Kavanaugh, Revisited - A look at the investigation that never was

 

What would happen if we confirmed that a man serving on the Supreme Court of the United States of America attempted rape in his teens? Would he get sent to Juvie?

When Brett Kavanaugh was questioned about sexual abuse allegations raised during the confirmation hearings for his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, he was adamant in his defense. He refused to admit to the possibility that he might have been too drunk to recall the events so vividly described by Christine Blasi Ford, even though several witnesses confirmed that Kavanaugh was a heavy drinker in high school and was known to pass out from alcohol consumption.

Kavanaugh was so arrogant about his innocence that his behavior bordered on obnoxious. When questioned about his drinking habits, he responded by asking the questioners about their drinking habits. When he finally admitted to drinking regularly, he repeated many times, “I like beer,” as if by saying it enough we’d stop thinking it might have been a problem for him.

At the time, it seemed impossible that a man with such apparent contempt for Congress and their vetting process, would not be disqualified based on temperament alone.  Yet somehow his behavior during the hearings, as well as his behavior as a young man, were deemed irrelevant to his fitness to be a Supreme Court judge. Some of us were shocked by this, but in hindsight, given what we know now, it’s beginning to make sense—perhaps not morally, but at least logically.

In a scathing opinion piece for the Washington Post, Ruth Marcus reveals a letter from the FBI , in which they disclose for the first time that the requested deep dive into Kavanaugh’s behavior during his prep school years was not conducted by the FBI, as promised. The tip line set up to gather information resulted in over 4,500 calls, but there was no follow up—no one investigated based on the information collected. It was simply sent to the White House Counsel.

The letter, from the FBI to Congressional Democrats (dated June 30, 2021) offers the following rationale for why the investigation never took place. (As for why it took over two years for them to let us know, that’s still an open question.)

The FBI’s defense of itself, outlined in the letter, is that it conducts these investigations under protocols established during the Obama administration. In these circumstances, the FBI isn’t conducting a wide-ranging, follow-the-evidence criminal inquiry, but serving a client (in this case, the White House). 

But this wasn’t a standard vetting task requested by the White House. Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault, which is a crime. And wasn’t the client supposed to be Congress? When did it become the President? And when did the FBI start reporting to the White House and not the Justice Department?

In 2017, the New York Times interviewed then President Trump. During the interview, Trump made this statement, "The FBI person really reports directly to the President of the United States, which is interesting." 

Shortly after the interview aired, USA Today published an article correcting that misinformation (the FBI reports to the Department of Justice, not the President), but it didn’t matter.

All indications are Trump so influenced the FBI and the Justice Department that nobody was willing to investigate Kavanaugh. Nor were they willing to admit the investigation was never going to happen.

Two years later, we can confirm what many suspected: the lack of evidence supporting Dr. Ford’s claims during the hearings did not reflect a lack of evidence; it reflected a denial and suppression of the evidence.

Still, we all know what happened. Kavanaugh was having fun! How was he supposed to know that Dr. Ford had trouble breathing when he held his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet? It was just a big game, a joke, boys’ being boys. Women are so dramatic. Kavanaugh didn’t even remember it so how is he supposed take responsibility for how she might have felt, pinned underneath him while he breathed alcohol in her face and joked about raping her?

Despite new laws and raised awareness (not to mention all the platforms that can document every bad thing someone might do), we need to remember that none of the political correctness or concern for the rights, feelings, or the humanity of women was really a thing when the likes of Kavanaugh and Trump were in school. This must be why it’s so hard for privileged men like them to understand why we need to insist upon it now.

When Dr. Ford testified to these events, there was a brief moment when it felt as if a paradigm shift was occurring. This time, I thought, we’ll get justice. People saw her, they heard her, they believed her.

Here is an excerpt from an article written about Dr. Ford’s testimony just after it aired on national television:

The facts remain unsettled, and Ford’s testimony may not prevent Kavanaugh’s confirmation. But it was a powerful warning that wealth, status and a record of professional accomplishments were no longer enough to override credible allegations of sexual assault, no matter when they occurred. To young men, it was a message that drunken violence could shadow them all their lives. And to victims, Ford’s testimony was an invitation to speak up, no matter how powerful the accused, no matter how long ago the attack. People will listen, the country seemed to reassure them. We will believe you.

 

But we didn’t.

Our government failed Christine Blasi Ford.

The judgment of the serving agents within the FBI was that there should be no investigation at all.

Instead, they would gather evidence, send it directly to the White House Counsel, and be done with it. The hearings moved forward, no investigation was done, and no facts were analyzed to get to the truth of what happened.

Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6, 2018, but nobody would know until June 30, 2021—well over two years after the hearings, when the FBI provided their written account of the rationale behind their decision to willfully misinterpret their responsibilities in order to serve the interests of rich, arrogant men at the expense of American people.

The final message of the Kavanaugh hearings isn’t a “powerful warning” that wealth and status could not protect a sexual abuser from justice; it is a sad and disappointing admission that white men still control our legal system and entitled white men, who expect to maintain their positions of power, are still protecting each other to ensure those expectations are met.

People may listen to allegations against powerful men; they may even believe them; but they rarely hold them accountable.  

So now what? Does the Biden Administration insist on conducting the investigation after Kavanaugh has already begun his lifetime appointment? What if they find Kavanaugh guilty? Does he automatically get impeached once his guilt is established, or do they hold hearings thus providing the Republicans with a chance to vote in favor of their own and against the interests of the American people, yet again?

This conversation is not over. But it’s not really about Kavanaugh anymore. It’s about a system of hierarchy in which women have historically been subjected to life as second-class citizens and men, who’ve got a vested interest in both keeping it that way and in pretending it’s not that way, are predictably sticking together to preserve their positions of power.

Let us not forget Anita Hill, the 26 women who’ve accused Trump of sexual misconduct/assault and the decades of abuse Weinstein and Epstein conducted at the expense of countless others—many of whom have bravely spoken out, but who have yet to receive justice.

We are not at the end of this fight. This is only the beginning.

 

 

 

 

ALERT! Hypocrisy on the Left: Activists petition to prevent MTG from participating in the Jan. 6 Investigating Committee

 

Common Cause sent out mailers asking people to sign a petition to prevent Marjorie Taylor Green from being on the Jan. 6 Investigating Committee. Why? If anybody needs to see the footage of the violence that day, it’s her.

Common Cause is engaging in hypocrisy if they think it’s appropriate to prevent any committee member nominated by the other party from participating. They should welcome her. Democrats should want to share with her the facts they have. They should be eager to educate her.

Let her listen to the committee’s shockingly rational and thoughtful attempt to understand the truth. Note her demeanor as one piece of evidence after the other puts the lie to her absurd claims. Show her how dangerous her thinking is, what it led to, and why it can’t be tolerated.

We can’t unite our country by refusing to have a dialogue with people with whom we don’t identify. We must be willing both to have a conversation and to assume each of us has valid reasons for our thinking. Those reasons may be based on ignorance, lies, or emotional reactions to difficult circumstances, but there is still a reason for what people believe—whether we agree with it or not. This is the meaning of dialogue. It is a respectful interchange of thoughts or ideas.

The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation is the best book I’ve read on conflict management and/or communication. I recently sent a copy of that book to every Republican in the Senate. All of them were mailed in the same packaging on the same day so they’d all get them together. I really thought the gesture would send a message. I guess that proves in middle age (yes, I plan to live to 124), I can still be naïve.

The point is: it’s okay to respond to a negative act with censure; it’s not okay to censure someone for your idea of who they are. If MTG is out of order at any point during the meetings, then the appropriate party can respond appropriately. But don’t avoid her. If it looks like running; it is running. Don’t run!

As Suze Orman is fond of saying “You have to face it to erase it.” If we want to unite this country and put the Big Lie to rest, we must deal with it, not ignore it. We should welcome every opportunity to show everyone possible that we are committed to understanding what happened and why—and we’re not letting anyone stop us.