WAITING GAME

Trump and Kavanaugh's supporters really, really didn't want an FBI investigation. Their absurd reasons not to have one, when it was obviously the only objective process for trying to get to the bottom of what happened with Ford and Kavanaugh, strongly suggests that they were afraid of what it might find. Now, thanks to the last-minute stand of Jeff Flake and three other senators, an investigation will happen after all

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/trump-officially-launches-fbi-investigation-ford-kavanaugh-sexual-assault-allegations.html
The exact parameters of the federal inquiry remain vague, although Trump, like his fellow Republicans in the Senate, is calling for an investigation “limited in scope and completed in less than one week.” The Judiciary Committee said the probe would cover “current credible allegations,” which appears to mean the accusations made by Ford and, the New York Times reports, the claims made by former Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez, who told the New Yorker that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a party in college. (Here’s a list compiled by Slate of people involved in the incident that any credible FBI investigation would need to interview.) . . .

The list: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-potential-witnesses.html

Why not calling for an FBI investigation was a huge error by Kavanaugh

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/29/the-miscalculation-haunting-kavanaugh/
“Instead of looking hungry for truth, Kavanaugh heads into the week looking fearful of findings.” 

The FBI is talking to Ramirez

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/29/fbi-reaches-out-to-second-kavanaugh-accuser/
The has FBI reached out to Deborah Ramirez, a woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct . . .

More: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/29/17917882/brett-kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-deborah-ramirez
 
Here is the other problem. Kavanaugh's testimony itself opens up new lines of investigation. And it raises an important question: If the FBI investigation turns up nothing definitive on Ford or the other assault charges, but does produce copious evidence that he lied repeatedly (under oath) about his drinking or other activities, will that be enough to drive Republican votes against him?

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/09/how-fbi-likely-handle-cold-case 

I don't know if we're going to get daily dribs and drabs about the FBI investigation -- but if this is the way it's going to go, Kavanaugh is in trouble

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/09/kavanaugh-s-yale-classmate-says-he-lied-0
Kavanaugh’s Yale Classmate Says He Lied About His Drinking

More: https://thinkprogress.org/kavanaughs-classmates-say-he-lied-under-oath-about-his-sloppy-drunk-days-fa5008b72d2d/

BUT . . . we learn that the White House is ruling certain areas off limits entirely, including, apparently, Kavanaugh's drinking habits. Will they get away with that?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna915061

The WH denies it: https://thinkprogress.org/white-house-denies-limiting-fbi-probe-into-supreme-court-pick-kavenaugh-010daf9c7750/

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1800146

[NB: Here's why drinking is central to the investigation. It is key to explaining why the alleged assault on Ford happened in the first place. It is a likely explanation for why Kavanaugh may not remember his actions (not enough has been made of this -- maybe he is denying it because he really doesn't remember it). And it goes directly to the wider credibility of his testimony if he lied repeatedly about his alcohol use -- which might also constitute perjury -- under oath to the committee.]

Kavanaugh made a big deal during his testimony that the witness statement from Ford's friend Leland Keyser contradicted her story. But that's not what Keyser says

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/blasey-ford-friend-does-not-refute-dr-fords-account-of-assault-lawyer-says

A very effective side-by-side comparison of the Ford and Kavanaugh testimonies: when they answered the question and when they did not (I think you can guess the pattern)

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/28/17914308/kavanaugh-ford-question-dodge-hearing-chart   

Now the real BS starts

https://thinkprogress.org/bill-cassidy-kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-democrats-feinstein-d333558d3700/ 
Republican senator urges FBI to respond to Kavanaugh assault accusations by investigating Democrats

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/29/gop-senator-says-kavanaugh-accuser-has-false-memories/
Senator Says Kavanaugh Accuser Has ‘False Memories’

In other news . . . 

Congressional Dems press ahead with a lawsuit alleging that Trump is violating the emoluments clause

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/judge-court-democrats-sue-trump-constitution-emoluments-hotel-profits.html 

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/09/29/trumps-emolument-problem-got-a-lot-worse-while-you-werent-looking/

More: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/29/trumps-tax-returns-midterms-democrats-853456
The years-old mystery of what’s in President Donald Trump’s tax returns will likely quickly unravel if Democrats win control of at least one chamber of Congress. Democrats, especially in the House, are quietly planning on using an obscure law that will enable them to examine the president’s tax filings without his permission. . . .

A NAFTA without Canada?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-u-s-to-release-draft-of-bilateral-renegotiated-nafta-friday-1538152963

https://www.vox.com/2018/9/29/17909588/nafta-deadline-canada-us

Oh, ick

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/29/trump-says-he-fell-in-love-with-kim-jong-un/
Trump Says He ‘Fell In Love’ with Kim Jong Un 

Coal is dying, and for all his bluster and false promises, Trump can't do anything about it

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1798617

Readers know I used to talk about good Lindsey/bad Lindsey Graham. Whatever happened to good Lindsey?

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/09/flashback-remember-when-lindsey-graham

Trump takes off for a week of rallies in Trumplandia

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/29/trump-kicks-off-rally-blitz/

The most hateful, partisan president in history: https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/29/trump-slams-democrats-at-campaign-rally/

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/president-trump-calls-democratic-party-party-of-crime-at-west-virginia-rally-1332954179782 

The GOP has a bad candidate for Florida governor. Really bad

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1798971

Bonus item: Matt Damon does Brett Kavanaugh

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/30/matt-damon-nails-brett-kavanaugh-on-snl/

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/snls-michael-che-wrecks-kavanaugh-if-you-might-be-a-sexual-predator-you-dont-deserve-the-damn-job

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE MORNING AFTER

How Brett Kavanaugh and the Republicans played it

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/09/going-beyond-metoo-brett-kavanaughs-affected-outrage-explained/
I think it’s obvious that Christine Blasey Ford was telling the truth and that Kavanaugh told a lot of lies. This almost certainly means he’s lying about the assault on Ford too. The funny thing is that I’m still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt about what really happened. Like a lot of people, I refer to his actions as “attempted rape,” but there’s a pretty good chance that this wasn’t his intent at all. At the time, he may well have thought of it as nothing more than horseplay, just a bit of fun and games with no intention of ever taking it past that. And intent matters. Being an infantile 17-year-old lout is way different than being a 17-year-old rapist. But when he was first asked about all this, he panicked and denied everything. He didn’t have to: he could have admitted what happened, apologized, confessed that he never had any idea how badly it had scarred Ford, and then explained that he’d tried to make up for it by being especially sensitive in his hiring and treatment of women ever since. I’m pretty sure that this would have cooled things down pretty quickly. But once he denied the incident entirely, he had no choice but to stick to his story. 

Everything that’s happened since has hinged on that one rash mistake. And this is what explains his almost comically angry testimony. He knew he was guilty and he also knew he couldn’t admit that he’d lied about it. But the Republican playbook has a page for this. Even before his appearance, there were news reports about the advice Kavanaugh was getting: he needed to be passionate, angry, and vengeful against the Democrats who plainly orchestrated this entire witch hunt. And that’s what he did. Unlike Ford, his performance was highly rehearsed: his emotional tone was rehearsed; his lines were rehearsed (and then repeated ad nauseam); and more than anything, his angry insistence that he was the victim of a vicious liberal frame-up was rehearsed. This has been the signature of the conservative movement ever since the start of the Gingrich era . . . [read on]

More: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/09/28/the-gop-strategy-to-distract-from-christine-fords-testimony/
The GOP Strategy to Distract From Christine Ford’s Testimony  

[NB: Not enough has been made of the fact that Kavanaugh's outraged response would be exactly the same if the charges were true or false. Of course a totally innocent man would be outraged. But a guilty man would be outraged too: you have humiliated me before the nation, you have caused pain to my wife and my daughters, you have brought up juvenile acts of bad behavior from decades ago as a measure of who I am today, and most of all you have sprung them in the 11th hour to keep me from the golden ring that I have wanted all my adult life, and which is now within my grasp.]

Trump LOVED it

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/27/ford-kavanaugh-white-house-reaction-849231
Trump and senior officials were impressed by Kavanaugh’s combative defense before the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which the Trump nominee, alternating between fury and tears, called several misconduct charges against him a “calculated and orchestrated political hit” and “national disgrace” that had devastated his life and family. . . . Trump was elated when Kavanaugh, whom he previously complained was not defending himself with enough force, lashed out at Democrats and the media for what Kavanaugh called casual character assassination. One senior White House official said Kavanaugh seemed to have tapped into a key element of Trump’s own personal style: hit back hard and without apology. . . . The official confirmed that Trump had watched and relished Kavanaugh’s combative opening statement . . . [read on]

Here's a thought experiment: reverse the gender roles

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/kavanaugh-ford-hearing-dramatic-lesson-on-gender-roles

https://thinkprogress.org/brett-kavanaughs-gender-allows-him-to-be-celebrated-for-belligerence-and-cruelty-to-senators-d7200ac08ab3/

https://www.salon.com/2018/09/28/brett-kavanaughs-grotesque-carnival-will-republicans-put-this-petulant-child-on-the-supreme-court/

This repeats a point made yesterday, but it can't be stressed enough: Kavanaugh is not a normal Supreme Court nominee

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/brett-kavanaughs-independence-was-already-doubt-now-its-worse
One of the key reasons Brett Kavanaugh was a controversial judicial nominee in the Bush/Cheney era had less to do with his reputation as an ideologue, and more to do with his reputation as a partisan. The distinction matters. His critics didn’t see Kavanaugh as a conservative crusader, desperate to an advance an ideological mission; they saw him as a Republican, through and through, who prioritized his role as a partisan pugilist. That impression, fueled by multiple examples from throughout his career, was reinforced when his Supreme Court nomination ran into trouble . . . “[H]ow impartial can a Supreme Court nominee be when he goes on Fox News – of all possible platforms – to defend himself?” The piece went on to note that the perception of Kavanaugh “as a partisan warrior” was “reinforced” by his Fox News appearance. Yesterday, desperate to save his nomination to the nation’s highest court, Kavanaugh dropped the pretense altogether. His statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he sketched out his view of a Democratic conspiracy, was among the most partisan remarks ever uttered by a high-ranking federal judge. . . .

More: https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/28/americans-politics-hits-a-new-low/
Americans Politics Hits a New Low

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/09/kavanaugh-ford-hearings-everyone-lost-andrew-sullivan.html
Yesterday was a spectacle I hope we do not have to experience again. We watched two human beings, Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh, exposed in the rawest possible fashion to the entire world, over the gravest of accusations, with no definitive evidence apart from personal testimony to draw on, 36 years after an alleged crime took place. It was a grotesque political drama, in which everyone lost. . . . [read on]

Scenes from the circus

https://www.vox.com/2018/9/28/17912378/brett-kavanaugh-hearing-vote-sexual-assault-allegations

Kavanaugh's calendar

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-most-shocking-findings-in-yesterdays-drama

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/28/unanswered-questions-about-kavanaughs-calendars/

The lies

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/kavanaugh-lied-senate-judiciary-committee.html
Kavanaugh Lied to the Judiciary Committee—Repeatedly

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/kavanaugh-is-lying-his-upbringing-explains-why/2018/09/27/2b596314-c270-11e8-b338-a3289f6cb742_story.html
 Kavanaugh is lying. His upbringing explains why. The elite learn early that they’re special — and that they won’t face consequences. [read on]

More: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/09/28/lynne-brookes-kavanaugh-classmate-cuomo-cpt-intv-vpx-bts.cnn

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/kavanaugh-wrongly-claims-could-drink-legally-maryland
Kavanaugh Wrongly Claims Repeatedly That He Could Drink Legally In Maryland

https://thinkprogress.org/all-the-times-brett-kavanaugh-refused-to-answer-senators-questions-during-thursdays-hearing-313ae4bc4e75/
All the times Brett Kavanaugh refused to answer senators’ questions during Thursday’s hearing

Mark Judge has something to hide. Something bad

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/ted-cruz-mark-judge-would-take-fifth.html
 
Yesterday Fox World found Ford's testimony to be "exceptionally credible" and "a disaster for Republicans." Today they are back on message

https://thinkprogress.org/fox-news-goes-all-in-on-smearing-dr-christine-blasey-ford-984d8347a67d/
Joe diGenova called Ford “a deeply troubled person. She has a history of psychological discord.” “She went to the West Coast for one reason: She had so many problems in that school that they sent her away,” diGenova added. “She is a very sad woman.”

Women confront Flake. This will break your heart

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sexual-assault-victims-confront-flake
‘Don’t Look Away From Me’ [watch]

But it seems to have had an effect. First Jeff Flake, then Collins, Murkowski, and Manchin say they won't vote for Kavanaugh without an FBI investigation. Trump and the GOP leadership are forced to back down. This is an important victory for fairness and the rule of law -- and maybe, just maybe, some truth may come out of it

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799778
White House orders one-week FBI background check into Kavanaugh 

More: https://thinkprogress.org/judiciary-committee-kavanaugh-vote-fbi-investigation-458d1d67bb73/

https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/09/28/senator-flake-forces-delay-in-kavanaugh-vote/

"Limited scope"? https://www.vox.com/2018/9/28/17914184/fbi-investigation-brett-kavanaugh-confirmation-vote
The FBI’s investigation will be limited to the “credible” allegations against Kavanaugh, including Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school — which she testified to in the Senate Thursday. A second woman, Deborah Ramirez has also claimed that he drunkenly exposed himself to her at Yale College and thrust his genitals in her face without consent. This allegation could also be part of the review — though lawmakers weren’t sure exactly what the scope of the full FBI probe would be. 

MSNBC runs a riveting account of Jeff Flake's day. It shows the exact moment when he changed his mind and decided not to support Kavanaugh without an FBI investigation. Watch this -- it is incredibly moving and dramatic

https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-watch-sen-jeff-flake-listen-then-decide-to-act-1332527683670

[NB: The image of Graham, Hatch, and Grassley sitting stone-faced as they realize that their rush to confirm Kavanaugh has been derailed is priceless.]

 

Did the confrontation with women protestors push Flake to his change of heart?
 
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/flake-explains-why-he-wants-delay
“There  were interactions with a lot of people on the phone, email, text, walking around the Capitol, you name it,” Flake said. He said it was “remarkable” the “number of people” who saw the testimony Thursday of one of Kavanaugh’s accusers, Christine Blasey Ford,  and “were emboldened to come out and say what had happened to them.” . . . “I am a conservative, I would love to see Judge Kavanaugh confirmed and I hope to be able to do that,” Flake said, “But I want a better process and I think involving the FBI, reopening the background investigation that so many of my colleagues have been asking for and people across the country have been asking for, this can be done.” 

Ford's lawyers say they welcome an FBI investigation

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/christine-blasey-ford-welcome-fbi-investigation-kavanaugh

Can you do a thorough investigation in one week?

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-accusations-fbi-investigation.html
Yes

More: http://prospect.org/article/what-will-fbi-actually-investigate-if-anything
What Will the FBI Actually Investigate

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/28/kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-853788
FBI probe could further wound Kavanaugh 

A victory for the Dems too

https://newrepublic.com/minutes/151457/hell-just-happened-capitol-hill
ChrisCoons chokes up as he tells reporters that he & Flake "do not share a lot of political views, but we share a deep concern -- for the health of this institution and what it means to the rest of the world and to our country if we are unable to conduct ourselves respectfully"

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/klobuchar-better-place
Klobuchar: ‘We Are In A Better Place Than We Were At 8 AM’

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/whitehouse-good-likelihood-transpire
Whitehouse On Flake Delay: ‘Good Likelihood This Might Transpire’

[NB: No one knows what an FBI investigation will reveal. But we do know this. It is what the accusers wanted. It is what the Dems wanted. It is what Kavanaugh and the GOP ringleaders did not want. So we have to celebrate this. It also shows the power of friendship in the U.S. Senate. Coons and Flake knew and liked each other, and that created an opportunity to reach across the aisle after a day in which that looked impossible. But friendships like this are disappearing in the Senate,]

In Russia news. . .

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/28/bid-trump-donor-made-overture-to-top-russian-official/  
Big Trump Donor Made Overture to Top Russian Official  
  
House Intel Repubs will release the transcripts of more than 50 interviews. . . while withholding others

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/house-intelligence-committee-russia-probe-transcripts-release

https://www.thedailybeast.com/house-intel-gop-withholds-rohrabacher-and-wasserman-schultzs-russia-probe-transcripts

House GOPers demand a private meeting with Rod Rosenstein . .  or else!

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/house-gop-private-hearing-rosenstein-few-weeks
Reps. Mark Meadows (NC), John Ratcliffe (TX), Jim Jordan (OH), Trey Gowdy (SC) Bob Goodlatte (VA) and Ken Buck (CO) will question Rosenstein in private to “avoid a public spectacle,” in Politico’s words. If the deputy attorney general doesn’t attend the hearing, he’ll be subpoenaed . . . .

More: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/28/rosenstein-agrees-to-meet-lawmakers-851350

In other news . . .   

Despite all Trump's threats, there won't be a government shutdown

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-signs-854-billion-spending-bill

Even the Trump admin admits that climate change is a real threat

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/09/trump-administration-expects-catastrophic-warming-by-2010.html

Bad news for Jim Jordan

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/28/trump-backs-mccarthy-as-next-speaker/
“At a private fundraiser at his namesake hotel, President Trump on Thursday night appeared to back Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to be the next Speaker,” several attendees told The Hill.

GOP gives up on two more House seats

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/top-gop-group-gives-up-on-two-more-house-republicans-cancels-campaign-ads

Bonus item: Christine Blasey Ford Fan Art

https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/09/christine-blasey-ford-fan-art-kavanaugh-supreme-court.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sharing its URL (http://pbd.blogspot.com) with others via email or social media. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

BOY'S CLUB

The GOP wrecks their relation to women

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-thinks-he-knows-what-women-are-thinking-polls-show-otherwise
After Donald Trump again dismissed sexual-misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh as a “con job,” a reporter asked the president yesterday what kind of message that sends to women listening to his comments. . . . “I’ll tell you this: the people that have complained to me about it – the most about what’s happening – are women. Women are very angry. You know I got 52 percent with women. Everyone said this couldn’t happen – 52 percent. Women are so angry, and I, frankly, think that – I think they like what the Republicans are doing, but I think they would have like to have seen it go a lot faster.” 

Right off the bat, it’s important to note that Trump did not receive 52% support among women voters in 2016. He’s made this claim many times since taking office, and in each instance, he’s been completely wrong.  The Republican received 52% of white women voters, but 42% of women overall. To hear Trump tell it, non-white women, in a rather literal sense, simply don’t count. . . .

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/gop-republican-woman-problem-sexism-kavanaugh-hearing
GOP’s Problem With Women Has Never Been More Glaring

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/09/27/kavanaugh-hearing-gop-women-220736
The GOP Is Clueless About Women

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799031
Senate Republicans prepare to unite the nation's women against them

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/09/trump-kavanaugh-and-limits-male-power/571495/
A National Reckoning With Misogyny and Power

The Ford/Kavanaugh testimony, Part 1 . . .

It started with Chairman Chuck Grassley's grumbling, stumbling opening

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/09/chuck-grassley-ford-hearing-disaster.html
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/grassley-scolds-feinstein-for-bringing-up-allegations

Then Christine Blasey Ford's opening statement

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/27/17909932/christine-blasey-ford-kavanaugh-emotional-opening-statement

More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/christine-blasey-ford-absolutely-not-mistaken-identity
Ford: This Could ‘Absolutely Not’ Be Case Of Mistaken Identity

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/100-percent-certain-kavanaugh
Ford: ‘100 Percent’ Certain Brett Kavanaugh Assaulted Me

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/27/17910200/christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh-senate-hearing-laughter
Asked about her strongest memory of Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged assault, Ford said, “The uproarious laughter between the two, and their having fun at my expense.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/sequelae-and-the-hippocampus-christine-blasey-ford-schools-the-senate-on-memory-science
Christine Blasey Ford Schools the Senate on Memory Science

How did that decision go to have a hired female lawyer do the Republicans' questioning?

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/rachel-mitchell-christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh.html

More: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/27/17910150/christine-ford-brett-kavanaugh-senate-rachel-mitchell
The Christine Blasey Ford hearing isn’t about finding the truth. It’s just a cross-examination.

https://thinkprogress.org/gops-chosen-prosecutor-zeroes-in-on-christine-blasey-fords-fear-of-flying-kavanaugh-hearing-3b0d3bbebac5/
GOP’s chosen prosecutor zeroes in on… Dr. Blasey Ford’s fear of flying?

https://thinkprogress.org/how-the-republicans-used-rachel-mitchell-to-blame-thursdays-charade-on-its-victim-3db2dc1a6ad3/
How the Republicans used Rachel Mitchell to blame Thursday’s charade on its victim

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/republicans-on-kavanaugh-hearing-what-a-mess
Republican Aides On Kavanaugh Hearing: ‘What A Mess’

Meanwhile, the Democratic questioning was tight, effective, and impeccably planned

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/democrat-questions-blasey-ford-kavanaugh-hearing

The media reaction

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-news-wallace-disaster-republicans
Fox News’ Chris Wallace: ‘This Is A Disaster For The Republicans’

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-news-analyst-exceptionally-credible
Fox’s Judge Napolitano: Blasey Ford Is ‘Exceptionally Credible’

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cnn-analyst-toobin-this-is-sickening-to-watch
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin on Thursday described the situation Christine Blasey Ford is in before the Senate Judiciary Committee as “sickening.” 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/blasey-fords-shining-moment-grassleys-catastrophe
A Catastrophe . . .  

I guess that now that John McCain is dead, Lindsey Graham has become unmoored

https://thinkprogress.org/lindsey-graham-blames-nbc-for-reporting-fourth-kavanaugh-accuser-his-committee-764e1eb7759e/

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/graham-after-testimony-convinced-dems-set-it-up-to-be-just-the-way-it-is

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/graham-ford-kavanaugh-victims

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/27/17910750/lindsey-graham-christine-blasey-ford-hearing-brett-kavanaugh

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799246

https://www.salon.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-laughs-out-loud-as-fox-and-friends-host-details-kavanaugh-accusers-gang-rape-allegations-partner/

[NB: Graham and others have been reduced to arguing that the Dems' timing of the release of information was designed to maximize the hurt for Kavanaugh. And that might be true: BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE FORD'S CLAIMS UNTRUE.]
 
Here is the bottom line: the decision by Trump and the GOP majority not to allow an FBI investigation looks even worse now. The reason is pretty obvious

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/whitehouse-slaps-table-stares-down-gop-as-he-blames-them-for-lack-of-fbi-probe

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/blumenthal-trump-failure-to-ask-fbi-for-probe-is-tantamount-to-a-cover-up

The inexcusable decision not to bring in alleged eye witness Mark Judge

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/kavanaugh-ford-mark-judge/571540/

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/republicans-mark-judge-no-straght-answer
 
https://www.vox.com/2018/9/27/17910764/christine-blasey-ford-mark-judge-testify-credible

The Ford/Kavanaugh testimony, Part 2 . . .

Kavanaugh goes full Trumpian in his opening statement: belligerent, defiant, unapologetic, aggressive, and openly partisan. I'm sure Trump thinks this is great "fighting back," but it sure didn't look like a Supreme Court judge speaking

https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/judicial-temperament.html
“This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record,” Kavanaugh said. “Revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
 
More: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-opening-statement-christine-blasey-ford.html
A Defiant Howl of Rage Against Democrats

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/kavanaugh-opening-remarks-blasey-ford
“This is a circus,” he said, calling it a “grotesque…character assassination.”

[NB: Looking at the language in some parts of his speech, I actually wonder if Trump sent him some helpful tips.]
 
A few online reactions

https://thinkprogress.org/brett-kavanaughs-angry-opening-remarks-draw-widespread-criticism-online-912c64cfb31f/
If you couldn't imagine an angry, drunk Kavanaugh before, you can now. . . .

Wow, it's almost as if he has a terrifying, angry dark side . . .

Kavanaugh cloaking himself in rightwing victimhood, sounding like a Fox News commentator . . .

This is not demeanor of someone one sees as a Supreme Court judge. He comes off as partisan hack ex frat boy. . . .

If confirmed, how does Kavanaugh make case he’s an independent judge when he’s just gone on a screed about “the left” and “the Clintons” ??? . . .

"What goes around comes around" sounds like a threat. This is not the kind of thing a potential Supreme Court justice should be saying. . . .

[NB: I've said this before. Kavanaugh got this nomination because he has toiled as a hyper-partisan operative for the GOP ever since Clinton's impeachment, He is their dream choice -- someone not motivated by abstract notions of Constitutional theory, but by cold calculations of party interest. He has been groomed for this job for years, and they won't let him fail easily. The most striking thing about his testimony was his open naked contempt for the Democrats.]
 
One little tidbit. In the written version of his comments, quoted here yesterday, Kavanaugh wrote, "I was not perfect in those days, just as I am not perfect today. I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now." That last line got cut from the version he read out loud. No one asked why

https://www.vox.com/2018/9/27/17911256/brett-kavanaugh-christine-blasey-ford-senate-hearing 

Kavanaugh was asked repeatedly whether he would support an FBI investigation. In every instance he dodged the question, fought back, or changed the subject. One can only ask, Why not?

https://thinkprogress.org/kavanaugh-hearing-refuses-fbi-investigation-e1e34b2e8d62/
 
More: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kavanaugh-dodges-question-about-if-he-wants-mark-judge-to-testify
Kavanaugh Dodges Question About Whether He Wants Mark Judge To Testify

Kavanaugh reacted to every Democratic questioner with open hostility

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/kavanaugh-stays-combative-during-questioning-at-blasey-ford-hearing
He raised his voice repeatedly, interrupted Democratic senators as they asked him questions, and even brushed off some of the questions from Rachel Mitchell, the prosecutor tapped by Judiciary Republicans to ask their questions. . . .

More: https://thinkprogress.org/kavanaugh-goes-after-feinstein-in-an-angry-tirade-c8dd85058ef4/
Kavanaugh goes after Feinstein in an angry tirade

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/09/kavanaugh-attacks-senator-klobuchar-truly
In A Truly Disrespectful Exchange, Kavanaugh Attacks Sen. Klobuchar

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kavanaugh-insists-hes-never-blacked-out-from-drinking-mark-judge-wrote-otherwise
Kavanaugh Insists He’s Never Blacked Out From Drinking. Mark Judge Suggested Otherwise.

Kavanaugh repeatedly said that four statements the Republican staff got from people Ford named proved the event did not happen -- one of them was Mark Judge, who was allegedly involved in her attack. What value did those statements have?

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-hearing-leland-keyser-statement.html

Kavanaugh got a lot of questions about his high school yearbook, ridiculing the trivial evidence that it was "just a yearbook." But if you have followed this story you know that his yearbook entry, contemporaneous with the Ford event, contains a lot of veiled references to drinking and sexual exploits. He lied and denied every one of them

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/09/kavanaugh-wrapup/
I was also obvious that he was lying about certain things. For example, there’s not much question that he was a pretty heavy drinker in his teens. There’s not much question that “boofing” doesn’t refer to farting. There’s not much question that “Renate Alumnus” was not an affectionate reference to a girl that everyone liked. . . .

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/09/why-brett-kavanaughs-hearings-convinced-me-that-hes-guilty.html
His explanation that the “Renate Alumni” was not a sexual reference is difficult to square with a fellow Renate Alumnus’s poem ( “You need a date / and it’s getting late / so don’t hesitate / to call Renate”) portraying her as a cheap date. His insistence “boof” and “devil’s triangle” from his yearbook were references to flatulence and a drinking game drew incredulous responses from people his age who have heard these terms. His claim that the “Beach Week Ralph Club” was a reference to a weak stomach seems highly unlikely. . . 

https://twitter.com/davidenrich/status/1045416955522535425
Based on extensive interviews by me and @katekelly with Kavanaugh's former Georgetown Prep classmates, what he just said about the meanings of "boofed" and "Devil's Triangle" is not true.

More: https://www.vox.com/2018/9/27/17911728/brett-kavanaugh-boof-definition-supreme-court

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799343

One fact that has been clearly established: Kavanaugh likes beer

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/kavanaugh-i-liked-beer-i-still-like-beer-but-not-to-the-point-of-blacking-out
‘I Liked Beer. I Still Like Beer’  

But seriously: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/27/17906838/brett-kavanaugh-alcohol-sexual-assault-allegations
We need to talk about Brett Kavanaugh and alcohol

Before she got dumped by the GOP senators, the prosecutor started to drill in on the July 1 date on Kavanaugh's calendar. Then they canned her

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/brett-kavanaughs-calendar-for-july-1-1982-go-to-timmys-for-skis-with-judge.html

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/27/17911528/brett-kavanaugh-christine-ford-senate-yearbook-calendar

More: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799171
Kavanaugh's summer 1982 calendar shows drinking at the center of his social life

The July 1 entry says that three key individuals in Ford's testimony -- Kavanaugh, Judge, P.J. and others, went to "Timmy’s for skis” (brewski's?). Wouldn't you like to know if the location and layout of that house fits Ford's description of where the assault happened? No one bothered to find out, it appears

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/27/republicans-prosecutor-may-have-helped-undercut-kavanaughs-defense/?utm_term=.24479d73efd9

After saying that the hired attorney would handle all the questions for both witnesses, the GOP senators violated their own ground rules, dismissed her, and used their own time for a series of pro-Kavanaugh stump speeches and attacks on the Dems. Lindsey Graham, the first to take back his turn, went utterly ballistic. By framing the whole matter as a ruthless attack by the Dems, he turned the issue into a matter of party loyalty

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/many-judiciary-gopers-forego-having-prosecutor-question-kavanaugh
It appears that at least some Senate Judiciary Republicans were more interested in having a professional prosecutor question the woman accusing someone of sexual assault than the accused. . . .

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/27/gop-senators-outside-ford-questioner-mistake-849246
Rachel Mitchell's disappearing act confirms GOP blunder
 
Graham: https://thinkprogress.org/lindsay-graham-meltdown-kavanaugh-hearing-8dbfe5367a0c/ 

[NB: As more than one observer noted, Graham's performance, when he knew Trump was watching, sounded like an audition to be the next Attorney General.

In any event, the moment this happened, the pretense that the hearing was about trying to determine the facts of what happened was totally abandoned.]

Trump tweets praising Kavanaugh's testimony, says nothing about Ford's

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-reacts-to-kavanaugh-testimony-powerful-honest-and-riveting
"Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats’ search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote!" 

Wrapping up, we will see whether this performance changes the minds of key Senate swing votes. But it really is appalling that, confronted with three or four credible charges against Kavanaugh, the Repubs refused to turn them over for a proper investigation. Instead, they cooked up this he said/she said spectacle, excluded other witnesses and evidence INCLUDING AN ALLEGED EYEWITNESS TO THE EVENT, and then said, well, just given these two conflicting narratives we don't know enough to make a determination. Will this succeed? Will a man like this end up on the Supreme Court?

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799368

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/kavanaugh-ford-hearing-jeff-flake-republican-senators-confirmation.html
 
Looks like the Republicans plan to vote 

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/27/republicans-to-move-forward-on-kavanaugh-vote/

But: https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/27/flake-still-undecided-on-kavanaugh/
Flake Still Undecided on Kavanaugh

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/27/corker-will-vote-for-kavanaugh/
Corker Will Vote for Kavanaugh

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/28/whip-count-leans-to-confirming-kavanaugh/
Republicans are increasingly optimistic about getting the vote of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia . . . 

In other Kavanaugh news . . .

The American Bar Association calls for a halt to the Kavanaugh confirmation and a full investigation

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/09/american-bar-association-calls-halt

Kavanaugh and several committee Repubs accused Dianne Feinstein of leaking Ford's letter to the press despite Ford's request that it be kept confidential. Feinstein says, it wasn't her

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/feinstein-neither-myself-or-my-staff-leaked-blasey-ford-allegation-to-press

Julie Swetnick, accuser #3, speaks publicly

https://politicalwire.com/2018/09/27/third-kavanaugh-accusers-speaks-for-first-time/

In other news . . .        

Trump postpones his meeting with Rod Rosenstein

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-delays-rosenstein-meeting-because-kavanaugh-hearing                                          

Good luck with that

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/27/democrats-vote-mueller-protection-bill-847888
Democrats prepare to force vote on Mueller protection bill

Devin Nunes' October surprise

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1799159

This could be interesting

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/indiana-governor-eric-holcomb-ordered-turn-over-carrier-email-exchange
Indiana Governor Must Turn Over Emails Between Pence, Trump And Carrier Corp. 

The overwhelming tone in Trump's press conference was aggrieved victimhood. Defending Brett Kavanaugh against sexual assault accusations morphed into defenses of himself. The U.N. wasn't laughing at me -- THEY WEREN'T! -- but you all said they were. Some people call me incompetent and talk about the 25th Amendment, but China thinks I have a "very large brain." And over and over and over again cutting off reporters, insulting them, and accusing the room of being biased against him

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/trumps-astounding-press-conference-annotated/571486/

The "highlights": https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/pay-no-attention-to-fact-that-president.html

China is running ads criticizing the Trump trade war. Trump is calling this "meddling in the election." Is this laying the groundwork for an excuse if the GOP gets swamped in the midterms?

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/09/china-midterms-meddling-trump.html 

Another new Trump book

https://www.thedailybeast.com/speed-read-the-5-most-alarming-revelations-from-michael-lewis-new-trump-tell-all-the-fifth-risk
Winning the Election ‘Scared the Crap’ Out of Trump . . . [read on]

More: https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/09/27/the-christie-ouster-and-the-flynn-hiring/ 

Five Senate races that were supposed to be close, aren't

https://www.salon.com/2018/09/27/democrats-ahead-by-sizable-margins-in-five-senate-races-in-states-that-trump-carried-in-2016-polls/

Bonus item: What we really learned about Brett Kavanaugh

Trevor Noah: https://www.thedailybeast.com/daily-shows-trevor-noah-kavanaugh-revealed-himself-to-be-such-an-asshole

Jimmy Kimmel: https://www.thedailybeast.com/jimmy-kimmel-destroys-donald-trump-jrs-idiotic-response-to-kavanaugh-hearing
 

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