News Recap - Does #MeToo Work?

Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh testify under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Images from C-SPAN

Judge on trial

Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court on July 9, 2018. Kavanaugh was nominated to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy. There were a few controversies surrounding Kavanaugh's nomination soon after the initial hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee begun. A huge amount of documents for the nomination were produced for review. Some of the documents were provided last minute. Some documents were prevented from public release by the Trump administration. There were some theatrics with for example Senator Cory Booker releasing confidential documents with the understanding that "the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate." There were numerous protesters causing commotions during the hearings.

The strong opposition to Brett Kavanaugh on the left/democratic side stem from several different issues. The most commonly referred one is his stance on abortion and the effects that might have on legality of abortion in the US. Legality of abortion nationwide in the US is mainly based on the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Roe v. Wade in 1973. Concerns are raised of whether Kavanaugh (being very conservative) might in the future affect rulings overturning these landmark decisions. Other issues of Kavanaugh that have been pointed out include his stance on racial profiling, environmental issues, immigration and human rights issues. One of the most important but less discussed, in my opinion, is his stance on corporate power. Kavanaugh is very pro-corporate, ruling with corporate interests 91% of the time, and has received support from corporate groups in Washington. At a time when corporate rule and massive income inequality are an increasing issue, this is a very concerning development.

A friend in Trumps time of need?

Another source of concern that came up during the hearings was what were Brett Kavanaugh's thoughts on criminally prosecuting a sitting US president. This issue has been discussed as a possible reason for Trump choosing Kavanaugh in particular. He said that criminal investigations affecting a sitting president are "time-consuming and distracting" and that is music to Trumps ears with him facing increasing pressure from the Mueller investigation on possible Russian collusion.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

On September 12, 2018 word of a sexual assault allegation against Brett Kavanaugh was made public. This, at this point, unknown accuser wished to remain anonymous for fear of attack from Kavanaugh's supporters. On the 16th of September the identity of the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor who claimed that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when they were teenagers, was revealed.

Ford's allegation was that sometime in the summer of 1982 a drunken Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge corralled her in a bedroom during a house party. Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her and attempted to remove her clothes. Ford also claims that when she tried to scream Kavanaugh covered her mouth. During her testimony Ford said she was afraid Kavanaugh "might inadvertently kill me." She escaped the situation when Mark Judge jumped on the bed knocking all of them over. She hid in a bathroom and once she heard Kavanaugh and Judge walk down the stairs, she got out of the house.

A hearing was scheduled for September 27 for Ford to testify on her allegations and for Kavanaugh to respond. I watched Ford's testimony and the beginning of Kavanaugh's live. You can watch the whole thing here if you are interested. Ford's testimony was powerful and very credible, beginning with: "I'm 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." After the testimony even Kavanaugh's allies had difficulty denying Ford's credibility. Ford was calm and composed, even though she was at points close to tears. She answered all the questions to the best of her recollection and apologized for not being able to give as much information as she would have liked to.

Kavanaughs testimony had a very different tone. His opening statement was also partly emotional and very angry. He lashed out against Democrats calling the whole thing a "political hit." Kavanaugh did not deny that Ford's testimony was credible. Kavanaugh claimed he had sympathy for Ford, but that there must have been a case of mistaken identity. During questioning Kavanaugh was very hostile toward the Democratic members of the committee. When asked whether he drank excessively in high-school he retorted with "Did you?" Another cause of concern for the Democrats was his unwillingness to definitively state that he supports an FBI investigation into these sexual assault allegations.

Kavanaugh has, since the initial accusations, also been accused by two additional women: Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick. These allegations can be considered even more serious than that of Ford's. You can read more on the Wikipedia page.

Who's right?

As of right now an investigation is in progress, scheduled to last for the duration of this week. Concern for the scope of the investigation is still lingering. The fact that there even is an investigation is thanks to Senator Jeff Flake who requested it after the hearings, possibly swayed by this amazing encounter with victims of sexual assault. The American Bar Association has also recommended an FBI investigation after initially backing Kavanaugh.

Whats my personal take on it? I'm leaning toward at least believing Christine Blasey Ford's allegations. The other allegations are also possibly, at least partly, true in my opinion. I decided to list some of the reasons why I think this, but please listen to the testimony and follow the developments to make up your own mind on the matter.

1. Ford's testimony's credibility: Many legal professionals have praised Ford's testimony's credibility. Nothing in the allegation has been proven to be false. Ford took a polygraph (although they are not always reliable) while recounting her experience. Ford places witness Mark Judge (Kavanaugh's friend) in the room during the attack. If you were making up a story you wouldn't place a witness helpful to the opposition in the room. Overall, there is nothing inconsistent or strange in anything Ford has claimed and that has been revealed so far.
2. Republicans might have known beforehand: There was reporting to indicate that some Republicans were concerned that it might be hard to confirm Kavanaugh even before the allegation became public. After allegations were made public a letter, signed by 65 women who knew him at the time, came out in support of Kavanaugh's character. How did they find 65 women to sign this (some of whom have since removed their name from the letter) almost overnight? During the hearing the Democrats were also concerned with the amount of withheld documents related to Kavanaugh.
3. Kavanaugh's unwillingness to support an FBI investigation: In my mind if you are accused of doing something you didn't do, you'd want an independent investigation to prove you didn't do it. The only reason you'd oppose an investigation was if you were afraid of what they might find out. A position on the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment. You really want to spend decades on the court with a good chunk of the country thinking you are a rapist?
4. Kavanaugh's attempt to build an innocent character: Kavanaugh has refused to even admit he was a heavy drinker in high-school. Many who knew him at the time say he was a heavy drinker. Kavanaugh has also denied some possibly awful things he wrote in his yearbooks. If you didn't do the alleged things, but just happened to be an idiot in your youth why not just admit it. To me it seems Kavanaugh is relying on his supposed good character proving he was beyond committing sexual assault.
5. Kavanaugh's lying: This is probably the most important. Kavanaugh is a proven liar. He has also lied under oath. This is extremely ironic considering he himself helped impeach Bill Clinton partly for perjury, or lying under oath. Prosecutors will tell you that someone who lies about the little stuff, like the things in Kavanaugh's yearbook, probably also lies about the bigger stuff, like committing sexual assault.

Conclusion

This was a rather long post, but hopefully it's at least somewhat interesting. This whole saga has been fascinating to follow, albeit the implications of it being very serious. I recommend you keep an eye on US news this and next week for the inevitable revelations that might shape US politics for decades. This case also has strong implications in relation to the #MeToo movement I alluded to in the title. Powerful men being held accountable for sexual misconduct is an important development in global culture. This case will ultimately have an impact on the discussion and whether we are at the point where this behavior is no longer tolerated culturally.

Just to end this post on kind of a fun note, I have this mashup someone made of Kavanaugh being interviewed by Jules from Pulp Fiction. Thanks for reading!