Kavanaugh to Face Sexual Assault Senate Hearing
While SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh has already faced one of the most hotly contested and contentious confirmation hearings in Supreme Court history, the hearing isn't over yet. The Senate Judiciary Committee has requested that Christine Blasey Ford testify before the committee this coming Monday. The conservatives on the committee are hopeful that there will be no further delays.
Ford, a professor of clinical psychology at Palo Alto University, has come forward as the anonymous letter writer that accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault when the two were in high school. And while Kavanaugh has steadfastly denied the allegations, there seems to be more than just one side to this story.
Disturbing Details
As Ford explains, in 1982, when she was 15 years old, and Kavanaugh was 17 years old, both were at a house party. Kavanaugh and one of his friends, Mark Judge, locked Ford in a bedroom with them both, then turned on loud music so no one outside the room could hear what was happening inside.
Inside the room, Kavanaugh is alleged to have forced himself upon her, while Judge watched and laughed. Ford explains that Kavanaugh attempted to pull her clothes off, and when she attempted to yell for help, he covered her mouth with his hand. Luckily, she was able to break free and escape to a bathroom where she was able to lock herself in.
Curiously, after these allegations surfaced, a group of 65 women signed onto a letter claiming that they have known Kavanaugh since high school. The letter stated that he had always "behaved honorably and treated women with respect." Curiously though, Kavanaugh went to an all-boys high school. Also curiously, as reported by the Nation, only five of the women who signed the letter told Politico that they still stand behind Kavanaugh.
Is Kavanaugh a GenX Drunk?
While Kavanaugh's denial might not be surprising, what is surprising is that Mark Judge published a book entitled: Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk. Judge recounts frequently drinking until he couldn't recollect what happened the night before, and shared a story about "Bart O'Kavanaugh" getting so drunk at a party that he passed out on the way back home and vomited in someone's car. Judge stated that he could not recollect whether the incident Ford alleges ever happened.
Is This Kavanaugh's Hill?
Many pundits are likening this controversy to the Anita Hill - Clarence Thomas debacle. Despite the change in the times, a good number of commentators try to excuse Kavanaugh's conduct as "boys being boys" or as a "youthful indiscretion." But, there's no doubt that times have changed since the Thomas confirmation hearings, and sexual misconduct, even decades old sexual misconduct, has resulted in massive scandals, with CEOs, celebrities, and other high-profile individuals, being removed from their posts, prosecuted criminally, and sued.
Related Resources:
- Quick Recap of the Kavanaugh Confirmation Circus (FindLaw's Supreme Court Blog)
- Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing Timeline and Chaos (FindLaw's Supreme Court Blog)
- The Polls Aren't Kind to Kavanaugh, So? (FindLaw's Supreme Court Blog)