Kavanaugh Denies Sexual-Misconduct Claim, Keeps White House Support

[brooklynite]

Source: Bloomberg

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh “unequivocally” denied an allegation reported in the New Yorker magazine that during a party in high school he held a girl down and tried to force himself on her.

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” Kavanaugh said in a statement released by the White House on Friday.

The White House isn’t considering pulling Kavanaugh’s nomination over the allegation, White House spokesman Raj Shah said. The initial disclosure Thursday by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein that she had provided unspecified “information” to the FBI threw the already contentious confirmation fight into confusion.

The New Yorker cited a letter written by the woman that said the encounter occurred at a party when Kavanaugh was a high school student during the early 1980s. The woman contended that Kavanaugh and a classmate of his had been drinking, and turned up music that was playing in the room to drown out her protests. The woman said Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand, but that she was able to free herself, the New Yorker said.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-14/kavanaugh-denies-sexual-misconduct-claim-white-house-backs-him

[DURHAM D]

1. I am shocked.

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not

[olegramps]

24. Until the person makes the charge in person its validity is questionable.

It is a serious charge and should not be discounted, however, neither can it be taken as absolute truth until the person comes forward and confronts him. A person has the right to confront their accuser. This is a fundamental rule of law in our society. Just think of the horrific lies that the Republicans dirty tricks scum bags have accused Democrats of doing. It could even be a person who could be actually supporting him and hoping that Democrats go overboard only for it to be proven to be untrue. Nothing about the Republicans would surprise me. Just consider what they did to Kerry and how the stole the election for Bush. Republicans are in the character assassination business and it is the main weapon that they use in every election for every office for local to federal.

[DURHAM D]

25. Thanks but I don't need a lecture. nt

[olegramps]

53. It isn't meant to be a lecture, just a statement of fact. Didn't mean to be critical of you.

I have grown to actually despise the Republican politicians and have no use for their constituency. I was just reflecting about their past smear campaigns of dirty tricks of Lee Atwater and company. The Republican Party has allowed itself to become hopelessly rotten to the very core. I see no redemption for the party only it hopeful demise to the ashcan of history.

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. Me too...actually, being a sexual abuser in rump world is a plus

[getagrip_already]

2. lying rapey rapist raper, and company n/t

[lagomorph777]

5. So, Senator Collins, do you support the rapist?

[durablend]

8. Of course she does

Collins: "Well he never grabbed *my* p*ssy!"

[ChiTownDenny]

13. + 1

[appleannie1943]

3. Birds of a feather really do stick together

[Vinca]

4. Maybe he and Don can share their little black books.

[RockRaven]

6. Donald Trump always disbelieves sexual assault accusations, except against those who criticize him

Then he believes the hell out of it.

Sometimes this involves changing from a disbeliever to a believer strangely concurrent with Trump learning that the accused has criticized him.

[dalton99a]

7. Trump loves him more for it

[torius]

9. The dice trip with his racist friend

and that they hid it from their wives paints a picture of a real “good ole boy.” I’d like to hear about other parties he attended in high school and college. Was he in a frat? Does he gamble on ballgames?

[Initech]

10. Worst SCOTUS nominee ever!

[bluestarone]

11. YEA agree an d

We are fucking STUCK with him!!

[Achilleaze]

12. "I did not have republican-style sexual piggery with that girl." K-man (R-Perjurer)

Claimed the republican perjurer...

[getagrip_already]

14. perjurist? n/t

[bucolic_frolic]

15. I think they should continue to follow the money

this may be a distraction, to make it appear unfair to Kavanaugh.

But all those debts trouble me greatly. Of course, you can't bury records of financial transactions forever. The truth will emerge.

[LakeSuperiorView]

16. He couldn't recall if he talked to anyone from a specific law firm in the last couple years...

How could he possibly remember high school?

[torius]

17. He, at an all-boys school, knew 65 girls from other schools?

All of whom already had conveniently signed a letter of support? How did he meet them all back then?

[DeminPennswoods]

19. Guessing G'town Prep has a "sister" all girls catholic school

Looks like Stone Ridge of the Sacred Heart is the catholic girls school that GP boys socialize with the girls.

Based on what I know about the catholic school system from living in Phila, the boys and girls schools often have dances and other activities where they socialized with each other.

[we can do it]

26. Yeah right.

[DeminPennswoods]

33. It's true, though

In Pittsburgh, Central Catholic (all boys) and Oakland Catholic (all girls) are the "brother/sister" catholic high schools.

[Calista241]

18. So, sexual predators do not just do this once and stop.

If he's a sexual predator, one would think there would be a string of sexual assaults over the years since this incident in High School.

[DeminPennswoods]

20. This is exactly the kind of thing that happens in college frats

Georgetown Prep is loaded with frat boy types, no matter what high ideals the school aspires for its students to have.

I have no doubt at all that this is true and that it can be confirmed.

[Marrah_Goodman]

21. He will never lose WH support, especially now

Trump needs him on the supreme court to try and save himself.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. Here's a link to the story at the Washington Post about this:

Politics

Kavanaugh denies decades-old allegation of potential sexual misconduct

By Seung Min Kim
September 14 at 12:52 PM

Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh on Friday “categorically” denied an allegation of potential sexual misconduct when he was in high school that has roiled the final days of an already contentious confirmation fight in the Senate.

The statement from Kavanaugh was his first response to news reports about a potential episode of sexual misconduct when he was in high school.

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation,” Kavanaugh, now 53, said Friday in a statement distributed through the White House. “I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

A spokesman for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said the senator had no comment for now. Late Friday morning, his office released a letter from 65 women who say they knew Kavanaugh when he attended high school from 1979 to 1983 at Georgetown Prep, an all-boys high school in Rockville.
....

Seung Min Kim is a White House reporter for The Washington Post, covering the Trump administration through the lens of Capitol Hill. Before joining The Washington Post in 2018, she spent more than eight years at Politico, primarily covering the Senate and immigration policy. Follow https://twitter.com/seungminkim

[MurrayDelph]

28. As I read elsewhere

If Chuck Grassley already had this list of 65 schoolmates who say Kavanaugh didn't try to rape them, doesn't that mean they already knew about it, and were sitting in it, hoping it would go away?

I thought he went to an all-boys high school; where did they find the 65 women who claimed to have been schoolmates?

Do they really think that not raping some women means that he never tried to rape? I know lots of people who can honestly say I never sped when they were in the car with me. That doesn't mean I've never sped.

[riversedge]

29. So, they very quickly--in less than a day--gathered 65 women signitures, wrote up the letter

and put it out today.
NOPE--no can do it in that short amount of time. The letter was planned and set to go.

[BigmanPigman]

23. I am going to call GOP senators who are

supposedly moral Christians and pretend I am too and call the staffers and say, "I am horrified, yes horrified I tell you. How can a man who is so filthy and doesn't embrace my Christian values can be on the SCOTUS?". Maybe I can make them feel that they are hypocrites, which they are. But no reelection for them and their party if this immoral person can even be considered for such a moral position.

[riversedge]

30. I will be calling my Repug Senator also.

[BigmanPigman]

31. Good!

It will be all an act from me since I am really an atheist, but I don't know how many real GOP Christians will really be bothered by the hypocrisy since they haven't for, well, for as long as I can remember anyway. I haven't called die hard GOP senators yet this month and have focused on the ones who may actually vote NO, like Murkowski, etc. This will be sort of fun, I like acting.

[RandySF]

32. The committee should at least delay the vote until its investigated

[JeaneRaye]

34. If Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court...

Democrats should move to impeach him as soon as they have the votes to do it. Hell, they should make it a double header and impeach Clarence Thomas at the same time. If they can't do that, there is nothing in the Constitution that says there has to be 9 Supreme Court Justices, and therefore, they should make changes to get the total number of Justices on the Supreme Court to 11. Of course, if it comes to the latter option, they should wait until Trump is gone and we have a Democratic President.

[olddad56]

35. Clarence Thomas must be thrilled at the prospect of not being the only sexual predator on the SCOTUS

[john657]

36. Kavanaugh's a sexual predator?

When was he charged?
When was he tried?
When was he convicted?
When was he sentenced?

No one on this site knows for sure if he did what is alleged, we still do have a presumption of innocence in this country.

How about we wait for, you know, actual proof that he's guilty of what he's being accused of,
Besides, there are other reasons for him to be denied confirmation, lying under oath is a big one.

[Ellipsis]

37. Given that he was not alone in the suspected attempt...

...and that the initial letter was submitted in July gave them oppourtunity to find out who helped him and most likely they have already spoken to him. Youthful indiscretion does not establish sexual predation... nor prohibit it. One would think this story is not over.

[john657]

38. The other person allegedly with him has denied this incident

ever happened.

As I said, in this country, we still have a presumption of innocence.

I'll wait for evidence that this actually happened.

[Ellipsis]

39. Absolutely.

[JeaneRaye]

40. Sexual Predator?

Did I mention "Sexual Predator" in my post? There are plenty of reasons to impeach Kavanaugh. How about the fact the he is a serial liar? How about the fact that he received stolen material that taken from Senator Leahy's office and lied about it UNDER OATH when he was questioned in 2004 and 2206. I could go on but I have to go to work and I don't have all day.

[john657]

41. Huh?

Last edited Sat Sep 15, 2018, 10:45 AM - Edit history (1)

I was responding to this post,

olddad56 (5,645 posts)

35. Clarence Thomas must be thrilled at the prospect of not being the only sexual predator on the SCOTUS

not yours.

Have a good day at work,

[JeaneRaye]

51. Oh...

I get it, sorry. I didn't see the post under mine.
And thanks. It was a very good day at work.

[john657]

52. No problem, I kind of figured that's what happened.

Glad you had a good day at work.

I took the day off, I can do that as I own the company.

[JonLP24]

42. When was Clarence Thomas?

The only people that know for sure are Kavanaugh and the accuser. When it comes to something like sexual assault police are terrible at investigating fail to interview witnesses and also leave rape kits sitting in evidence. Now that may not be true for a lot of police departments. A few major city ones are notoriously bad. so tried or not convicted doesn't mean it didn't happen.

[john657]

43. So far, other than an anonymous author of a letter, there is zero proof

that this did happen..

What ever happened to the presumption of innocence?
What ever happened of the right to face your accuser?

Again, no one on this board knows whether or not these allegations are true.

I'll withhold judgment until more facts, yes, facts, come in, as it should be in these United States of America.

[JonLP24]

45. A rape case in the 80s good luck finding proof

I could tell you things that happened in my personal life but I don't have proof but it is still the truth. I could understand why a victim would like to remain anonymous especially a high profile person over a decades old rape case that will never be prosecuted. I'm sure statue of limitations expired. I understand too much about sexual assault to know just because something doesn't go to court doesn't mean and the best proof is the victim's account. The rapist will rarely admit it.

[john657]

46. Maybe I'm old fashioned,

but if this woman believed strongly enough that Kavanaugh is a sexual predator, then she should come forward with her story and accuse him to his face, and, I'm sure she told someone, friends, who could back up her allegation.

I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I'm also not saying it did happen, I would like to see more evidence, as in her coming forward in person and accusing him to his face, that would be very powerful.

[JonLP24]

47. She felt it was important enough to bring it up around the nomination

Sometimes abuse just happens and they tell no one because it is not worth it especially in cases where a police officer asks "why do you want to ruin this man's life?" Or discriminatory attitudes toward women (among others) in general as described here.

Baltimore Police Department - Findings Report - August 10, 2016 - Department of Justice
PDFDepartment of Justice (.gov) › download (pdf)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/883296/download&ved=2ahUKEwiE1sTk_73dAhWgGDQIHd4TBwYQFjAAegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw2cjPRpJ4TnSMCwC6jEanE-

I can't imagine things were much better in the 80's. Cops enthusiastic investigate all sorts of crimes but they are uninterested in solving rape cases (not all of them thank God)

[john657]

48. What you say is true,

but the bottom line is that no one on this board knows if the allegation is true or not.

Besides, there are proven facts that he is unfit for office, one of the big ones is lying under oath to Congress, that alone is, in my mind, reason enough to reject him and refer it to the DOJ for investigation and possible prosecution.

[JonLP24]

49. I agree

Me personally I find the details like turning up the music, etc to be credible though I have no way of knowing that the accuser is telling the truth. Only that she knows if it is true.

[Hortensis]

50. Agree entirely.

[yurbud]

44. Trump would continue to support him if he actually raped and ate her.

"Don't act so shocked! It's not like we all haven't done it..."