Here are some topics and questions our senators should ask when they get a chance to speak before the floor vote.
• One of the Republican defenses of Kavanaugh is that no earlier FBI investigation turned up any allegations of sexual misconduct. But we have all seen the video of Kavanaugh bragging in a prepared speech that the code of conduct for his classmates was “what happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep.” It still is.
• Republicans claim that Dr. Blasey Ford is a Democratic operative who would have made charges against any Republican nominee. If that is so, how do they explain the fact that Dr. Blasey Ford took her first steps to sound the alarm about Kavanaugh when she heard he was on the short list of nominees – well before he was actually named as the nominee? (Courtesy of Rachel Maddow on 9/27/2018)
These questions are from an article at slate.com:
• Did Kavanaugh speak with his good friend Ed Whelan about Whelan’s outrageous theory of mistaken identity, which blamed Ford’s alleged assault on a classmate? If not, who did Kavanaugh talk to about the mistaken-identity hypothesis? The Washington Post has reported that he discussed it with “allies.” Which ones?
• Does Kavanaugh know who fed the name of one of his high school classmates to Whelan before Whelan tweeted out his theory? Whelan, who didn’t go to high school in or near Washington, somehow ended up with the name of someone in Kavanaugh’s social circle who looked somewhat like him and lived in the area where Ford said the assault occurred. How? Was Kavanaugh aware of the plan to smear his classmate?
• What did Kavanaugh mean when he claimed that Ford’s accusation against him had been “coordinated” by Democrats and left-wing interest groups? This question would have been difficult for him to answer because it wasn’t “coordinated”; Ford brought her accusation to the Washington Post and to the attention of Congress on her own. The only person to pursue this line of questioning was Sen. Cory Booker, who did so quite effectively. His interrogation was the moment Kavanaugh looked most cornered, and it should not have stood alone.
• Why did Kavanaugh say that no entry on his detailed July 1982 calendar matched Ford’s description of the party at which she was allegedly assaulted? The calendar states that Kavanaugh went “to Timmy’s for skis w/Judge, Tom, PJ, Bernie, Squi” on July 1, 1982, squarely within the time frame put forth by Ford. She also identified “PJ” (a man named Patrick Smyth) and Judge as being present at the party—before seeing Kavanaugh’s calendar. Doesn’t this July 1 gathering thus fit Ford’s account quite neatly?
• Why did Kavanaugh repeatedly and falsely claim that he had been accused of being in a “gang”? Presumably, he was referring to Julie Swetnick’s allegation that he associated with boys who took advantage of intoxicated women, including through “gang rapes.” Was he aware of any classmates who engaged in such behavior? If not, how does he explain a claim by Judge’s ex-girlfriend that Judge said he “and the other boys [took] turns having sex with a drunk woman”?