How many congressmen have had to step down since 1/20/17 for sexually related issues?
I honestly might be missing something, but I remember two democrats?
And when the Dems have been accused, they have essentially lost the support of their parties and have stepped down quickly. When Repubs have been accused, they have tended to deny, hold out as long as they can, maintain the support of their parties and even outright endorsement, and only step down when public pressure becomes overwhelming,
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
News just released that Dr Ford and her family have received death threats, her email has been hacked and she has been impersonated online. She and her family have had to leave their home and are in a more secure location.
She and her lawyer have asked the FBI to investigate the allegation prior to appearing before a Senste hearing. It now seems she may not appear before the hearing next week.
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
Also, it also seems that she in fact did not agree to have her name released. She wanted to keep her identity private from the very beginning, when she came forward in July, but it was leaked two days ago.
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
Also, it also seems that she in fact did not agree to have her name released. She wanted to keep her identity private from the very beginning, when she came forward in July, but it was leaked two days ago.
The leaking of her name was known at the time that it was, in fact, leaked. oftenreading said:
News just released that Dr Ford and her family have received death threats, her email has been hacked and she has been impersonated online. She and her family have had to leave their home and are in a more secure location.
She and her lawyer have asked the FBI to investigate the allegation prior to appearing before a Senste hearing. It now seems she may not appear before the hearing next week.
I just saw this and the fact that she has had to relocate is very disturbing but sadly not unpredictable. This is why women don't come forward about these things.
Kavanaugh has, in the meantime, been working from the White House with their counsel for the past two days in preparation for this hearing but has not encouraged the White House to have the FBI investigate the incident. This would take a week at most.
I would have to say that the person who is asking for the FBI to investigate and is subjecting themselves to therapist notes being released has more credulity. And Kavanaugh saying that he didn't go to this party when she never said what party it was is highly suspect. His character is not holding up to the standards that we should expect.
If he is chomping at the bit to clear his name from this thing he says never happened, one would think he would be handing over all the info possible to the FBI to help clear said name.
She won't appear unless there is an investigation and I don't blame her. Especially with some of the comments made by the men who would be questioning her. This just got interesting, will there will be a real search for the truth is the question.
I didn’t realize it was a leak until tonight. For me, it’s another important factor in this story. People keep asking why she “waited until now”, when in fact she didn’t wait; she came forward as soon as his candidacy was revealed but preferred to remain anonymous, which I think lends credibility, as she does not appear to have done this for any reason other than what she saw as her duty.
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
WASHINGTON — The woman who has accused President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault all but ruled out appearing at an extraordinary Senate hearing scheduled for next week to hear her allegations, insisting on Tuesday that the F.B.I. investigate first.
Speaking through her lawyers, Christine Blasey Ford did not explicitly rule out appearing Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify along with Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. But echoing Senate Democrats, she said that an investigation should be “the first step” before she is put “on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident.”
Republicans are unlikely to negotiate an alternative date and could go ahead with the hearing without her or declare it unnecessary if she refuses to appear and move quickly to a vote. They have repeatedly stressed that Monday would be Dr. Blasey’s opportunity to testify, either privately or publicly, and that they then planned to move forward with the confirmation process.
The apparent standoff was yet another turn in a high-stakes drama over the president’s second Supreme Court nominee that began Thursday, when the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee revealed that she had referred the sexual assault allegations to federal investigators. Dr. Blasey, a research psychologist in Northern California, has accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her more than 30 years ago when both were teenagers at a boozy high school party, a charge that he has categorically denied.
In a letter to the committee, Dr. Blasey’s lawyers complained that some senators have already “made up their minds” but did not explicitly rule out appearing before them. In a subsequent appearance on CNN, however, one of the lawyers, Lisa J. Banks, seemed to suggest that Dr. Blasey would not show up.
“She’s not prepared to talk with them at a hearing on Monday,” Ms. Banks said. Even if Republicans agreed to an F.B.I. investigation, it would take time to complete, she added. “No legitimate investigation is going to happen between now and Monday.”
But Republicans drew a hard line. “If she does not come on Monday, we are going to move on and vote on Wednesday,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a member of the committee, told Fox News on Tuesday evening.
Mr. Trump joined other Republicans in rejecting an F.B.I. investigation of the long-ago episode. The bureau “said that they really don’t do that, that’s not what they do,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday during a news conference. “And now they have done supposedly six background checks over the years as Judge Kavanaugh has gone beautifully up the ladder.”
In the letter to the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday evening, Dr. Blasey’s lawyers said that she has been the target of “vicious harassment and even death threats” since her name was made public on Sunday in an interview published in The Washington Post. Her email has been hacked, she has been impersonated online and she and her family have been forced to relocate out of their home, according to the lawyers, Ms. Banks and her partner, Debra S. Katz.
“While Dr. Ford’s life was being turned upside down, you and your staff scheduled a public hearing for her to testify at the same table as Judge Kavanaugh in front of two dozen U.S. Senators on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident,” the lawyers wrote to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the committee’s chairman. The hearing “would include interrogation by senators who appear to have made up their minds that she is ‘mistaken’ and ‘mixed up.’”
Dr. Blasey, who is sometimes referred to by her married name, Ford, “wants to cooperate with the committee and with law enforcement officials” but believes that a “full investigation” by the F.B.I. would be necessary to form a nonpartisan assessment before any hearing, the lawyers wrote.
Mr. Grassley did not respond immediately on Tuesday night, but he has said Dr. Blasey could testify in private if she preferred. An aide to Mr. Grassley said that the committee never intended to seat the two witnesses together at one table or even on one panel. The two could testify one after the other without facing each other. Image Senator Charles E. Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Judge Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, had failed so far to respond to his requests to testify in front of the panel.CreditErin Schaff for The New York Times
Both Dr. Blasey, 51, and Judge Kavanaugh, 53, had said on Monday morning that they were willing to come before the committee and Mr. Grassley went ahead to postpone a vote on his confirmation and schedule a hearing for next week.
Democrats and Republicans spent much of Tuesday arguing over the scope and shape of what such a hearing would entail. Mr. Grassley told the radio host Hugh Hewitt that Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey would be the only witnesses, prompting pushback from top Democrats.
Another potential witness, Mark Judge, a friend of Judge Kavanaugh’s who Dr. Blasey said was in the room when the assault occurred, told the Judiciary Committee that he does not remember the episode. “I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes,” he said in a statement sent by his lawyers, adding that “I do not wish to speak publicly” about the matter.
As senators in both parties grappled with how to move forward, Mr. Trump’s advisers and Judge Kavanaugh’s allies appeared to be settling on a strategy of defending him by suggesting that this must be a case of mistaken identity. Under the emerging strategy, Judge Kavanaugh’s defenders would accept that Dr. Blasey was in fact assaulted but would insist that it must have been by someone other than Judge Kavanaugh because he denied it.
The approach reflects the shifting reality of the #MeToo movement when it has become politically perilous to directly attack the credibility of women who come forward to tell their stories. By suggesting that perhaps there was confusion after more than 30 years, White House allies said that they could offer wavering Republicans whose votes are critical for his confirmation another explanation for the he-said-she-said conflict without tearing down Dr. Blasey.
The line of defense seemed to be previewed on Monday when Judge Kavanaugh called Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah and a member of the Judiciary Committee, to discuss the allegations. Mr. Hatch told reporters afterward that he believed Judge Kavanaugh. “I think she’s mistaken something” or is “mixed up,” he said.
Two people familiar with the call, who did not want to be identified discussing it, said the judge insisted to Mr. Hatch that he did not do what he was accused of and then, in response to a question, agreed that it was possible that somebody else might have.
Dr. Blasey has been uncertain about some details of the episode, including when it happened and whose house they were at. But this strategy carries its own risks. The letter from Dr. Blasey’s lawyers strongly suggested that she would find it offensive to assert that she would not remember who pinned her down to a bed, groped her, tried to take her clothing off and covered her mouth to keep her from screaming at that party in the 1980s.
Judge Kavanaugh has told associates that he did not know who his accuser was until she identified herself in The Post and that once he saw her name he vaguely recalled her being part of the social circle associated with his all-boys high school in suburban Maryland at the time.
A person close to Dr. Blasey, who asked not to be identified to discuss her situation in detail, said Dr. Blasey knew the future Judge Kavanaugh in passing before the gathering where she says the attack took place, which could make it harder for his defenders to make a case that she had confused him for someone else.
The conflicting stories generated a political spectacle in Washington on Tuesday. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, posted on Twitter a video clip of Judge Kavanaugh speaking at his alma mater, Georgetown Preparatory School, in 2015. “What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep,” he said to laughter. “That’s been a good thing for all of us, I think.”
Ms. Warren added: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
I didn’t realize it was a leak until tonight. For me, it’s another important factor in this story. People keep asking why she “waited until now”, when in fact she didn’t wait; she came forward as soon as his candidacy was revealed but preferred to remain anonymous, which I think lends credibility, as she does not appear to have done this for any reason other than what she saw as her duty.
Agreed. She sent a letter to her Congresswoman who sent it to Senator Feinstein, and she basically demanded anonymity. The leak is thought to be a staffer but no one is saying who it was. So once she was outed, she said she would testify through her attorney.
I don't care how long ago it was. I have memories of incidents from as far back as my tween years, but I can't remember people with whom i went to high school (I can remember grade school though, weird). Anyway, my point is that decades and decades later I have vivid images of various incidents when many other aspects of those years are a blur. They stick with you. I don't know if I could expose myself to national scrutiny though. If she is telling the truth, which I tend to believe for my own reasons, she has my respect for putting herself through this. She doesn't have a Supreme Justice seat waiting for her after the scrutiny, just more death threats.
Christine Blasey Ford’s claims that Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers while he was drunk have drawn attention to a speech he gave four years ago in which he discussed heavy drinking at Yale Law School — and to an offhand remark about his high school days that he made during another speech.
Earlier this week, a transcript of a 2014 speech Judge Kavanaugh apparently gave at a banquet for the Yale Law School Federalist Society surfaced via a Washington Post reporter on Twitter; some of it was later transcribed and posted by the magazine Mother Jones.
The speech, in which he imparted lessons to students and reminisced about his time at school, contained one section in which Judge Kavanaugh, now 53, fondly recalled some debaucherous — if seemingly harmless — nights of heavy drinking and revelry as a Yale Law student.
In one episode, he described taking a bus with his classmates to Boston for a Red Sox game and a night of barhopping, which ended with the students “falling out of the bus onto the front steps of Yale Law School at about 4:45 a.m.”
“Fortunately for all of us, we had a motto: ‘What happens on the bus stays on the bus,’” the speech said.
Judge Kavanaugh then went on to describe a “good run” in his third year of law school, in which he and his classmates “got our work done, but we had our share of fun.” He discussed a class party and mentioned a nearby bar, which he summarized by saying: “We had a memorable evening. It is fair to say that we had a few drinks. Indeed, as a classmate of mine and I were reminiscing and piecing things together the other day, we think we had more than a few beers before the banquet. Might have been at Toad’s. Not a good idea.”
Then, on Tuesday, an apparently truncated video clip of Judge Kavanaugh giving another speech emerged. Referring to his high school in 2015, he again modified the frequently used cliché: “What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep.”
He added: “That’s been a good thing for all of us, I think.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, tweeted the video of Judge Kavanaugh making the quip and said: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
Dr. Blasey has accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexual assault, saying that during a high school party in the early 1980s, he pinned her on a bed, groped her and covered her mouth to keep her from screaming.
Judge Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegation.
A hearing has been set for next week, and Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey have been asked to testify.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Dr. Blasey, a research psychologist at Palo Alto University in Northern California, accused some senators of having already “made up their minds” and insisted that the F.B.I. investigate.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Kavanaugh is a fucking liar not just about this issue, he has already lied under oath fuck him & the GOP they’ve already made up their minds that she is lying ...
How many congressmen have had to step down since 1/20/17 for sexually related issues?
I honestly might be missing something, but I remember two democrats?
And when the Dems have been accused, they have essentially lost the support of their parties and have stepped down quickly. When Repubs have been accused, they have tended to deny, hold out as long as they can, maintain the support of their parties and even outright endorsement, and only step down when public pressure becomes overwhelming,
You're talking about Roy Moore, I get it.... Conyers fought it pretty hard too if I remember correctly.... Franken tried to wiggle but did the right thing.... I doubt remember how the other elected Republicans accused have handled it but I'm pretty sure they stepped down like Conyers and Franken eventually did
Clinton to me is the worst example... years and years of sexual misconduct came to a summit when he had sex with AN INTERN IN THE OVAL OFFICE... and denied it and fought it....has denied and fought it to this day I believe... repeatedly lied and lied... I did not have sexual relations with that woman....... let's not forget he was also accused of sexual assault, which was fought viciously.... yeah, the Democrats are real stand up gentlemen when it comes to this issue.... lol give me a fucking break....
Cavanaugh is just another elitist scumbag, both sides are full of them whether people like it or not
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Do you give a shit about his $200K debt that mysteriously disappeared? Or his perjured testimony? How about a potential gambling problem? Does that bother you?
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Do you give a shit about his $200K debt that mysteriously disappeared? Or his perjured testimony? How about a potential gambling problem? Does that bother you?
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
She’s an idiot either way. She shoulda focused on the sexual assault and not kids drinking in college!!!! The shock of it all!! Who does that????
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Do you give a shit about his $200K debt that mysteriously disappeared? Or his perjured testimony? How about a potential gambling problem? Does that bother you?
I care about the potential sexual assault and perjury for sure. Drinking in high school or college? Not relevant.
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Do you give a shit about his $200K debt that mysteriously disappeared? Or his perjured testimony? How about a potential gambling problem? Does that bother you?
I care about the potential sexual assault and perjury for sure. Drinking in high school or college? Not relevant.
Bragging about debauchery and saying things like, “what happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep,” May be fine for being the CEO of a large, foreign funded real estate firm but I personally prefer that my Supreme Court Justice nominees have and exhibit a little more character. The world is not a frat party and particularly as they sit in judgement of lower court decisions that can impact my life or that of women. He’s a partisan hack and someone who acts and conducts himself with an air of the rules don’t apply to him.
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
She’s an idiot either way. She shoulda focused on the sexual assault and not kids drinking in college!!!! The shock of it all!! Who does that????
Then, on Tuesday, an apparently truncated video clip of Judge Kavanaugh giving another speech emerged. Referring to his high school in 2015, he again modified the frequently used cliché: “What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep.”
He added: “That’s been a good thing for all of us, I think.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, tweeted the video of Judge Kavanaugh making the quip and said: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
She's not referring to the drinking; she's referring to the "what happens at Georgetown Prep....." statement, which typically is equivalent to "we'll just ignore any bad behaviour from that time and pretend it never happened", like when people refer to Vegas. Was he admitting to wrongdoing during the clip? Who knows.
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Do you give a shit about his $200K debt that mysteriously disappeared? Or his perjured testimony? How about a potential gambling problem? Does that bother you?
I care about the potential sexual assault and perjury for sure. Drinking in high school or college? Not relevant.
That's not what she said. Why do you feel the need to make shit up?
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
She’s an idiot either way. She shoulda focused on the sexual assault and not kids drinking in college!!!! The shock of it all!! Who does that????
Then, on Tuesday, an apparently truncated video clip of Judge Kavanaugh giving another speech emerged. Referring to his high school in 2015, he again modified the frequently used cliché: “What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep.”
He added: “That’s been a good thing for all of us, I think.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, tweeted the video of Judge Kavanaugh making the quip and said: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
She's not referring to the drinking; she's referring to the "what happens at Georgetown Prep....." statement, which typically is equivalent to "we'll just ignore any bad behaviour from that time and pretend it never happened", like when people refer to Vegas. Was he admitting to wrongdoing during the clip? Who knows.
It just sounds like he was fishing for laughs...making a stupid joke. Wonder what every other Supreme Court judge was doing in college, let alone any politician. Making a big deal out of this is only going to result in the majority of people rolling their eyes.
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Do you give a shit about his $200K debt that mysteriously disappeared? Or his perjured testimony? How about a potential gambling problem? Does that bother you?
I care about the potential sexual assault and perjury for sure. Drinking in high school or college? Not relevant.
Bragging about debauchery and saying things like, “what happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep,” May be fine for being the CEO of a large, foreign funded real estate firm but I personally prefer that my Supreme Court Justice nominees have and exhibit a little more character. The world is not a frat party and particularly as they sit in judgement of lower court decisions that can impact my life or that of women. He’s a partisan hack and someone who acts and conducts himself with an air of the rules don’t apply to him.
agreed. SCJ's should not be the type of people that encourage this type of behaviour in our youth. especially our young men. many of them interpret that shit as "boys will be boys".
"Oh Canada...you're beautiful when you're drunk" -EV 8/14/93
Elizabeth warren is freakin crazy. She is basically saying if you partied as a kid in high school or college then you can’t be a successful person.
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Did she say that? I think she said she can't imagine America wanting someone like that on the supreme court. Being successful and being a supreme Court justice should have two very different bars of what's deemed appropriate behavior.
I wonder if anyone else on the Supreme Court ever partied in college....I’m going to file this under “I don’t give a shit”.
Do you give a shit about his $200K debt that mysteriously disappeared? Or his perjured testimony? How about a potential gambling problem? Does that bother you?
I care about the potential sexual assault and perjury for sure. Drinking in high school or college? Not relevant.
Bragging about debauchery and saying things like, “what happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep,” May be fine for being the CEO of a large, foreign funded real estate firm but I personally prefer that my Supreme Court Justice nominees have and exhibit a little more character. The world is not a frat party and particularly as they sit in judgement of lower court decisions that can impact my life or that of women. He’s a partisan hack and someone who acts and conducts himself with an air of the rules don’t apply to him.
agreed. SCJ's should not be the type of people that encourage this type of behaviour in our youth. especially our young men. many of them interpret that shit as "boys will be boys".
Yes, exactly. Boys will be boys, and why do should we bother about something that happened so long ago?
my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
Really? Huh. To be honest I've had several different reactions as I thought through this.
Started with: 1) Happened in high school...long ago...just brought up now? Seriously this is shady now ending with... 2) Man, even if this was long ago, it still seems like it happened (still gotta hear the "testimony") and is really bad. Being a drunk kid doesn't excuse this type of behavior. If she had a more supportive society back then and had reported it and the law took it seriously, he would not be eligible for this job. So he shouldn't be confirmed if true.
This is why it so important to report and have a supportive society and a just law at the time of the incident though.
I absolutely agree with "being a drunk kid doesn't excuse this type of behaviour". I keep hearing/reading people say "it was a long time ago and he was just a kid", which is shocking to me. So you get a free pass on sexual assault if you're a teenager?
offender is an R: he was just a dumb kid, leave him alone! offender is a D : (something nonsensical about Obama)!
That's true. But also equally true when flipped. Both sides have an amazing ability to look beyond the flaws of a candidate when it is in their own party. And an equal ability to focus and hammer in on the smallest of details when they aren't (not saying that this is a small detail). It isn't unique to republicans.
Maybe, but I think the D's have shown better accountability when someone is called out. Look at Franken for one. It seems, based on my recollection alone, that the R's double down or blow it off as fake news. Maybe there are supporters who hold fast on both sides, but those in power seem to be drawing a more definitive line not based on party affiliation if they are a D.
Maybe for the last election cycle that is true, if you are generalizing a party by 1 candidate. But throughout history there are plenty of examples on both sides who misused and abused women, and swept in under the rug for political gain. I'm not defending it by any eans, just saying it isn't strictly a republican problem that many are painting it to be.
Somebody said the both sides aren't the same when it comes to this issue... that's ridiculous... inappropriate sexual behavior is a human thing, not a political thing
You know what's ridiculous, thinking politics has nothing to do with inappropriate sexual behavior.
What do you mean by that? I don't think anyone was saying sexual behavior isn't a problem with politicians. I took his statement to mean that it doesn't matter what side of politics you are on, sexual behavior has proven to be an issue. I would agree with that. Some here seem to think sexual behavior is only a problem for certain parties. That is the message I am getting from some comments. I would 100% disagree with that.
Comments
She and her lawyer have asked the FBI to investigate the allegation prior to appearing before a Senste hearing. It now seems she may not appear before the hearing next week.
Kavanaugh has, in the meantime, been working from the White House with their counsel for the past two days in preparation for this hearing but has not encouraged the White House to have the FBI investigate the incident. This would take a week at most.
I would have to say that the person who is asking for the FBI to investigate and is subjecting themselves to therapist notes being released has more credulity. And Kavanaugh saying that he didn't go to this party when she never said what party it was is highly suspect. His character is not holding up to the standards that we should expect.
If he is chomping at the bit to clear his name from this thing he says never happened, one would think he would be handing over all the info possible to the FBI to help clear said name.
She won't appear unless there is an investigation and I don't blame her. Especially with some of the comments made by the men who would be questioning her. This just got interesting, will there will be a real search for the truth is the question.
Sept. 18, 2018
WASHINGTON — The woman who has accused President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault all but ruled out appearing at an extraordinary Senate hearing scheduled for next week to hear her allegations, insisting on Tuesday that the F.B.I. investigate first.
Speaking through her lawyers, Christine Blasey Ford did not explicitly rule out appearing Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify along with Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. But echoing Senate Democrats, she said that an investigation should be “the first step” before she is put “on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident.”
Republicans are unlikely to negotiate an alternative date and could go ahead with the hearing without her or declare it unnecessary if she refuses to appear and move quickly to a vote. They have repeatedly stressed that Monday would be Dr. Blasey’s opportunity to testify, either privately or publicly, and that they then planned to move forward with the confirmation process.
The apparent standoff was yet another turn in a high-stakes drama over the president’s second Supreme Court nominee that began Thursday, when the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee revealed that she had referred the sexual assault allegations to federal investigators. Dr. Blasey, a research psychologist in Northern California, has accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her more than 30 years ago when both were teenagers at a boozy high school party, a charge that he has categorically denied.
In a letter to the committee, Dr. Blasey’s lawyers complained that some senators have already “made up their minds” but did not explicitly rule out appearing before them. In a subsequent appearance on CNN, however, one of the lawyers, Lisa J. Banks, seemed to suggest that Dr. Blasey would not show up.
“She’s not prepared to talk with them at a hearing on Monday,” Ms. Banks said. Even if Republicans agreed to an F.B.I. investigation, it would take time to complete, she added. “No legitimate investigation is going to happen between now and Monday.”
But Republicans drew a hard line. “If she does not come on Monday, we are going to move on and vote on Wednesday,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a member of the committee, told Fox News on Tuesday evening.
Mr. Trump joined other Republicans in rejecting an F.B.I. investigation of the long-ago episode. The bureau “said that they really don’t do that, that’s not what they do,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday during a news conference. “And now they have done supposedly six background checks over the years as Judge Kavanaugh has gone beautifully up the ladder.”
In the letter to the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday evening, Dr. Blasey’s lawyers said that she has been the target of “vicious harassment and even death threats” since her name was made public on Sunday in an interview published in The Washington Post. Her email has been hacked, she has been impersonated online and she and her family have been forced to relocate out of their home, according to the lawyers, Ms. Banks and her partner, Debra S. Katz.
“While Dr. Ford’s life was being turned upside down, you and your staff scheduled a public hearing for her to testify at the same table as Judge Kavanaugh in front of two dozen U.S. Senators on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident,” the lawyers wrote to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the committee’s chairman. The hearing “would include interrogation by senators who appear to have made up their minds that she is ‘mistaken’ and ‘mixed up.’”
Dr. Blasey, who is sometimes referred to by her married name, Ford, “wants to cooperate with the committee and with law enforcement officials” but believes that a “full investigation” by the F.B.I. would be necessary to form a nonpartisan assessment before any hearing, the lawyers wrote.
Mr. Grassley did not respond immediately on Tuesday night, but he has said Dr. Blasey could testify in private if she preferred. An aide to Mr. Grassley said that the committee never intended to seat the two witnesses together at one table or even on one panel. The two could testify one after the other without facing each other.
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Senator Charles E. Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Judge Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, had failed so far to respond to his requests to testify in front of the panel.CreditErin Schaff for The New York Times
Both Dr. Blasey, 51, and Judge Kavanaugh, 53, had said on Monday morning that they were willing to come before the committee and Mr. Grassley went ahead to postpone a vote on his confirmation and schedule a hearing for next week.
Democrats and Republicans spent much of Tuesday arguing over the scope and shape of what such a hearing would entail. Mr. Grassley told the radio host Hugh Hewitt that Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey would be the only witnesses, prompting pushback from top Democrats.
Another potential witness, Mark Judge, a friend of Judge Kavanaugh’s who Dr. Blasey said was in the room when the assault occurred, told the Judiciary Committee that he does not remember the episode. “I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes,” he said in a statement sent by his lawyers, adding that “I do not wish to speak publicly” about the matter.
As senators in both parties grappled with how to move forward, Mr. Trump’s advisers and Judge Kavanaugh’s allies appeared to be settling on a strategy of defending him by suggesting that this must be a case of mistaken identity. Under the emerging strategy, Judge Kavanaugh’s defenders would accept that Dr. Blasey was in fact assaulted but would insist that it must have been by someone other than Judge Kavanaugh because he denied it.
The approach reflects the shifting reality of the #MeToo movement when it has become politically perilous to directly attack the credibility of women who come forward to tell their stories. By suggesting that perhaps there was confusion after more than 30 years, White House allies said that they could offer wavering Republicans whose votes are critical for his confirmation another explanation for the he-said-she-said conflict without tearing down Dr. Blasey.
The line of defense seemed to be previewed on Monday when Judge Kavanaugh called Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah and a member of the Judiciary Committee, to discuss the allegations. Mr. Hatch told reporters afterward that he believed Judge Kavanaugh. “I think she’s mistaken something” or is “mixed up,” he said.
Two people familiar with the call, who did not want to be identified discussing it, said the judge insisted to Mr. Hatch that he did not do what he was accused of and then, in response to a question, agreed that it was possible that somebody else might have.
Dr. Blasey has been uncertain about some details of the episode, including when it happened and whose house they were at. But this strategy carries its own risks. The letter from Dr. Blasey’s lawyers strongly suggested that she would find it offensive to assert that she would not remember who pinned her down to a bed, groped her, tried to take her clothing off and covered her mouth to keep her from screaming at that party in the 1980s.
Judge Kavanaugh has told associates that he did not know who his accuser was until she identified herself in The Post and that once he saw her name he vaguely recalled her being part of the social circle associated with his all-boys high school in suburban Maryland at the time.
A person close to Dr. Blasey, who asked not to be identified to discuss her situation in detail, said Dr. Blasey knew the future Judge Kavanaugh in passing before the gathering where she says the attack took place, which could make it harder for his defenders to make a case that she had confused him for someone else.
The conflicting stories generated a political spectacle in Washington on Tuesday. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, posted on Twitter a video clip of Judge Kavanaugh speaking at his alma mater, Georgetown Preparatory School, in 2015. “What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep,” he said to laughter. “That’s been a good thing for all of us, I think.”
Ms. Warren added: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
I don't care how long ago it was. I have memories of incidents from as far back as my tween years, but I can't remember people with whom i went to high school (I can remember grade school though, weird). Anyway, my point is that decades and decades later I have vivid images of various incidents when many other aspects of those years are a blur. They stick with you. I don't know if I could expose myself to national scrutiny though. If she is telling the truth, which I tend to believe for my own reasons, she has my respect for putting herself through this. She doesn't have a Supreme Justice seat waiting for her after the scrutiny, just more death threats.
Sept. 18, 2018
Christine Blasey Ford’s claims that Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers while he was drunk have drawn attention to a speech he gave four years ago in which he discussed heavy drinking at Yale Law School — and to an offhand remark about his high school days that he made during another speech.
Earlier this week, a transcript of a 2014 speech Judge Kavanaugh apparently gave at a banquet for the Yale Law School Federalist Society surfaced via a Washington Post reporter on Twitter; some of it was later transcribed and posted by the magazine Mother Jones.
The speech, in which he imparted lessons to students and reminisced about his time at school, contained one section in which Judge Kavanaugh, now 53, fondly recalled some debaucherous — if seemingly harmless — nights of heavy drinking and revelry as a Yale Law student.
In one episode, he described taking a bus with his classmates to Boston for a Red Sox game and a night of barhopping, which ended with the students “falling out of the bus onto the front steps of Yale Law School at about 4:45 a.m.”
“Fortunately for all of us, we had a motto: ‘What happens on the bus stays on the bus,’” the speech said.
Judge Kavanaugh then went on to describe a “good run” in his third year of law school, in which he and his classmates “got our work done, but we had our share of fun.” He discussed a class party and mentioned a nearby bar, which he summarized by saying: “We had a memorable evening. It is fair to say that we had a few drinks. Indeed, as a classmate of mine and I were reminiscing and piecing things together the other day, we think we had more than a few beers before the banquet. Might have been at Toad’s. Not a good idea.”
Then, on Tuesday, an apparently truncated video clip of Judge Kavanaugh giving another speech emerged. Referring to his high school in 2015, he again modified the frequently used cliché: “What happens at Georgetown Prep, stays at Georgetown Prep.”
He added: “That’s been a good thing for all of us, I think.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, tweeted the video of Judge Kavanaugh making the quip and said: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
Dr. Blasey has accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexual assault, saying that during a high school party in the early 1980s, he pinned her on a bed, groped her and covered her mouth to keep her from screaming.
Judge Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegation.
A hearing has been set for next week, and Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey have been asked to testify.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Dr. Blasey, a research psychologist at Palo Alto University in Northern California, accused some senators of having already “made up their minds” and insisted that the F.B.I. investigate.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
She should stick to the sexual assault issue and stay away from drinking with friends and jokes about doing stupid stuff.
Clinton to me is the worst example... years and years of sexual misconduct came to a summit when he had sex with AN INTERN IN THE OVAL OFFICE... and denied it and fought it....has denied and fought it to this day I believe... repeatedly lied and lied... I did not have sexual relations with that woman....... let's not forget he was also accused of sexual assault, which was fought viciously.... yeah, the Democrats are real stand up gentlemen when it comes to this issue.... lol give me a fucking break....
Cavanaugh is just another elitist scumbag, both sides are full of them whether people like it or not
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
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Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
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Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
He added: “That’s been a good thing for all of us, I think.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, tweeted the video of Judge Kavanaugh making the quip and said: “I can’t imagine any parent accepting this view. Is this really what America wants in its next Supreme Court Justice?”
She's not referring to the drinking; she's referring to the "what happens at Georgetown Prep....." statement, which typically is equivalent to "we'll just ignore any bad behaviour from that time and pretend it never happened", like when people refer to Vegas. Was he admitting to wrongdoing during the clip? Who knows.
-EV 8/14/93
Yes, exactly. Boys will be boys, and why do should we bother about something that happened so long ago?
I'm not defending it by any eans, just saying it isn't strictly a republican problem that many are painting it to be.
I don't think anyone was saying sexual behavior isn't a problem with politicians.
I took his statement to mean that it doesn't matter what side of politics you are on, sexual behavior has proven to be an issue. I would agree with that.
Some here seem to think sexual behavior is only a problem for certain parties. That is the message I am getting from some comments. I would 100% disagree with that.