Brett Kavanaugh's Confirmation Hearing

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

Kavanaugh's polls look like a drooping dick 

 

[AmazonGrace]

Me and my buddy Brett did nothing wrong but if I talk about it I'm gonna incriminate myself 

 

[AmazonGrace]

Mark Judge's lawyer 

 

I missed this during the hearing 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[fraurosena]

56 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

Me and my buddy Brett did nothing wrong but if I talk about it I'm gonna incriminate myself 

 

Sweet Rufus, does Cruz even realize what he did there by using the word would instead of should? 

First of all, Cruz is revealing that he actually knows for a fact what Judge will do. That means he has to have communicated with Judge. Otherwise, how would he be able to know this? And by stating as fact that Judge will plead the Fifth, Cruz acknowledges that he knows Mark Judge is guilty (and by implication, Kavanaugh as well), as you can only plead the Fifth if you are testifying about something/ someone, and in doing so would implicate yourself.

But there’s more. 

Judge would be testifying about the sexual attack of dr Ford, and if he was present in the room. By stating that he was, he would be admitting to a criminal offense (namely holding a person against their will, i.e. kidnapping). That would of course be reason for him to plead the Fifth. But by doing so, he would immediately implicate Kavanaugh too, because if Judge believes he himself   would be admitting to a criminal offense, he’s also saying that Kavanaugh, who was present at the time, was taking part in that same criminal offense. Judge pleading the Fifth would be desastrous for Kavanaugh. No wonder the Repugs are so unwilling to subpoena him to testify.

What makes this so egregious, is that this means the Repugs are not looking away with fingers in their ears singing lala lala la, because they suspect Kavanaugh might be guilty. It means the Repugliklans are actively and knowingly covering up a crime. 

Thanks Ted, for enlightening us. 

[AmazonGrace]

A thread about the media coverage of Kavanaugh's lies 

 

[47of74]

I wish this could have happened;

 

 

[Rachel333]

So the FBI has reached out to Deborah Ramirez but is not being permitted to investigate Julie Swetnick's allegations.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/white-house-limits-scope-fbi-s-investigation-allegations-against-brett-n915061

I know she didn't directly accuse Kavanaugh of assaulting her, but she did witness his behavior and her allegations are extremely relevant and back up what Ford and Ramirez are claiming.

Ugh, just noticed this. This is infuriating.

Quote

 

But as of now, the FBI cannot ask the supermarket that employed Judge for records verifying when he was employed there, one of the sources was told. Ford said in congressional testimony Thursday that those records would help her narrow the time frame of the alleged incident which she recalls happening some time in the summer of 1982 in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Two sources familiar with the investigation said the FBI will also not be able to examine why Kavanaugh’s account of his drinking at Yale University differs from those of some former classmates, who have said he was known as a heavy drinker.

 

 

[Cartmann99]

2 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

So the FBI has reached out to Deborah Ramirez but is not being permitted to investigate Julie Swetnick's allegations.

Avenatti is angry about this:

Also, I'm sure I'm not the only one who picked up on how during the hearing, Republicans never referred to Michael Avenatti by his name. They referred to him as "porn star lawyer" in a clumsy attempt to somehow denigrate Avenatti, Stormy, and anyone who associates themselves with either of them.

[GreyhoundFan]

21 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

How much point is there in calling  Collins,  Murkowski or Flake? They aren’t my Senators so why would they give a rats ass?  

I haven't bothered. They are barely listening to their constituents, so they're not going to listen to me.

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[Rachel333]

TheOnion has not been letting up on Kavanaugh and the Republicans. My two favorites:

GOP Claims Kavanaugh Shouldn’t Lose Appointment For Youthful Indiscretion Of Repeatedly Lying Under Oath

and 

Orrin Hatch: ‘As A Father Of Daughters, I Don’t Give A Flying Fuck What Happens To Them’

[Rachel333]

If this is true (and that's an enormous "if") then this is the first Trump tweet I've genuinely been happy to read:

 

[Ali]

8 hours ago, Rachel333 said:

If this is true (and that's an enormous "if") then this is the first Trump tweet I've genuinely been happy to read:

 

I am picturing the people actually running the White House limiting the investigation to protect Kavanaugh and the buffoon undermining it by tweeting.

[countressrascal]

All I can say after the circus of this week is to VOTE this November - I care I vote do you? 

You do not have to be in love with the candidate, but there is always something that you can agree on or disagree. Reason we have who we have is because of non-voters. Do not let that happen again. VOTE

Call your senators and tell them what you think it does not work. Be nice and leave you name or email them. It is our job to do that, they work for us.

[AuntK]

On 9/29/2018 at 8:42 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

I haven't bothered. They are barely listening to their constituents, so they're not going to listen to me.

This really is infuriating and I don't doubt it for a second. Senators may only represent specific states, but their actions affect ALL citizens and residents of the United States. They should listen to everyone who contacts them, regardless of where they live.

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AuntK]

Somebody needs to explain to Brett Kavanaugh, (I refuse to call him "Judge"), that "falling asleep" after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol IS "passing out." SMH.

[Howl]

Well, on to another interesting infrastructure week.  The drinking issue is gaining in momentum, but I really, REALLY want to know what is up with his finances and if he has a gambling problem.  What happens if people with information on this topic come forward to the FBI?  Can they investigate these types of tips? 

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

John Oliver spent most of the program on Kavanaugh:

 

[Drala]

16 minutes ago, Howl said:

Well, on to another interesting infrastructure week.  The drinking issue is gaining in momentum, but I really, REALLY want to know what is up with his finances and if he has a gambling problem.  What happens if people with information on this topic come forward to the FBI?  Can they investigate these types of tips? 

From what I've read, the Whitehouse has limited the FBI investigation to a very short list of interviewees and topics.  Investigation of the Swetzer allegations, for example, is off the table.  I've also read that FBI investigators won't be interviewing people who've come forward in the media about KavNo's college drinking, although I don't know how they can avoid following up on this subject when they interview Ramirez. I doubt that agents will be allowed to follow up on tips about his finances and gambling.

No one knows better than James Comey how the Trump Whitehouse will work to abort the "supplemental" investigation into Kavenaugh, yet he remains confident in this NYTimes piece that "The FBI Can Do This" ..."unless limited in some way by the Trump administration."  It will not matter to the Whitehouse what the investigation turns up--they will push this nomination through to a Senate vote, along with threats of retribution against the Repug Senators who don't fall in line.   This is about the raw, uninhibited exercise of partisan political power, and the integrity of the Supreme Court be damned.  

Spoiler

James Comey: The F.B.I. Can Do This

Despite limitations and partisan attacks, the bureau can find out a lot about the Kavanaugh accusations in a week.

By James Comey

Sept. 30, 2018

The F.B.I. is back in the middle of it. When we were handed the Hillary Clinton email investigation in 2015, the bureau’s deputy director said to me, “You know you are totally screwed, right?” He meant that, in a viciously polarized political environment, one side was sure to be furious with the outcome. Sure enough, I saw a tweet declaring me “a political hack,” although the author added, tongue in cheek: “I just can’t figure out which side.”

And those were the good old days. President Trump’s decision to order a one-week investigation into sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, his Supreme Court nominee, comes in a time of almost indescribable pain and anger, lies and attacks.

We live in a world where the president routinely attacks the F.B.I. because he fears its work. He calls for his enemies to be prosecuted and his friends freed. We also live in a world where a sitting federal judge channels the president by shouting attacks at the Senate committee considering his nomination and demanding to know if a respected senator has ever passed out from drinking. We live in a world where the president is an accused serial abuser of women, who was caught on tape bragging about his ability to assault women and now likens the accusations against his nominee to the many “false” accusations against him.

Most disturbingly, we live in a world where millions of Republicans and their representatives think nearly everything in the previous paragraph is O.K.

In that world, the F.B.I. is now being asked to investigate, on a seven-day clock, sexual assaults that the president says never happened, that some senators have decried as a sham cooked up to derail a Supreme Court nominee, and that other senators believe beyond all doubt were committed by the nominee.

If truth were the only goal, there would be no clock, and the investigation wouldn’t have been sought after the Senate Judiciary Committee already endorsed the nominee. Instead, it seems that the Republican goal is to be able to say there was an investigation and it didn’t change their view, while the Democrats hope for incriminating evidence to derail the nominee.

Although the process is deeply flawed, and apparently designed to thwart the fact-gathering process, the F.B.I. is up for this. It’s not as hard as Republicans hope it will be.

F.B.I. agents are experts at interviewing people and quickly dispatching leads to their colleagues around the world to follow with additional interviews. Unless limited in some way by the Trump administration, they can speak to scores of people in a few days, if necessary.

They will confront people with testimony and other accounts, testing them and pushing them in a professional way. Agents have much better nonsense detectors than partisans, because they aren’t starting with a conclusion.

Yes, the alleged incident occurred 36 years ago. But F.B.I. agents know time has very little to do with memory. They know every married person remembers the weather on their wedding day, no matter how long ago. Significance drives memory. They also know that little lies point to bigger lies. They know that obvious lies by the nominee about the meaning of words in a yearbook are a flashing signal to dig deeper.

Once they start interviewing, every witness knows the consequences. It is one thing to have your lawyer submit a statement on your behalf. It is a very different thing to sit across from two F.B.I. special agents and answer their relentless questions. Of course, the bureau won’t have subpoena power, only the ability to knock on doors and ask questions. But most people will speak to them. Refusal to do so is its own kind of statement.

[AnywhereButHere]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-votes-to-advance-kavanaugh-nomination-setting-up-final-vote-for-saturday

Quote

The Senate voted Friday to end debate on Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination, moving the chamber to a final vote Saturday evening amid a rancorous fight over decades-old sexual assault allegations against him.

The vote to invoke cloture was 51-49.

While the vote was not necessarily indicative of the final confirmation vote, it moved him one step closer to sitting on the highest court in the land and three out of four key senators voted "yes" to advance the nomination.

So, Murkowski voted no as did Heitkamp. I guess it's still up in the air as to how they'll vote in the general vote which seems to be set for tomorrow at 4:30. Flake and Collins voted for Kavanaugh, so I can't think of why they'd vote to advance him just to vote no in the full vote, but hey, miracles could happen. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Senator Daines (R) from Montana is going to miss Saturday's vote as his daughter is getting married. They may hold the vote open until he gets back in town depending on how solid they think their support is.

The circus continues...

[CTRLZero]

I wonder how the Supreme Court justices feel about having a member who has really diminished the perception of an independent judiciary.   To be snarky, I hope someone suggests random breathalyzer tests prior to issuing opinions.  What a circus is right.