Ecologists and Raffi are confused and concerned
BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI, BRIAN BEUTLER & CROOKED MEDIA
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 | A third woman has now accused Brett Kavanaugh of—at the very least—abetting the sexual assault of multiple women, including herself, just one day before the Supreme Court nominee testifies under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee about this and other assault allegations. And that’s just one of the incriminating developments that surfaced Wednesday. The woman, Julie Swetnick, is a client of the anti-Trump lawyer Michael Avenatti, who tweeted a sworn affidavit in which Swetnick alleges that Kavanaugh and his friends would spike punch at house parties in order to make girls lose their inhibitions, or become incapacitated enough to be gang raped. She says she became the victim of one of these rapes about 36 years ago, and that she shared her story with at least two other people shortly after the incident. She does not specifically claim that Kavanaugh raped her or anyone else. Swetnick has not spoken publicly about the claims in the affidavit, but news outlets have been able to confirm several biographical details she and Avenatti have put forth about her. She is a graduate of Gaithersburg High School in Maryland, as she attests in her affidavit, and is a “web and information technology expert with an extensive history of contracting with the federal government [who has] worked on projects as a contractor or subcontractor for the U.S. Mint, the IRS and Customs and Border Protection,” according to NBC News. Her resume also indicates Swetnick has held security clearances, as Avenatti has claimed. Kavanaugh denies knowing Swetnick and compared the allegations to the Twilight Zone. Everything else that happened Wednesday is also terrible news for Kavanaugh: - The Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating a fourth, anonymous complaint, sent to Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), that Kavanaugh physically assaulted an unnamed woman he socialized with in the D.C. area in 1998 while he was inebriated.
- He turned a calendar of his activities over to the Senate Judiciary Committee to rebut the initial allegation that he sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in the summer of 1982. It memorializes a number of parties, including one involving “skis”—presumably “brewskis”—with “[Mark] Judge” and “PJ [Smyth],” two Kavanaugh friends whom Ford says were in attendance at the party where Kavanaugh allegedly attacked her.
- Ford’s lawyers released the report of her polygraph, which found she was likely truthful about her allegation. They also provided the Senate Judiciary Committee with sworn affidavits from four people who say Ford told them about the assault well before Kavanaugh became a Supreme Court nominee, and released Ford’s prepared introductory testimony, which details how she first met and socialized with Kavanaugh before the assault.
- Judge’s ex-girlfriend has offered to speak to the FBI about her claim, first reported in the New Yorker, that Judge once confessed to taking turns with other boys having sex with a drunk woman.
- President Donald Trump has taken it upon himself to lead Kavanaugh’s public relations campaign, which includes smearing Kavanaugh’s accusers, and losing Twitter fights with Avenatti. And yet, in an otherwise gross and rambling New York City press conference Wednesday night, Trump essentially said he might still pull Kavanaugh’s nomination if his accusers are credible.
From Brian: The fact that Kavanaugh has not withdrawn, that tomorrow’s hearing has not been postponed, that it will proceed under the contrived terms Republicans set for it, and that neither Senate Republicans, nor the White House, nor Kavanaugh himself will call upon the FBI to reopen its background check to investigate these allegations, is disgusting. It’s also a reminder that Republicans are who they showed us they were during the 2016 elections. Thankfully they’re providing the reminder just a few weeks before their congressional majorities are up for grabs. → votesaveamerica.com | I CANNOT *NOT* TELL A LIE | | |
President Trump spent almost an hour and a half rambling like a madman at a press conference today. Here are some highlights: - He called the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh “all false to me” and a “big fat con job” by Democrats, but says he will be be watching the testimony of Dr. Ford tomorrow, and “can always be convinced.” However, he also said the allegations “affect him” because he himself has “had many false charges” made against him, and he repeatedly asserted his support for Kavanaugh.
- He indicated that his “preference would be to keep” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in his job, and said that he may delay the meeting he has scheduled with Rosenstein Thursday in order to avoid “competing” with the Kavanaugh hearing.
- He said "women are so angry” about what he calls a Kavanaugh smear campaign. Trump’s right—women are angry—but not because of a ‘smear campaign.’ In the past week, support for Trump and Kavanaugh has taken a nosedive among Republican women, with their approval ratings falling 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Other soundbites you no longer need to go looking for: Trump called a Kurdish reporter “Mr. Kurd,” insinuated George Washington had “accusations...in his past,” quoted Elton John, and had a very uncomfortable exchange about taking questions from women reporters.
| A Republican Arizona prosecutor named Rachel Mitchell will question Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh on behalf of Senate Republicans. Mitchell serves as the chief of the Special Victims Division in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. This is a rare move. When Anita Hill testified about her allegations against Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991, the Senators questioned her themselves. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) wants the House Ethics Committee to investigate his ex-girlfriend Karen Monahan’s allegation that he physically abused her. He says he is “innocent and eager to see this entire matter resolved.” The Department of Justice and the Department of Education are investigating whether Yale University illegally discriminates against Asian-American applicants. Last year, it launched a similar investigation against Harvard University. While at the United Nations, Trump accused China of attempting to interfere in the midterm elections with targeted tariffs. The CEOs of automakers like Ford and Honda say new tariffs on metals and steel have cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. Remember when Bob Woodward revealed that President Trump’s former economic adviser Gary Cohn removed documents from Trump’s desk so Trump wouldn’t sign them? Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster confirmed the scoop and says it was “wholly appropriate” for Cohn to do it. Probably because he knows firsthand that Trump needs a babysitter. The Texas Attorney General has weighed in on the side of a Texas public school that expelled a teenager who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
A beluga whale has been spotted in the River Thames. Belugas are usually found in the Arctic Ocean, so ecologists and Raffi are confused and concerned.
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Republican senators defending Brett Kavanaugh are really stepping in it: - Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) said in her maiden floor speech that sexual assault must never be taken lightly, which is why the "unproven accusations" she says have been made against Kavanaugh "are so very unjust."
- Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said the attorney Republicans have hired to question Dr. Christine Blasey Ford tomorrow should not “go cat woman on anybody.”
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “I have a difficult time believing any person would continue to go to—according to the affidavit—ten parties over a two-year period where women were routinely gang raped and not report it.”
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A new Pew Research Center survey shows that voter enthusiasm is higher than it has been during any midterm election in the last 20 years, and 72 percent of registered voters say the question of which party will ultimately control Congress will factor into their voting decisions. GET ON THIS LEVEL → votesaveamerica.com | | |
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