What could Kavanaugh have done as a teen-ager that would matter today...?

[First Speaker]

...statutory rape? Half the kids in the country would be in jail. Paying for an abortion? The "base" wouldn't care less. He--and they--would just say that yes, when I was young, blah blah blah...and this actually showed me the way to God's light, and how abortion was so wrong. Just another I-Have-Found-The-Way story. The money angle? OK...but what on earth could he have paid for, what could he have covered up, that--as a kid--would matter 30-odd years later? All I'm thinking is, it has something to do with violence. Real rape. Real physical abuse. And if he did do that as a kid, it's dollars-to-doughnuts he did it as an adult, too...and that's the Pandora's Box the GOP doesn't want opened...

[yodermon]

1. statute of limitations, though? n/t

[CincyDem]

3. Maryland has no statute of limitation on felony sexual assault.

He went to HS in Bethesda so if there's anything there, it's a state issue (which may be why the FBI just tossed it in the file).

[still_one]

2. statutory rape is with minor. What exactly are you saying, and do you have statistics to back that

up

[former9thward]

12. High school students are minors.

Do you think high school students don't have sex with each other?

[still_one]

14. Statutory rape usually refers to adults engaging in sexual activity with a minor, and I wanted to

know exactly what the OP was referring to

[First Speaker]

16. I knew a kid in high school who was convicted of SR, though he was underage himself...

...and that's what I meant, under-age teens having sex. I didn't think that that in itself would be enough to torpedo Kavanaugh, considering how common it was, and is.

[still_one]

18. That is why I was asking for clarification. To make things even more confusing I believe different

states have different definition of statutory rape.

Of course there is also one important criteria involved also, and the involves consent

Regardless, appreciate the clarification


Thanks

[sarah FAILIN]

42. Saw that happen with a 6th grader

The boy was a high school senior, but under 18. It was a mess for the school to deal with.

[FBaggins]

45. In order for that to be the case, there has to be a significant gap in age

The current federal rule, for instance, is at least four years difference.

In the rumored story (which currently does not involve sex), both were 17.

[dsc]

19. In many cases the law doesn't state that

many states have changed the law to reflect a Romeo and Juliet exception but by no means have all of them done so. In many states a 16 year old can be charged for having sex with a 15 year old. In even more a 17 year old can be charged for doing so. That said, I am quite sure this letter isn't about that.

[Dawson Leery]

4. The turtle wanted someone else. As he said, this would not be an easy confirmation.

[bettyellen]

5. Rape. If he was a minor too- the lady involved would have to be much younger for it to be rape.

But yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if she reported a rape and it got swept under the rug by their school. That’s pretty SOP for how things were.

[Freethinker65]

6. Nothing

[elleng]

7. Laurence just said it was Sexual Assault.

[First Speaker]

10. Thank you. That makes sense. We'll see how this develops...

...I have a hunch that just maybe, this is the end of Mr Kavanaugh, should this be so. Wonder if the GOP will try and push thru someone else, before the next Congress, if so?

[tavernier]

15. But as I understand, she doesn't want to be identified

and/or actually take an active or vocal part? If this is true, I think it will fizzle. They keep comparing it to Anita Hill, but Hill was a very outspoken and credible witness, and even then she was disbelieved and maligned by the old boy’s network.

[Hortensis]

37. O'Donnell's comparison to Hill was her initial anonymity,

and good luck to this one maintaining it.

Btw, Hill wasn't maligned by an old boys' network. She was swiftboated by Republicans and hard-core conservative groups to get one of their extremist scumbags on the court. They've succeeded with so many that we forget that people like these were once considered unsuited to the judiciary. They're part of an institutionalization of corruption through all branches and levels of government.

[WillowTree]

20. The FBI has said that they won't investigate this.

They forwarded whatever document(s) DiFi gave them to the White House to be added to his background file. Case, as they say, closed.

It's another dead end.

[bettyellen]

8. L OD saw the letter and he said it's serious/ sexual assault.

And they were both underage. Rape, that went unpunished becasue they knew each other/ she looked pretty, etc etc.

[former9thward]

13. And how did he "see the letter"?

Is he saying Feinstein showed it to him? BS.

[bettyellen]

22. I trust Lawrence O Donnell, he said was shown a copy last Friday and he thought it would never get

out at all, since the woman who was assualted does not want to go to the police. He said that in contrast to what others said, it was fairly detailed and was sexual assault.

Why wouldn’t I trust Lawrence ODonnell? He has a very good reputation. It’s Trumpism to throw out rash accusations of “fake news” on a whim. What is your basis for doing so?

[former9thward]

53. Senator Feinstein said she had the letter since the summer.

How come it did not come out then? How come it did not come out at the hearing? Why wait until the hearing has been closed? Why has the FBI said they will not investigate it? You may not agree but in the Constitution says in this country you have a right to face your accuser. I tend to be suspicious of anyone whose job depends on ratings. You might differ.

[bettyellen]

54. They may have reached down witnesses to suppport the story? We don't know.

Neither of us to. No reason to cast shade on O Donnell’s reporting.

[torius]

9. Turtle has his own coverup about his military discharge. nt

[Sneederbunk]

11. Have you ever seen The Omen?

[ecstatic]

17. He wants to tell women what to do with their bodies... if he's a rapist,

the idea of giving him the power to dominate not just a handful of women, but now millions of women... absolutely unthinkable!

[Calista241]

21. The Guardian has more info:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/13/brett-kavanaugh-dianne-feinstein-confidential-letter

A source who said they were briefed on the contents of the letter said it described an incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman that took place when both were 17 years old and at a party. According to the source, Kavanaugh and a male friend had locked her in a room against her will, making her feel threatened, but she was able to get out of the room. The Guardian has not verified the apparent claims in the letter. It is not yet clear who wrote it.

A spokesman for Feinstein declined to comment. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

While additional details about the letter were scarce, two media outlets have reported that the person who wrote the letter is being represented by an attorney, Debra Katz, who has been described in media reports as Washington’s #MeToo lawyer.

Katz has not responded to a request for comment from the Guardian. BuzzFeed reported that she was seen on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night, shortly after the Intercept first reported the existence of the letter.

[bettyellen]

23. That's odd- Lawrence O Donnell said it was sexual assault. Maybe not alone in the room?

That’s a pretty popular game, locking a couple in a room together. Hmmmmm.

[AndJusticeForSome]

24. Maybe it is a popular game

But I have to say, when my son was that age, I can't even imagine him doing something like that, it isn't normal or typical. The kids that do that are the assholes in the group. That is reprehensible behavior, regardless of age.

This, so much more than the supposed "gambling" problem, is very much more concerning to me. Yes, even of a 17-year-old.

It speaks to his character, loudly.

(Referring to being the kid who locks the door, not everyone that plays.)

[bettyellen]

25. Yeah, I hated the one time I was pressured to play- "seven minutes of heaven"

And the rules were they “you do anything they wanted” in a dark closet and they’d pair people up to try to stir romance or drama. I couldn’t believe my friends parents thought that was to be encouraged. I’m all for kids rebelling and doing what they want to, LOL, but you’d not have a choice of partner in this case- so it sucked!

[whathehell]

27. Parents approved of this?

I was a teenager in the mid and late sixties and can't even imagine that.

[bettyellen]

28. It was a cultural thing, and yeah. I just remembered they turned bobbing for apples

into a sexual thing by having a boy and a girl do it at once and have their hands tied behind their backs. HA! Yeah, that was all very different from my upbringing. I did not tell my parents.

[Calista241]

46. I got my first kiss in a closet after a girl selected me for the experience.

And by selected, i mean she spun the bottle in such a way that it landed on me. And to this day I think she intentionally did that.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

26. So Kavanagh is a liar and a rapist... No biggie, RepuKKKelicans will still vote to confirm. Unreal!

[whathehell]

29. and a practitioner of human sacrifice, too, no doubt

Could we hold off on the ott accusations until we actually know something? Just a thought.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

33. Wouldn't shock me with a slimey creep like him... hahaha!!

[whathehell]

35. Such sophisticated thinking..

Let's hope you never sit on a jury...hahaha!!

[Hortensis]

38. :) Except that professionally at least he is a slimy creep.

Our senators have put into the record evidence of both criminal actions and long patterns of extremely unethical behaviors.

Upthread someone said whatever this is speaks to his character. I'd say Kavanaugh's participation in the Republican swiftboating under Ken Starr and attempt to remove a president without cause, which masqueraded as investigation with full power of the state, proves extremely bad character more than sufficient to deny him any position of trust and responsibility. Starr's own involvement ended his previously soaring career in the judiciary and federal government.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

40. Thanks H... glad to see someone here is smart enough to get what I was saying.

[whathehell]

52. Um, no, there's no "exception" that justifies a false allegation

Whatever level of bile might induce some here to do so.

[hughee99]

43. Why would we want to do that?

We’ve already established that we don’t want him to be confirmed, now all we need is a pretense to get people to vote against him that otherwise would vote for him. Does it really matter if it’s true or not? Let’s set a precedent now that accusations from an anonymous person about feeling threatened by a person when they were 17 is enough to keep someone from being confirmed. There’s no way this will come back to bite us in a few years.

[PatSeg]

48. I've learned over the years,

that anything Democrats do to republicans, no matter how justified, will come back 100 fold later. Republicans are a petty, vindictive bunch and have no attachment to the truth. If Democrats expose corruption on the part of a republican, republicans will turn around and make up crap about a Democrat in an effort to even the score.

Of course, if a Democrat should ever try and use republican tactics, they will be viciously attacked by the opposition. The hypocrisy is breathtaking and much of the public is still clueless.

[whathehell]

50. Sure...What:s the truth got to do with it?

Unfortunately, some people just don't get it.

[pnwmom]

30. He could have paid hush money today to hide something that

his wife and conservative supporters might not loving hearing about it. A rape, an abortion, a love child -- lots of options.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

34. Let's hope. Gotta sink his confirmation... whatever it takes.

[DFW]

31. No one is going to prosecute Kavanaugh for what he did as a teenager, but there's no need to

If what he did then is nasty enough to give an insight to his character, THAT will hardly have changed. And THAT is what the Republicans are scared they'll have to suppress in plain sight of their bible-thumping base.

[Hortensis]

39. Their bible-thumping base won't believe it. They're

so accustomed to denying and compartmentalizing that I doubt most would even wonder for a moment before becoming enraged at Democratic liars.

Now, the others... As you say. We'll see.

Strange, though, that anyone knowing he was part of the intensely unethical, and even criminal at times, Ken Starr investigation scandal would feel they lacked adequate insight into his character. But some do. The inability to recognize long patterns of intensely immoral, and genuinely despicable, actions inimical to our democracy for what they are is not a good sign.

[VOX]

32. Sexual Assault? That's right in the Republican wheelhouse. Got any graft to really cinch it for R's?

And no, I do not make light of sexual assault, which is a deadly serious matter.

But I do call out Republicans who have a peer hatred and distrust of women, and who don't give a single shit about women's health and reproductive rights, or being masterful professionals, or their fractional workplace salaries, or equal partnerships in marriage, etc., etc.

[OnDoutside]

36. I have questions about this.

1. The woman sent the letter to Representative Anna Eshoo in JULY

Why wasn't it brought up (or allusions to "Have you ever been involved in a sexual assault" type of questions) during the Hearings ?

2. The woman wanted anonymity, surely she could not have reasonably expected that to happen, considering how big this was going to be ?

3. Lawrence O'Donnell knew last Friday, but Feinstein's fellow Dem Senators were only told this week...WTF ?

4. The FBI has forwarded her letter to the WH, for his background file, which means Trump has her name.

[Lee-Lee]

41. I'm still not getting why it was sent to the FBI

Because nothing that anyone has suggested it was is a violation of Federal law.

So the FBI has no jurisdiction to handle it, or even cause to investigate.

All they can do is forward it to local authorities.

[enid602]

44. What could Kavanaugh have done as a teen-ager that would matter today...?

I'm thinking maybe he exposed himself at Vacation Bible School.

[Arazi]

47. He lied to the FBI on his background check about the sexual assault allegations

That's my best guess. The Dems have been painting him as a liar all week. I believe lying to the FBI would be the coup de grace for his nomination

[mainstreetonce]

51. That is what I think

He previously lied under oath .

[sarisataka]

49. Honestly- not much

Unless it was something felony level could be linked to ongoing behavior. Given the accuser's request for anonymity there really is nothing the FBI could investigate.

The only possible thing is information could have been used to question the nominee's character and that should have been brought up during the hearing rather than saved for an 11th hour hearsay accusation.