Well, Now Brett Kavanaugh Can Face His Accuser

[OreoRosies86]

Wow. So many liars.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news...rett-kavanaughs-college-years-deborah-ramirez

I really need to get off the Internet for the rest of the weekend

 

[Calliecake]

Michael Avenatti tweeted a short time ago

“I represent a woman with credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge. We will be demanding the opportunity to present testimony to the committee and will likewise be demanding that Judge and others be subpoenaed to testify. The nomination must be withdrawn”

Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer are releasing a story about Kavanaugh’s time at Yale.

 

[JPie]

Good grief, this whole thing is like bad reality TV.

 

[vintageloves]

Did you also hear a Republican commentator on CNN (who was part of the Trump transition team) has been accused of putting an abortion inducing drug in his mistresses smoothie without her having knowledge of it. She was hospitalized and lost her baby. They are all against abortion unless they get the girlfriend pregnant while they are married.

How is evil Cartman (am I the only one who thought that every time he was on tv?) not being charged with a crime? That prescription is highly controlled for a reason. You can kill a person giving them unprescribed meds-- and it sounds like that could have happened here since she wound up being hospitalized. If someone did this to me, I wouldn't rest until they were behind bars.

 

[monarch64]

How is evil Cartman (am I the only one who thought that every time he was on tv?) not being charged with a crime? That prescription is highly controlled for a reason. You can kill a person giving them unprescribed meds-- and it sounds like that could have happened here since she wound up being hospitalized. If someone did this to me, I wouldn't rest until they were behind bars.

Uhhhh not to mention it's completely illegal without a prescription! A woman in northern Indiana is serving SEVEN YEARS for obtaining drugs to complete a medical abortion without a prescription. I am so sick of these conservative *******s and their double lives.* Oh, you don't want anyone in your personal business? Then STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY PERSONAL 'BUSINESS' AKA MY UTERUS.

Has anyone watched "Reversing Roe" on Netflix? I am having to watch in bits and pieces because it's so vomit-inducing. I am far from pro-abortion, but I'll be damned if legislature continues to push women back to the dark ages. Hey DF! What do you think about ya boy Ronnie Reagan signing the Therapeutic Abortion Act in 1967? Or do you only care about the stock market and $? Sure, he changed his stance after that, but so did our HDIC, Donnie...

*Obviously plenty of libs are guilty but they aren't typically trying to garner the evangelical vote nor are they opposing minority/womens/lgbtq rights. Sucks that I feel the need to provide a disclaimer, but here we are.

 

[Alexiszoe]

Avenatti's response to the Senate Judiciary Committee reaching out to him regarding his new client (i.e the 3rd woman who has come forward):

https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1044032678951960576

Dear Mr. Davis:

Thank you for your email. We are aware of significant evidence of multiple house parties in the Washington, D.C. area during the early 1980s during which Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge and others would participate in the targeting of women with alcohol/drugs in order to allow a "train" of men to subsequently gang rape them. There are multiple witnesses that will corroborate these facts and each of them must be called publicly. As a starting point, Senate investigators should pose the following questions to Judge Kavanaugh without delay and provide the answers to the American people:

1. Did you ever target one or more women for sex or rape at a house party? Did you ever assist Mark Judge or others in doing so?
   
   
2. Did you ever attend any house party during which a woman was gang raped or used for sex by multiple men?
   
   
3. Did you ever witness a line of men outside a bedroom at any house party where you understood a woman was in the bedroom being raped or taken advantage of?
   
   
4. Did you ever participate in any sexual conduct with a woman at a house party whom you understood to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs?
   
   
5. Did you ever communicate with Mark Judge or anyone else about your participation in a "train" involving an intoxicated woman?
   
   
6. Did you ever object or attempt to prevent one or more men from participating in the rape, or taking advantage, of a woman at any house party?

Please note that we will provide additional evidence relating to the above conduct both to the Committee and the American public in the coming days.

******

I sincerely hope that the above is not true. That Kavanaugh and these guys did nothing of the sort. Because if they did, the amount of pain - to the women who suffered, their families, the families and wives and daughters of the perpetrators...it's unimaginable.

 

[Calliecake]

OMG @Alexiszoe . If this is what Kavanaugh and Judge did they belong in flipping prison. This makes me feel sick. I can’t imagine Avenatti sending this letter if he had nothing to back up these claims.

It will interesting to see what Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayor found in their investigating.

I read the WH sent a statement this evening that they stand behind Kavanaugh. I have no idea if this is true but after listen to McConnell saying Kavanaugh will be confirmed a few days ago, I have little doubt. No wonder the Republicans are trying so hard to push this thru. These men give no thought to what they have done to these women’s lives. Women have nothing to be gained by coming forward. No one wants to be known as the rape survivor and dealing with the emotional trauma is hell.

 

[monarch64]

OMG @Alexiszoe . If this is what Kavanaugh and Judge did they belong in flipping prison. This makes me feel sick. I can’t imagine Avenatti sending this letter if he had nothing to back up these claims.

It will interesting to see what Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayor found in their investigating.

I read the WH sent a statement this evening that they stand behind Kavanaugh. I have no idea if this is true but after listen to McConnell saying Kavanaugh will be confirmed a few days ago, I have little doubt. No wonder the Republicans are trying so hard to push this thru. These men give no thought to what they have done to these women’s lives. Women have nothing to be gained by coming forward. No one wants to be known as the rape survivor and dealing with the emotional trauma is hell.

Exactly. And the minute a woman steps up and comes out? Our culture deems her a liar and accuses her of inviting it upon herself. (hmm, can't have it both ways, so which is it, rape apologists? is she lying or did it happen and she "wanted it?") Who in their right mind, during their teenage years, would even THINK to come forward?
Here is what I find SUPER IRONIC: religious folks preach that there is always time for redemption. There is always time to absolve oneself. If that is the case, why the **** is it suddenly NOT OK for people to come forward decades later if it is also PERFECTLY FINE for murderers and rapists, etc. to wait til their final hour after being sentenced to death to ask for forgiveness and receive it? Riddle me THAT, please, and spare me your "apples to vacuums comparison" argument.

I'll speak as an ignorant, 18 y/o girl raised on a rural Indiana farm right now: I wish I had never stepped foot off that farm sometimes. I wish I had never become educated, nor attended those Women's Studies classes, nor dared to remember what happened to me or left that situation. Because let me tell you, life is a LOT easier when you remain blissfully and willfully ignorant. THAT is exactly what Trump strategists count on. Those who don't question the flag, don't question anything, who will blindly have faith in their government.

Too bad for me, I'm one of those uppity types who never could keep her mouth shut.

 

[AGBF]

I think I have an inkling as to why the Republicans were in a hurry to rush Brett Kavanaugh's nomination through. Every five minutes that passes brings us a new revelation of a way in which he objectified women. Despite the allegations of drunken attacks, part of the culture in which he lived as a young man, I still find it disturbing that as a supposedly happily married man he had his friends seeking out only a specific physical type of female law clerk. It wasn't only that she had to be pretty, but she had to exude the correct femininity. As a judge, he was not running a car dealership where he might make more sales if the receptionist caught the eye of men. The choice of these law clerks was strictly for his own prurient interest.

AGBF

 

[AGBF]

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday night that the committee’s hearing with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should be postponed after a new sexual-misconduct accuser came forward. 'I am writing to request an immediate postponement of any further proceedings related to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh,' Feinstein wrote to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the committee’s chairman. She also said the FBI should investigate the new claims, which were made by Deborah Ramirez. 'We need a fair, independent process that will gather all the facts, interview all the relevant witnesses, and ensure the Committee receives a full and impartial report,' Feinstein said. Ramirez alleges that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a party while they were freshmen at Yale."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/feinstein-calls-for-grassley-to-delay-thursday-hearing-with-kavanaugh

 

[monarch64]

Deb, I couldn't help but scroll down after reading the article you linked and finding a Tiger Woods headline proclaiming that Woods had won a PGA title after 5 years, and this was attributed to his back surgeries. No mention was made of his infidelities, subsequent drug/alcohol issues/charges! I guess once you're a good ol' boy, you're always a good ol' boy.
Signed,
Angry Woman

 

[Alexiszoe]

I forgot to add, Avenatti has clarified that the person he represents is not Deborah Ramirez, the second person to come forward (which is what the news is referring to thus far), so this is the third woman coming forward about this.

https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1044013350873489409

 

[monarch64]

^$20 says there will be many more!

 

[monarch64]

But hey, DEMOCRATS ARE JUST AS OH SO BAD. https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/merrick-garland-admits-to-cheating-at-scrabble-once

Where were the accusations and allegations from Garland's past? I mean, if boys will be boys, was he not a boy? Surely EVERYONE does what Kavanaugh did at parties? There must be some woman, somewhere, whom Garland did wrong?

Yes, yes, speculation. Y'all probably hated ME years ago during Casey Anthony's trial when I said she deserved a fair one because that was the law. Guess what? I was an idiot. I can admit it.

 

[Alexiszoe]

If what Avenatti is saying has credence, then a proper formal investigation by a neutral third party is the logical next step (actually it should have been this case with Ford, but we already know that outcome). NOT the Senate Judiciary Committee, which we know is biased and about pushing their own agenda.

These accused perps (i.e. all the guys involved in the assaults / gang rapes) - who went to an expensive, selective prep school - are most likely coming from wealthy, politically well connected families. And given that they are in their 50s right now, are probably in positions of power, wealthy and similarly well-connected. If the accusations are true, there would be a lot of incentive from these guys to cover up, and they likely have the clout to do so.

Only a formal investigation by a neutral third party would clear the air.

 

[AV_]

.

What to do if there is no proof either way?

I see no way how this can be un-heard this news cycle, or how the confirmation vote can be about the other stuff... On top of all else, this man will take to the court his squirmish with the public opinion & do his darnest so that this is not how judgement is done.

Happy to be a foreigner, sure enough. There is SO much news about this story, I barely see my own elections (not that they are less flavoursome, so to speak).

Eh...

 

[the_mother_thing]

Yep, I included your quote in my blandly factual response. Which I posted because I thought it was a good idea for everyone to know precisely what Mark Judge, and Patrick J. Smyth, wanted to memorialize "for the record."

Gotcha.

The problem I have with the reliance on Judge’s memoires is that - to me - they appear on the fringe of circumstantial and appear to prove nothing. If they are to be relied upon as some sort of ‘evidence’ in this case, then Ford’s own yearbooks should carry equal “weight” highlighting her school’s environment during those same years. And they paint no ‘pretty’ picture of what was going on at the all-girls school, in fact, they’re boastful of the drunken parties, promiscuity, etc. Of course, they have since been taken down from the internet, along with all other aspects of Ford’s life, so unless you dig deep, you won’t find them.

The thing with both ‘sources’ (IMO) is neither points a finger at Kav as a perp or Ford as promiscuous. So they both are unreliable sources to define either person’s “character” and should not be relied upon to form an opinion one way or the other.

As to this latest allegation from Ramirez, per the NYT (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/23/us/politics/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford-testify.html): “The Times had interviewed several dozen people over the past week in an attempt to corroborate her story, and could find no one with firsthand knowledge. Ms. Ramirez herself contacted former Yale classmates asking if they recalled the incident and told some of them that she could not be certain Mr. Kavanaugh was the one who exposed himself.”

 

[AV_]

.

Digressing,

@the_mother_thing

Love the John Adams quote!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Love the John Adams quote!

I continue to be amazed at the vision our forefathers had of the challenges this country would face centuries after they would be gone.

 

[AV_]

I continue to be amazed at the vision our forefathers had...

Certainly made for humans by humans - such as they are.

 

[partgypsy]

Unfortunately even with the presentiment and foresight of the writers of the constitution, people wanting power have been able to undermine the intent of the constituion, (limiting the power of corporations, limiting the power of the president, creating checks and balances) so now we are at the point of a constitutional crisis. Having one party highjack natural political process to deny a president his natural powers as elected president, to nominate a supreme court judge (Obama, Garland). That right is in the constitution and he was not even allowed a hearing.
Now a president who is actively under investigation for tampering with the election, including foreign influence on the election; has now in his grasp the power to nominate the next supreme court justice, a justice who believes that presidents cannot be indicted. What a sad death to our democracy.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Unfortunately even with the presentiment and foresignt of the writers of the constitution, people wanting power have been able to undermine the intent of the constituion, (limiting the power of corporations, limiting the power of the president, creating checks and balances) so now we are at the point of a constitutional crisis. Having one party highjack natural political process to deny a president his natural powers as elected president, to nominate a supreme court judge (Obama, Garland). That right is in the constitution and he was not even allowed a hearing.
Now a president who is actively under investigation for tampering with the election, including foreign influence on the election; has now in his grasp the power to nominate the next supreme court justice, a justice who believes that presidents cannot be indicted. What a sad death to our democracy.

@partgypsy I hear you, but undermining and abusing constitutional powers is certainly not limited to one side. Not that I agree with the methodology, but I think anymore it’s (sadly) become standard operating procedure to skirt just up against them to get the desired outcome. And when one makes a precedent of such behavior and is supported by party, supporters, etc., in doing so (e.g., the ‘nuclear option’), ‘you’ can’t really get upset when others follow suit when it’s to the opposing side’s benefit.

 

[partgypsy]

@partgypsy I hear you, but undermining and abusing constitutional powers is certainly not limited to one side. Not that I agree with the methodology, but I think anymore it’s (sadly) become standard operating procedure to skirt just up against them to get the desired outcome. And when one makes a precedent of such behavior and is supported by party, supporters, etc., in doing so (e.g., the ‘nuclear option’), ‘you’ can’t really get upset when others follow suit when it’s to the opposing side’s benefit.

Do you agree with what OConnell and the Republican party is doing, both with Obama and Garland, and now with Trump and Kavanagh? If the shoe was on the other foot and a Democratic president was implicated and under investigation for influencing the election and consorting with foreign powers, would you allow that president to nominate a supreme court nominee? Even as a democrat, I for sure would be against it. It is more important to resolve this presidential crisis, than to fill the supreme court. Only those who have ulterior motives believe otherwise.

There are a lot of conservative judges that Trump could have chose from. Trump's team specifically looked into Kavanagh's rulings and views that a sitting president has to ability to defer any civil OR criminal investigation while they are sitting president. They can only be removed by impeachment proceedings (Republicans control congress and even if the current president is unfit, will not start impeachment). They also looked into the fact that Kavanagh previously weighed that the president can call laws previously passed by congress as "unconstitutional" and overrule, them, even if there is no evidence that the law is unconstitutional, or the supreme court disagrees.
https://www.thenation.com/article/brett-kavanaugh-argued-sitting-president-law/

 

[MollyMalone]

Raise your hand if, like Brett Kavanaugh, you have held on to calendars/datebooks from your high school years; bonus points if yours too are paper & 30 to 35 years old!

I actually got in a bit of faux sort of trouble at work because I kept every spiral steno book with every phone conversation notes I had for years. Before that I was the one who had all the notes and made the best unit log info. Just the way I am.

That doesn't surprise me, especially because of the nature of your position. But a 52-year-old man -- who's not been living in his parents' basement, is not a man whose most recent accomplishment in life was captain of his high school football team 35 years ago -- still in possession of his high school calendars with social life notations? I have visions of Ed Whelan, having jettisoned Zillow, poring through eBay last week in the hope of finding calendars for the necessary years that look like ones a high school guy would have had.

 

[partgypsy]

Honestly, if there is going to be an investigation, please just let the professionals (aka FBI) do it. That's their job. They do things like interview people, conduct time lines, look into motivations, etc. That's what they do for a living. To tell the truth the Republicans should be JUST as welcoming to an investigation, because the FBI can see if there is evidence consistent with a false accusation as well. And DEFINITELY interview that Judge guy.

 

[redwood66]

That doesn't surprise me, especially because of the nature of your position. But a 52-year-old man -- who's not been living in his parents' basement, is not a man whose most recent accomplishment in life was captain of his high school football team 35 years ago -- still in possession of his high school calendars with social life notations? I have visions of Ed Whelan, having jettisoned Zillow, poring through eBay last week in the hope of finding calendars for the necessary years that look like ones a high school guy would have had.

Whelan screwed up and that doesn't help the situation. We all have our antenna up and have suspicions on what the other side is doing.

 

[Calliecake]

Whelan screwed up and that doesn't help the situation. We all have our antenna up and have suspicions on what the other side is doing.

You keep saying Whelan screwed up. Red if someone purposely set out to accuse your son of a crime in order to save his friend’s @$$, I have no doubt you would view this very differently.

My first thought after hearing what Whelan had done was imagining him going thru the yearbook trying to find someone who resembled Kavanaugh.

 

[the_mother_thing]

@partgypsy There is a big difference between 'allegations' and 'charges'. I have yet to read of any charges filed against Trump. If any come about, we can talk about what should/should not be allowed. In the mean time - like him or not - he is doing the job the people elected him to do. He has not been proven to have broken the law, much less charged with having broken the law.

Did you agree with Reid’s and fellow dems’ actions in 2013 to change the rules of ‘the game’? Keep in mind, Reid supposedly threw a victory party for liberal activists after effecting this change to how the Senate does its business ... essentially thumbing his nose at his counterparts in the Senate and their longstanding procedures. So while I don’t believe “two wrongs make a right”, the precedent was set, the dirty tactics deployed, and I see Republicans just playing by the rules Dems set forth in 2013.

If you want a fair, bipartisan process that can be respected by all, then both sides need to step up and stop playing this dangerous game to save their jobs because I don’t believe many of them give a gnat’s butt hair about doing the job of ‘we the people’. Their actions speak far louder than their pie holes.

 

[partgypsy]

I personally believe Republicans have been far more activist in pushing their agenda than the Democratic party has been. Two wrongs don't make a right, and every situation should be viewed on its own merits. Do you agree what is going on with Trump right now, is unprecedented? We are in uncharted waters. So there is no precedent for what is going on right now. If a Democratic president was under investigation for the same charges that Trump is under suspicion for, especially given the evidence that we know at this point, would I be OK with them nominating a supreme court judge? The answer is no because Country comes before Party. It ALWAYS should.

This is not pizzagate.

 

[redwood66]

You keep saying Whelan screwed up. Red if someone purposely set out to accuse your son of a crime in order to save his friend’s @$$, I have no doubt you would view this very differently.

My first thought after hearing what Whelan had done was imagining him going thru the yearbook trying to find someone who resembled Kavanaugh.

And now you know how I feel about Feinstein doing what she did to this process.