Different Points of View: Supreme Court and The September Surprise II

(We occasionally will present and contrast view points that differ in insight. From time to time we will feature them here. Please read the articles below)

-Source-The Hill-

Article 1:

GOP launches counteroffensive on Kavanaugh

The White House and Senate Republicans launched an intense counterattack on behalf of Brett Kavanaugh on Monday, signaling they intend to go forward with a vote on his nomination to the Supreme Court despite new allegations of past sexual misconduct.

The aggressive response was led by Kavanaugh himself, who said he was the victim of a “character assassination” and “smears,” an argument echoed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). “I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process,” Kavanaugh wrote in a letter to the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.”

Shortly after Kavanaugh’s letter became public, McConnell delivered an unusually fiery speech on the Senate floor directed at his party’s base and the trio of undecided GOP senators who are likely to decide whether Kavanaugh is confirmed to the court. “I want to make it perfectly clear: Judge Kavanaugh will be voted on here on the Senate floor,” said McConnell, who accused Democrats of having “aided and abetted” a “shameful, shameful smear campaign” against President Trump’s nominee.

Trump told reporters hours earlier that he stands behind Kavanaugh “all the way” and said the accusations against him are “totally political.” “This could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything,” he said at the United Nations.

The effort to close ranks around Kavanaugh was a clear attempt to quell speculation that GOP support for the nominee is wavering amid the new allegations.

The New Yorker reported Sunday night that Senate Democrats are investigating claims from Deborah Ramirez, who says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a party at Yale University in the 1980s. That followed Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh pinned her down at a party and tried to rip off her clothes while both were in high school. Read more

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Article 2:

Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years

-Source-The New Yorker-

As Senate Republicans press for a swift vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Senate Democrats are investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. The claim dates to the 1983-84 academic school year, when Kavanaugh was a freshman at Yale University. The offices of at least four Democratic senators have received information about the allegation, and at least two have begun investigating it. Senior Republican staffers also learned of the allegation last week and, in conversations with The New Yorker, expressed concern about its potential impact on Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Soon after, Senate Republicans issued renewed calls to accelerate the timing of a committee vote. The Democratic Senate offices reviewing the allegations believe that they merit further investigation. “This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanaugh. It should be fully investigated,” Senator Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, said. An aide in one of the other Senate offices added, “These allegations seem credible, and we’re taking them very seriously. If established, they’re clearly disqualifying.”

The woman at the center of the story, Deborah Ramirez, who is fifty-three, attended Yale with Kavanaugh, where she studied sociology and psychology. Later, she spent years working for an organization that supports victims of domestic violence. The New Yorker contacted Ramirez after learning of her possible involvement in an incident involving Kavanaugh. The allegation was conveyed to Democratic senators by a civil-rights lawyer. For Ramirez, the sudden attention has been unwelcome, and prompted difficult choices. She was at first hesitant to speak publicly, partly because her memories contained gaps because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident. In her initial conversations with The New Yorker, she was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh’s role in the alleged incident with certainty.

After six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney, Ramirez said that she felt confident enough of her recollections to say that she remembers Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away. Ramirez is now calling for the F.B.I. to investigate Kavanaugh’s role in the incident. “I would think an F.B.I. investigation would be warranted,” she said.

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