Today's "Meet The Press" has been preempted for coverage of the Ryder Cup.
On Thursday as part of the Senate hearings on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court, we heard from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Kavauagh himself with regard to allegations that he sexually assaulted Dr. Ford in high school.
Finally, now, the FBI is going to be interviewing Mark Judge who Dr. Ford places in the room, along with other allegations brought forth by other woman.
While both individuals gave compelling testimony, essentially this was another interview in the process of the job application of Mr. Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. Whether you believe Dr. Ford's account and allegations or not, Brett Kavanaugh's testimony was telling, especially this passage from his opening statement:
This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated
political hit fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump
and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my
judicial record. Revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of
dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. This is a
circus. The consequences will extend long past my nomination. The
consequences will be with us for decades. This grotesque, character
assassination will dissuade confident and good people of all political
persuasions from serving our country and as we all know in the political
system of the early 2000s, what goes around comes around.
The manner in which Brett Kavanaugh delivered this statement illustrated an extreme partisan bent that we have not seen in modern times from a prospective Supreme Court jurist. In particular, "revenge of behalf of the Clintons" refers to Mr. Kavanaugh's time spent on Bill Clinton's impeachment as part of Special Prosecutor Ken Starr's team, in addition to Mrs. Clinton's defeat in 2016. As you can also see from the above portion, he called the hearings a 'circus,' and later went further to say that Democrats weren't there to advise and consent but to search and destroy.
As Mr. Kavanaugh notably stated, we know he drank beer, likes beer and still does. However, when asked about his past drinking habits, Mr. Kavanaugh was less than forthcoming and engaged in a distasteful "whataboutism" with Senators Amy Klobachur (D-MN) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asking them if she had blacked out from drinking and what he liked to drink.
Perhaps out of embarrassment for youthful transgressions, Mr. Kavanaugh did not want to disclose insights about his drinking habits in high school and college. However, if he was completely innocent of the allegations Dr. Ford why wouldn't he agree to have the FBI conduct additional interviews to thoroughly vet the circumstances. A number of Democratic senators, most notably Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), asked him if he would agree with this step, and in his answers he never once said he thought it was the right thing to do.
From the looks of it, Mr. Kavanaugh is in fact hiding something, or in being generous is less than forthright about his drinking.
This column is of the opinion that indeed Dr. Ford and Mr. Kavanaugh are correct. Brett Kavanaugh did commit this sexual assault on Dr. Ford when they were both in high school, but Mr. Kavanaugh in his severely drunken state at the time doesn't remember this incident. However, as the Bard has told us, here within lies the rub: Mark Judge probably does remember this incident and because lying to the FBI can land you in jail, he'll recall what Brett Kavanaugh would forever had hoped to forget.
Lastly, given Judge Kavanaugh's lasted testimony and the confrontational nature in which he engaged Democratic senators on the Judiciary committee, he showed that his temperament is insufficient for a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court. Given his opening screed alone, how could anyone ever think that he could be impartial on the bench? Answer: he no longer can be seen as impartial on any judicial level.
One more thing...
His rant during the hearing not withstanding, it's difficult to not be cynical when Senator Lindsey Graham says that he's been a lawyer, a judge and a senator and not think he's in fact interviewing for a job in the Trump Administration, specifically as the next Attorney General. Also, the American Bar Association, which he called the gold standard has sent a letter stating that it could not support Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation until a full FBI investigation has been completed.
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