by Nomad
Calling this an "incredible" or a "historical" week just doesn't do justice to the political roller-coaster ride that Nomads endured in the last seven days. I am sure that most of you feel a more than a little "shell-shocked" by the events.
So, here, in all its glory, is a record of the events as they unfolded.
On Monday morning, the moment came that we all feared when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was summoned to the White House for a meeting with Chief of Staff, John Kelly.
It was widely speculated (and reported) that Rosenstein would either be fired or would resign as part of president Trump's attempt to shut down the Mueller investigation in Russian collusion. Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation after Attorney General Jeff Session's recusal, would be replaced by a person more compliant to the Trump administration. Zero hour, it seemed, had finally arrived and President Trump was about to cross his Rubicon.
The moment of destiny came an went and no Rubicon was ever crossed. What actually took place in his meeting with Kelly was unclear. One thing was clear is that Rosenstein emerged Monday afternoon still in his position.
Perhaps it was only a deflection for the other main story in the news. Another meeting was scheduled for Thursday and that was later canceled.
The Stage is Set
Throughout the weekend, there had been extensive back-and-forth negotiations between and the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lawyers representing Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
On Monday, it was agreed that she would appear on Thursday in order to be interviewed by 21 senators. Even before she had had a chance to speak, Republicans on the committee- all men- had publicly expressed doubts about the veracity of her claims.
Rather bizarrely, Judge Kavanaugh, in his defense, turned over calendars that he had saved from the time period (1982) in order to prove that the accusation made by Dr. Ford was false and could not have happened as she claimed. Kavanaugh's critics snickered.
Accuser Two with a Third in the Wings
While Kavanaugh and the Republican supports were trying to manage that situation, another accuser surfaced with similar claims of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. Deborah Ramirez claimed that at a dorm party Kavanaugh had exposed himself and shoved his penis in her face without her consent.
Other allegations soon materialized. According to a person who was Kavanaugh's roommate at the time, he believed Ramirez's story and that Kavanaugh was "frequently, incoherently drunk."
Other allegations soon materialized. According to a person who was Kavanaugh's roommate at the time, he believed Ramirez's story and that Kavanaugh was "frequently, incoherently drunk."
When these latest accusations surfaced, Senate Republicans on the committee demanded that the confirmation process be accelerated. Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor on Monday and accused Senate Democrats of attempting to slow down -- or even derail -- the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. It was a supreme bit of irony, of course, given his refusal to even hold confirmation hearings for Obama's choice for the SCOTUS, Merrick Garland.
As if all that weren't enough, Michael Avenatti. the lawyer for Stormy Daniels, tweeted that he represents "a woman with credible information" about Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge. Avenatti claimed that he had "significant evidence" that Kavanaugh and Judge "would participate in the targeting of women with alcohol/drugs." Attorney Avenatti said he would in 48 hours supply the press with the name and background as well as the specifics of the accusation.
As omomma said at the time:
Kavanaugh's skeletons do not nearly approach the level and perversity of the village idiot's. But thanks to women who are willing to step up and destroy their own personal lives, there is some blow back.
Maybe it will matter. Maybe not. Probably not.
Con Game
On Tuesday, in New York for the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly President Trump weighed in on the Kavanaugh nomination. He dismissed the allegations as part of a Democratic "con game."
“They don’t believe it themselves. They know he’s a high-quality person. They don’t believe it. It’s just resist and obstruct. They’re playing a con game and they play it very well. They play it actually much better than the Republicans.”He went on to claim that one of the two accusers, Ms. Ramirez, was " totally inebriated" “all messed up” and “drunk” at the time.
Laughingstock
While speaking at the UN, Trump took the opportunity to boast of his accomplishments. He told the General assembly that his administration had "accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country" Much to his evident surprise, there was quite a lot of mocking laughter. So much, in fact, that Trump himself acknowledged the amused reaction.
"I didn't expect that reaction, but that's okay."
Later his staff would go on to claim that he had intended the remark as a joke. In actuality, it surely must have cut Trump to the quick. He often criticized President Obama as the world's laughingstock.
Gang Rape
On Wednesday, less than 24 hours before Dr. Ford was to testify before the Senate confirmation committee, the name of Kavanaugh's third accuser was revealed and her accusation were the most serious yet.
According to the woman, the pair would use drugs or grain alcohol to spike the drinks of their targeted women. She also said that she had seen Kavanaugh "being overly aggressive with girls," not taking "No" for an answer, (Here's a link to the full statement.)
Swetnick claimed that she herself was one of Kavanaugh and Judge's victim.
"During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me. I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking."
Swetnick, a 55 years old resident of Washington D.C., is a web project manager and web professional services engineer. According to her resume, she has worked for the U.S. Mint and as an IBM digital analyst. She has also worked for Homeland Security as a senior web production manager and for the Department of Justice as a senior production webmaster, the Department of State. On top of that, she has worked in some public and private companies. In other words, background checks galore.
She has degrees from Montgomery College, the University of Maryland in astrophysics and computer science. It is hard to imagine a more qualified accuser.
Or more serious accusations.
All 10 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee called for Trump to "immediately withdraw the nomination or order an FBI investigation into all the allegations."
Kavanaugh strongly denied that he was ever involved in such gross misconduct and that he remained a virgin throughout his high school years and for some time after. This defense seemed to contradict coded boasts found in Kavanaugh's yearbook.
Kathleen spoke for a lot of Nomads when she commented:
It's clear that Kavanaugh is a misogynist of the highest order. His arrogance and contempt for women is revealed through the violent and hostile actions that he and his friends inflicted on women. It's a symptom of a patriarchal belief that men can use women sexually as they see fit and it is rife in the types of school that Kavanaugh and Trump attended.
A Day of Reckoning
Then came Thursday, easily one of the most interesting and emotional days Washington has seen in decades.
From the moment she arrived to give her testimony, Christine Blasey Ford, a professor of psychology at Palo Alto University, was under extreme stress. This was obviously not a person that craved the spotlight.
In an opening statement, the soft-spoken woman told the committee:
In an opening statement, the soft-spoken woman told the committee:
I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school.
Following her opening statement, Dr. Ford took questions from Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona attorney that the GOP had wisely hired to clarify the details of her allegations. If the intent was to trip up the witness, it failed miserably. Dr. Ford carefully told her story of the assault, providing agonizing and personal details and the effects that assault has had on her life. When she could not recall certain particulars precisely, she apologized for to the committee.
She revealed how she had, for the most part, put the incident behind her and was reluctant to discuss it, even with her own husband. However, she never forgot.
This all changed in early July 2018. I saw press reports stating that Brett Kavanaugh was on the “short list” of potential Supreme Court nominees. I thought it was my civic duty to relay the information I had about Mr. Kavanaugh’s conduct so that those considering his potential nomination would know about the assault.
Dr. Ford said that she had no doubt that Kavanaugh was one of two men who attacked her. This was not a case of mistaken identity. She was “100 percent” certain.
In all, Dr. Ford provided hours of sworn testimony, which included records of her independently -administered polygraph examination.
Across the nation - around the world, in fact- her audience sat transfixed and stunned by her courage. If there had been any doubt, her calm demeanor dispelled them.
TIME magazine painted this image of the moment.
In all, Dr. Ford provided hours of sworn testimony, which included records of her independently -administered polygraph examination.
Across the nation - around the world, in fact- her audience sat transfixed and stunned by her courage. If there had been any doubt, her calm demeanor dispelled them.
Women watched by themselves at home and with supportive friends. They watched from their desks, or sitting in break rooms with C-SPAN streaming, or sitting in parked cars, missing their appointments. They listened on buses and on subways.According to Nielsen data, roughly 20.4 million viewers in America watched the live broadcast. But that count represents only a small fraction of the total number of viewers. It does not include millions more who streamed the event on phones or computers or crowds that watched in bars and other public places.
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange were streaming the testimony, their eyes glued to Dr. Ford’s terrified face instead of screens full of numbers. A Zen Buddhist monk broke her weeklong silent meditation to watch and live-tweet the hearings.
The Disastrous Rebuttal
Following a lunch break, the hearings resumed with Judge Kavanaugh's response to the allegations. It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast between the two witnesses. Kavanaugh had clearly decided to mount an aggressive self-defense against what he considered lies and slanders against his character.
Had he regained his composure at this point, he might well have won over the undecideds.
He did not.
Instead, he took an unnecessarily confrontational tone- to say the least- against Democratic Senators, hurling insults and refusing to give clear answers to simple questions. (At one point, he simply went silent and stared blankly back.)
Notably, this evasive tactic was followed by apparent untruths. For example, when asked about the notation "Devil's Triangle" (mentioned in his yearbook) he attempted to claim it was only a drinking game. It is, in fact, known to be a slang for a particular sex act involving two men and a woman.
It was not the only time he tried to mislead the committee members. When asked about his drinking, Kavanaugh became unusually defensive, claiming that he had indeed drunk beer in high school but not to excess. This was a direct contradiction to several classmates who knew and witnessed Kavanaugh at the time.
To this, Kavanaugh claimed that their recollections were false or tainted by bad blood. None of the sordid claims, he said under oath, were true. He had been a virgin. He had kept calendars. Women loved him.
Perhaps what stood out in many viewers minds was the fact that he would not answer one simple question: Would you approve of a thorough FBI investigation of the allegations made against you?
“This confirmation process has become a national disgrace, The Constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy.”Kavanaugh's opening remarks were a marked- a jarring- contrast to what Americans had been watching all morning. With bitter tears and expression of fury, Kavanaugh described how his life had been destroyed by these vile and untrue accusations.
Had he regained his composure at this point, he might well have won over the undecideds.He did not.
Instead, he took an unnecessarily confrontational tone- to say the least- against Democratic Senators, hurling insults and refusing to give clear answers to simple questions. (At one point, he simply went silent and stared blankly back.)
Notably, this evasive tactic was followed by apparent untruths. For example, when asked about the notation "Devil's Triangle" (mentioned in his yearbook) he attempted to claim it was only a drinking game. It is, in fact, known to be a slang for a particular sex act involving two men and a woman.
It was not the only time he tried to mislead the committee members. When asked about his drinking, Kavanaugh became unusually defensive, claiming that he had indeed drunk beer in high school but not to excess. This was a direct contradiction to several classmates who knew and witnessed Kavanaugh at the time.
To this, Kavanaugh claimed that their recollections were false or tainted by bad blood. None of the sordid claims, he said under oath, were true. He had been a virgin. He had kept calendars. Women loved him.
Perhaps what stood out in many viewers minds was the fact that he would not answer one simple question: Would you approve of a thorough FBI investigation of the allegations made against you?
A perfectly logical and direct question. Repeatedly he was asked and repeatedly he dodge this question. It was a grave mistake.
In some respects, it could not have gone worse. At least, that was the perspective from most people who saw what took place. Yet, to the Republicans, Kavanaugh was the victim. Senator Graham launched a blistering (and at times hysterical) attack on Democrats on the committee, accusing them of orchestrating a "sham."
"If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want is you want to destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020.”Chairman Grassley closed the day by scheduling a vote of the Kavanaugh confirmation on Friday.
Aftershocks
Friday morning, the mood here at the blog was of frustration and anger. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee appeared to have no interest in listening to the pleas of Democrats. They had repeatedly asked a delay in the proceedings in order that the FBI could look into the claims of accusers.
Chairman Grassley would have none of it, citing that the committee had listened to the allegations and that was all that was required.
There were, however, aftershocks from the previous days' testimony. It was fairly clear that Kavanaugh had perjured himself several times and on important points. Apart from his past, his behavior had called into question whether there was actually any place for such a volatile and personality on the high court.
As maelewis commented:
Could this person ever be an impartial judge of anything? critics asked.
An op-ed in the Washington Post ran with the headline:
Kavanaugh finally showed us who he really is. And he’s unfit for the court.
Here's an excerpt:
As journalist Dan Rather tweeted:
Chairman Grassley would have none of it, citing that the committee had listened to the allegations and that was all that was required.
There were, however, aftershocks from the previous days' testimony. It was fairly clear that Kavanaugh had perjured himself several times and on important points. Apart from his past, his behavior had called into question whether there was actually any place for such a volatile and personality on the high court.
There is no crying on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh showed that he is emotionally unstable, a weak person who could be easily compromised with a simple statement or threat. If he is hand picked by Trump, he is tainted.His attempt to bring in partisanship as part of his defense created even more concerns. He made the absurd suggestion that the allegations were all part of some vengeful conspiracy hatched by the Clintons.
Could this person ever be an impartial judge of anything? critics asked.
An op-ed in the Washington Post ran with the headline:
Kavanaugh finally showed us who he really is. And he’s unfit for the court.
Here's an excerpt:
Kavanaugh is an intense Republican partisan. To be honest, I was surprised it took this long for this fact to become clear...On Thursday, no doubt realizing that the only way to save his nomination was to reinforce feelings of party loyalty among Republican senators, Kavanaugh not only came out swinging at Democrats, he made clear that he’s a Supreme Court nominee for the age of negative partisanship. I deserve to be on the court, he said in effect, because I hate Democrats as much as you do.On Thursday evening, the American Bar Association had publicly called upon the Senate committee to halt Friday's vote. Yale Law School did likewise.
As journalist Dan Rather tweeted:
Kavanaugh, by his words, actions, and demeanor right now is either a man who has been horribly wronged or a stunning personification of white, male, privilege on display. It is up for America and the Senators to decide which, especially in the wake of Dr. Ford's testimony.
It went beyond one person's fitness for the appointment. Serious questions were now being raised about the legitimacy of the vote and the prospect that Kavanaugh's appointment to the high court would lead to questions the legitimacy of the Supreme Court itself.
Nevertheless, there was no indication whatsoever that anybody was prepared to compromise in any respect or any degree.
Flake's Compromise
Then, at the last possible minute, something unexpected happened that caught everybody off-guard. Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, for whatever reason, told Chairman Grassley that he would vote in favor of Kavanaugh only if the FBI conducted an investigation of the allegations.
Almost immediately, speculation began about Flake's reasons.
He claimed his decision was a reaction to the "complete breakdown of Senate decorum and procedure and lack of comity." Was it an impromptu meeting in the elevator with an angry constituent? Or did the GOP realize that, after Kavanaugh's performance on the previous day, there was no way the Senate would approve?
The answers are as yet unclear. We may never know.
Still, regardless of the motives, the fate of Judge Kavanaugh is now in the hands of the Trump-maligned FBI and its investigators. As the Washington Post reported on Friday,
He claimed his decision was a reaction to the "complete breakdown of Senate decorum and procedure and lack of comity." Was it an impromptu meeting in the elevator with an angry constituent? Or did the GOP realize that, after Kavanaugh's performance on the previous day, there was no way the Senate would approve?
The answers are as yet unclear. We may never know.
President Trump said in a statement that he had ordered the bureau to “conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file” and added that the update “must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week.”
The FBI could initiate further action on its own if agents uncover evidence of criminal activity or if someone is caught lying to investigators, the former official said.
On Saturday, there were rumors- subsequently denied by the White House- that Trump had accepted the new deal on condition that the administration was allowed to set the limits of the investigation. The first two accusers were reportedly approved, but Swetnick was not.
The playlist consists of:
Have a great Sunday, my friends.
On Saturday, there were rumors- subsequently denied by the White House- that Trump had accepted the new deal on condition that the administration was allowed to set the limits of the investigation. The first two accusers were reportedly approved, but Swetnick was not.
However, there is a major flaw worth noting to this Republican compromise. Ultimately, the FBI findings will go not to the Senate to be openly debated but to the White House. What happens to the report after that is a mystery. Perhaps it will be released only in a heavily redacted form to the US Senate.
It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that how Trump handles this investigation will be a "dry-run" for how he would handle the Mueller investigation if he fires Rosenstein.
How all this play out is anybody's guess. Will Kavanaugh- whose very career is hanging in the balance-pull his name from consideration?
Will the Republicans actually approve of a man clearly unfit for the position? But then, why wouldn't they?
After all, they did it in 2016.
To calm frazzled nerves, I chose a singer/songwriter who many of us will automatically recognize- Jackson Browne. Hope you like the playlist.
It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that how Trump handles this investigation will be a "dry-run" for how he would handle the Mueller investigation if he fires Rosenstein.
How all this play out is anybody's guess. Will Kavanaugh- whose very career is hanging in the balance-pull his name from consideration?
Will the Republicans actually approve of a man clearly unfit for the position? But then, why wouldn't they?
After all, they did it in 2016.
* * *
And Now.. Time for a Musical Sanity Break
As per Nomadic Politics tradition, we shall put this week to bed with a musical interlude.To calm frazzled nerves, I chose a singer/songwriter who many of us will automatically recognize- Jackson Browne. Hope you like the playlist.
The playlist consists of:
- These Days
- For A Dancer
- In The Shape Of A Heart
- Doctor My Eyes
- The Pretender
- Running On Empty
- Shaky Town
- Load Out/Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer)
Have a great Sunday, my friends.