dismiss stories of sexual assault. Unless Blasey-Ford’s a no-show, Kavanaugh’s nomination looks all but dead.
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