Republicans reel as Trump's high court nomination hangs in balance

[webfact]

Republicans reel as Trump's high court nomination hangs in balance

By Lawrence Hurley and Steve Holland

 

FILE PHOTO: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the third day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans struggled on Monday to salvage President Donald Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court even as the judge and the woman who accused him of a 1982 sexual assault offered to testify publicly and Trump called the nomination "on track."

 

With Kavanaugh's once-safe nomination for a lifetime job on the top U.S. court now appearing in jeopardy, the conservative federal appeals court judge had meetings at the White House and issued a fresh denial calling the assault allegation "completely false."

 

Trump's fellow Republicans in the Senate, which must confirm Supreme Court appointments, looked for a way forward.

 

A number of senators said Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford should be given the chance to testify before the committee, a move that could delay the high-stakes confirmation process including a planned vote in the Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

 

U.S. media reports cited Republican Senator John Kennedy as saying there would be a public hearing with Kavanaugh and Ford, although there was no indication of timing.

 

The White House appeared keen to resolve the matter quickly.

 

"Judge Kavanaugh looks forward to a hearing where he can clear his name of this false allegation. He stands ready to testify tomorrow if the Senate is ready to hear him,” the White House said in a statement.

 

Moderates in both parties such as pivotal Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, as well as hard-line conservative Republican Ted Cruz have said Kavanaugh and Ford should be given the chance to testify before the committee.

Democrats, already fiercely opposed to Kavanaugh, demanded a delay in the committee's vote to let the FBI investigate.

 

"Obviously, if Judge Kavanaugh has lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying," Collins told reporters, adding that she would like the chance to observe Christine Blasey Ford, the university professor in California who made the allegation, to decide the credibility of her account.

 

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Ford "deserves to be heard," but he and other senior Republicans stopped short of calling for a public hearing or for delaying the panel's vote.

 

Republicans control the Senate by only a narrow margin, meaning any defections could sink the nomination and deal a major setback to Trump, who has been engaged in a so-far successful effort since becoming president last year to move the Supreme Court and broader federal judiciary to the right.

 

In careful remarks at the White House in which he did not offer his view on the actual allegation against his nominee, Trump called for the Senate to go through a "full process" and accepted a small delay, though warned that "it shouldn't certainly be very much."

 

"If it takes a little delay, it will take a little delay," said Trump, who dismissed as a "ridiculous question" a reporter's query about whether Kavanaugh had offered to withdraw his name from consideration.

 

"I think he's very much on track," Trump said.

 

A source close to Trump, who spoke on condition of anonymity, predicted trouble ahead should the Kavanaugh issue not be resolved soon.

 

“I would say if this issue is not resolved by the weekend the White House will be looking for a new Supreme Court nominee,” the source said, “because with seven weeks to go until an election, this is not the discussion that the Republicans want to be having in the era of the ‘me too’ movement.”

 

Ford has accused Kavanaugh of trying to attack her and remove her clothing while drunk 36 years ago in a Maryland suburb outside Washington when they were students in different high schools.

 

In television interviews on Monday, Ford's Washington-based lawyer, Debra Katz, said her client would be willing to speak out publicly. Asked if that included sworn testimony at a public hearing before senators, Katz told CBS's "This Morning" programme: "She's willing to do what she needs to do."

 

The confirmation fight comes just weeks before the Nov. 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress from Trump's party.

 

Trump picked Kavanaugh to replace the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who sometimes sided with the court's liberal wing. Without Kennedy on the court, the justices are split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives.

 

'RESPECTFUL MANNER'

 

Grassley said the standard procedure would be to conduct follow-up telephone calls with Kavanaugh and Ford, and that he intended to work with the senior Democrat on the committee, Senator Dianne Feinstein, to schedule the calls. The Democrats have refused to cooperate. In a statement, the committee Democrats said they would not participate in a phone call with Kavanaugh proposed by the Republicans.

 

Grassley said he will continue working on a way to hear from Ford "in an appropriate, precedented and respectful manner."

 

Like Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized Democrats for raising a matter dating back to high school at the last minute "in an irregular manner" after a week-long confirmation hearing this month.

 

Trump, who himself faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct that emerged during the 2016 presidential election, said he did not meet with Kavanaugh when the nominee visited the White House.

 

"I have never done anything like what the accuser describes - to her or to anyone," Kavanaugh said in a statement issued by the White House, his first comment since Ford's identity was revealed on Sunday.

 

"Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday," added Kavanaugh, who said he is willing to talk to the Judiciary Committee in any way it deems appropriate "to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.

 

Kavanaugh has said he was not at the party where the incident allegedly occurred, according to a White House official.

 

Republicans hold a slim 11-10 advantage on the Judiciary Committee and a 51-49 majority in the Senate. Under Senate rules, the committee could forward the nomination to the Senate floor without an affirmative vote.

 

Trump and other prominent Republicans refrained from attacking Ford. "This woman should not be insulted and she should not be ignored," White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News.

 

The comments by Ford's lawyer suggested any public hearing could be explosive. Ford believes Kavanaugh's alleged actions were "attempted rape" and "that if it were not for the severe intoxication of Brett Kavanaugh, she would have been raped," Katz told NBC's "Today" programme.

 

Katz told CBS that Ford had consumed a beer but was not drunk. Ford was 15 at the time of the alleged incident. Kavanaugh was 17.

 

The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group that backs Trump's judicial picks, plans to launch a $1.5 million ad campaign backing Kavanaugh, a spokeswoman said.

 

Ford detailed her story in a letter sent to Feinstein in July. The letter's contents leaked last week and Ford identified herself in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday.

 

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Amanda Becker, Doina Chiacu and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-18

[Boon Mee]

Reeling? 

Hardly. The woman's story doesn't add up. Cannot even remember what year the incident supposed to have Taken. 

A cheap political trick at the last minute. 

[Chomper Higgot]

40 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Reeling? 

Hardly. The woman's story doesn't add up. Cannot even remember what year the incident supposed to have Taken. 

A cheap political trick at the last minute. 

The vote on Kavanugh’s nomination has been postponed.

 

His accuser will now speak before the Senate, they (Not you) will decide on her credibility.

 

Kavanaugh has already blown his with at least three counts of felony perjury before the Senate.

[mfd101]

I have no time for Trump & the Trumpeters and the stuffing of the High Court etc. HOWEVER, If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

[Silurian]

3 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

HOWEVER, If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

 

Teen age "stupidities" such as shop lifting, vandalism, speed racing and other small petty crimes are not the same thing as Attempted Rape of a 15 YEAR OLD! Also, this "career" is not some middle management job at some random company but a LIFETIME appointment to the highest court in America. I would hope that a Supreme Court position would come with some basic vetting for being a sexual predator. Oh, never mind, Clarence Thomas disproved this theory.

 

[blazes]

1 minute ago, Silurian said:

 

Teen age "stupidities" such as shop lifting, vandalism, speed racing and other small petty crimes are not the same thing as Attempted Rape of a 15 YEAR OLD! Also, this "career" is not some middle management job at some random company but a LIFETIME appointment to the highest court in America. I would hope that a Supreme Court position would come with some basic vetting for being a sexual predator. Oh, never mind, Clarence Thomas disproved this theory.

 

 

You must have had a very "quiet" youth.....

[helpisgood]

3 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

I have no time for Trump & the Trumpeters and the stuffing of the High Court etc. HOWEVER, If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

 

If by stupid acts we mean felonies, then not me.

 

This is not a case of a foolish pass on a date by a young man who has later matured.  The candidate to the Supreme Court is being accused of attempted forcible rape.  And, that's a felony involving violence, not a mere youthful indiscretion.  I would expect more from such a candidate, even in their youth.  

[Silurian]

2 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

You must have had a very "quiet" youth.....

 

Yeah, not one case of attempted rape.

[Tug]

Slow down check it out look at ALL the paperwork if it all is up to snuff so be it but I do think Donald wants him for protection he’ll he is selling out our security rite now by declassifying all that stuff 

[zaphod reborn]

3 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Reeling? 

Hardly. The woman's story doesn't add up. Cannot even remember what year the incident supposed to have Taken. 

A cheap political trick at the last minute. 

Let's take a look at Kavanaugh's school buddy, who attended the same all-boys prep school for bratty, pampered, white supremacist, rich boy trash.  Yes, this is the guy who was in the room with Kavanaugh when he committed the sexual assault.

 

Mark Judge - author

God and Man at Georgetown Prep (2005)

Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk (2007)

Judge says his own blackout drinking while he and Kavanaugh were Georgetown Prep students “reached the point where once I had the first beer, I found it impossible to stop until I was completely annihilated.” He writes that the school made students do community service on Sundays in an effort to try to keep them from drinking too much the night before.

 

He describes, for instance, what happened after a night of heavy drinking with friends at a Georgetown bar. “The next thing I knew, I was lying on a bathroom floor. I was curled up in the fetal position with saliva running out of the side of my mouth,” Judge writes, explaining that he had inexplicably woken up inside a nearby Four Seasons Hotel. He writes that he called his mom for help getting home. “I must have come over here and passed out,” he tells her.

 

In his 1983 high school yearbook, he wrote, "Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs." Judge uploaded “sexualized videos of young women” on YouTube. An investigation into Judge’s social media postings, many of which have been deleted, cited “internet sleuths” who “found a YouTube channel that appeared to belong to Judge onto which he uploaded bizarre videos that intercut innocuous visuals of books and cityscapes with sexualized videos of young women”

 

He also has written numerous times about his anti-black and anti-gay viewpoints.  These white boy preppies need to be expunged and barred from government service.  Frankly, if I was the GOP, I wouldn't tie my horse up to this cart.  They can find plenty of conservative judges through the Federalist Society.  Trump only added Kavanaugh to the list, because of his radical, unconstitutional opinions on executive power and immunity of the President from subpoenas and indictments. 

Edited September 18, 2018 by zaphod reborn

[KhunFred]

I don't want ANY conservative on the court. Anyone insane enough to want to overturn Roe V. Wade is taking

America back to the "coathanger" days.  Trump's four years cannot be over soon enough. The USA is now a laughing stock, worldwide.

[Grouse]

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

I have no time for Trump & the Trumpeters and the stuffing of the High Court etc. HOWEVER, If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

Quite, but that's not the point. 

 

The point is the man is lying NOW. I agree, teenage hormonal fumblings are not exactly unusual. He should have said he had several such encounters rather than lie.

[Grouse]

1 hour ago, Silurian said:

 

Yeah, not one case of attempted rape.

I never had any difficulty as far as I recall ?. Mind you my memory of 50 years ago is a bit sketchy. Did I ever tell you about the time......

Edited September 18, 2018 by Grouse

[geriatrickid]

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

I have no time for Trump & the Trumpeters and the stuffing of the High Court etc. HOWEVER, If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

 

Valid point.  I would go one step further and say that he was a minor and that the information should be inadmissible.

 

However, there were some direct questions asked at the hearings and it  seems that the nominee did not answer truthfully.  That's one of the issues. The alleged victim had asked for  privacy. Senator Feinstein did share the information on a need to know basis including with the FBI.  Someone started harassing the  alleged victim  at her workplace. If someone used the info to try and to intimidate the person then a crime occurred.

 

The claimant is a respected university professor,  a biostatistician, who  specializes in the design and analysis of clinical trials. She  passed a polygraph test given by the FBI.  This ins't the profile of someone given to lying. Why would she want to embarrass her kids or draw attention to herself, knowing how nasty the Trum supporters can be?

 

The GOP has a  major crisis on its hand. If they bully this woman, the nation will turn against them. What I can deduce from the statements of Kavanaugh on some of his questions he was asked sis that he is one of those holy roller hypocrites totally cut off from the reality of America, particularly the poverty and desperation that grips large parts of the nation.  He's just another rich white guy from the segregated suburbs. Not nice to say, but  that's what he is.

[Gecko123]

The abiding concern here shouldn't be whether Kavanaugh's career trajectory might be unfairly damaged. He was only nominated to the position, which doesn't make him entitled to hold this lifetime position, and the people, through their representatives, have a say in the matter. The abiding concern should be the future confidence of the American people in the integrity and fairness of their justice system.

Edited September 18, 2018 by Gecko123

[attrayant]

5 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

The woman's story doesn't add up. Cannot even remember what year the incident supposed to have Taken. 

 

I can't remember when the Sino-Vietnamese war started, so I guess that didn't happen either.

[Esso49]

3 hours ago, mfd101 said:

I have no time for Trump & the Trumpeters and the stuffing of the High Court etc. HOWEVER, If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

If the allegation of attempted rape is true, then irrespective of your age when you committed it,  it is such a disgusting and deameaning act for a female to have to live with all her life then it seems only fair the perpetrator should always be held accountable irrespective of the age he committed it .

[wayned]

Senator Hatch who is a member of the Senate Judicial committee said: " Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, Hatch related that he spoke to Kavanaugh who said, “he didn’t do that, and he wasn’t at the party.” It’s not clear which party Hatch and Kavanaugh are referring to since the accuser did not provide any details to identify it. '

 

So he wasn't at the party but he supposedly doesn't even know where it was since she never stated where it was.  Seems to me that his statement is incriminating and should be further investigated. Seems to me that Senator Blumenthal should call them both out on it and have them explain it to us during the open session next Monday!

[Dap]

3 hours ago, zaphod reborn said:

Let's take a look at Kavanaugh's school buddy, who attended the same all-boys prep school for bratty, pampered, white supremacist, rich boy trash.  Yes, this is the guy who was in the room with Kavanaugh when he committed the sexual assault.

 

Mark Judge - author

God and Man at Georgetown Prep (2005)

Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk (2007)

Judge says his own blackout drinking while he and Kavanaugh were Georgetown Prep students “reached the point where once I had the first beer, I found it impossible to stop until I was completely annihilated.” He writes that the school made students do community service on Sundays in an effort to try to keep them from drinking too much the night before.

 

He describes, for instance, what happened after a night of heavy drinking with friends at a Georgetown bar. “The next thing I knew, I was lying on a bathroom floor. I was curled up in the fetal position with saliva running out of the side of my mouth,” Judge writes, explaining that he had inexplicably woken up inside a nearby Four Seasons Hotel. He writes that he called his mom for help getting home. “I must have come over here and passed out,” he tells her.

 

In his 1983 high school yearbook, he wrote, "Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs." Judge uploaded “sexualized videos of young women” on YouTube. An investigation into Judge’s social media postings, many of which have been deleted, cited “internet sleuths” who “found a YouTube channel that appeared to belong to Judge onto which he uploaded bizarre videos that intercut innocuous visuals of books and cityscapes with sexualized videos of young women”

 

He also has written numerous times about his anti-black and anti-gay viewpoints.  These white boy preppies need to be expunged and barred from government service.  Frankly, if I was the GOP, I wouldn't tie my horse up to this cart.  They can find plenty of conservative judges through the Federalist Society.  Trump only added Kavanaugh to the list, because of his radical, unconstitutional opinions on executive power and immunity of the President from subpoenas and indictments. 

One stellar individual 

[Bluespunk]

4 hours ago, mfd101 said:

I have no time for Trump & the Trumpeters and the stuffing of the High Court etc. HOWEVER, If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

Sexual assault is way beyond any teen “stupidities” i may have committed. 

[welovesundaysatspace]

5 hours ago, mfd101 said:

If the stupidities we did when we were 15 and 17 are to be held against us forever after, then how many of us would have had a career?

Oh, so rape is a stupidity you do when you’re a teenager? I certainly did not, and I am also not running for the highest judge in the USA. Those apples with oranges comparisons are ridiculous. 

[Chomper Higgot]

It is very likely that if appointed to the SCOTUS Kavanaugh might get to settle  questions relating to the rights of rape victims, perhaps the rights of rape victims to abortion or the rights of rape victims to medical care and counseling.

 

The accusation against I’m needs to be settled before his nomination proceeds

[mlmcleod]

The Republicans will confirm Kavanaugh before the mid-terms since they might not be able to do so after.  They will approve anyone who shares their drastic social views no matter what they might have done in the past.  It seems that Trump took the swamp with him to Washington DC.

[attrayant]

Why wouldn't they be able to confirm him after election day?  They will still have a few more weeks in office after Nov 6th.

[wayned]

22 minutes ago, attrayant said:

Why wouldn't they be able to confirm him after election day?  They will still have a few more weeks in office after Nov 6th.

They can confirm him up until 1 January 2019 if they loose the Senate.  But what they want is to confirm him by 1 October when the next term of the Supreme court convenes, the first Monday in October.  There are a lot of issues pending that the extra conservative vote would help.  If he is not confirm there will only be 8, four pro and four  con.  In addition he wants to be able to use the confirmation as fuel for the midterms.

 

A fair bi-partisan investigation should, and probably is, by Kavanaugh, if he is innocent.  It's obvious that one of them is lying, or has no memory of the incident due to being totally drunk!