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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRachel Mitchell's Former Colleague Slams Her Kavanaugh Memo as "Absolutely Disingenuous"
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/10/rachel-mitchells-former-colleague-slams-her-kavanaugh-memo-as-absolutely-disingenuous/Mitchell stated in her memo that potential witnesses named by Ford have either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them in signed statements submitted to the committee. Thats absolute bullshit, said Long, again arguing that Mitchell is applying a different standard to Fords case than she would to an investigation her own office was pursuing. Its bullshit because all we have are these signed statements, which are unreliable. Theyre hearsay. They wouldnt meet any type of standard that Ms. Mitchell would allow in considering their statements, but instead would have demanded that they be interviewed in a full-blown interview to really flesh out what are these peoples motivations. As a judge, he added, Kavanaugh, who leaned on these statements in his own testimony before the Senate, knows they do not meet a standard of reliable testimony.
Long next attacked a section of the memo in which Mitchell focused on Fords inability to recall certain details about the circumstances of the assault, including whose house she was at, who invited her, how she got there, and how she got home. The spotty memory that Ms. Mitchell talks about as if thats an indication that it didnt happen is just absurd, he said. Again, I was trained by Ms. Mitchell about how trauma explicitly does prevent memory from happening. Trauma causes the body to go into fight, flight, freeze, a survival mode that creates tunnel vision and prevents certain memories from forming that might otherwise have been retained. I was trained explicitly by Ms. Mitchell to identify that as corroborative, as corroborating that someone has been victimized and experienced trauma, he stressed. Ms. Mitchell knows better than that.
Long was a prosecutor for 12 years, first under Mitchell in Maricopa County, then in neighboring Pinal County for eight years. Under Mitchell, he was trained in investigating sex crimes. He now represents both victims and defendants in private practice. Long said theres no question in his mind that Ford was assaulted. Whats unclear is whether the perpetrator was Kavanaugh or someone else. The situation, he said, requires further investigation. If Mitchell were handling this case in her office, he said, she would not have leapt to conclusions and instead would have demanded further investigation.
Her only analysis should have been: The process that youve given me, the information we have, is insufficient, he said. Moreover, he noted, she didnt analyze Kavanaughs testimony, which contained obvious falsehoods already pointed out by the media, or remark on the unreliability of the accused. To Long, the memo reflected the political theater of a fraught Supreme Court battle rather than the expertise of a seasoned prosecutor. Rachel Mitchells failure to include any analysis of Kavanaugh reveals her political bias, he said.
R B Garr
(16,954 posts)She was pushed aside so they could grandstand. Her conclusions cannot therefore be complete.
sdfernando
(4,935 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)I'm worried about surviving the next 30 seconds.
madaboutharry
(40,211 posts)Someone needs to study this phenomenon.
not fooled
(5,801 posts)also
yardwork
(61,608 posts)uponit7771
(90,339 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)No one,zero,reported out the what where and how of of this person. Who made the call,in that answers most questions.
PubliusEnigma
(1,583 posts)YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)The Republicans are a complete and total farce. Mitchell wrote a report that was biased.
Samspadesnark
(75 posts)They will claim that attorney-client privilege makes their communications with her (ie, instructing her of the limits of her questioning, or to slant her report, if in fact they did) privileged.
iluvtennis
(19,858 posts)tell the defense attorneys what they want to hear. No one is going to pay for an opinion that doesn't furter their case.
TryLogic
(1,723 posts)spanone
(135,832 posts)LiberalFighter
(50,928 posts)Vinca
(50,271 posts)Maybe there isn't enough evidence with Ford alone, but witnesses may fill in the blanks. That's when a prosecutor would decide whether to charge.