Any reasonable person would have to conclude the hearings on the nomination for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U. S. Supreme Court is nothing less than a circus. Kavanaugh should have been confirmed by now but for the last-minute accusation made by Christine Blasey Ford, which deserves considerable scrutiny.
The most fundamental rule of American law, which has set this country apart from many others, is any person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The mainstream media and the journalists – – – who are more political marketing professionals than journalists – – – who have merely accepted Ms. Ford’s accusations as the gospel are utterly disgusting. Another fundamental aspect of American law is the right to face one’s accuser. Yet Christine Blasey Ford expects special treatment, far different than the woman who accused, confronted and won against Bill Cosby.
Ms. Ford’s lawyers are seeking to allow only senators to question their client, keeping her from having to answer questions posed to her by other attorneys. Ford’s lawyers are also seeking to ban Judge Kavanaugh from the hearing room. They are also insisting Kavanaugh be questioned before Ms. Ford has to answer the first question. The forum is the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate. The senators are certainly not obligated to accede to the demands of Ms. Ford’s lawyers. One deadline has come and gone and still no Ms. Ford. As Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlined in a letter, all that is expected of Ms. Ford is to give her testimony which “would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events.” Yet even that appears to be a hurdle for Christine Blasey Ford. At best, Ms. Ford’s recollections have been hazy; to say they are skimpy is being generous.
Throughout this entire process, the backtracking has been nothing less than astonishing. Ford’s attorney, Debra Katz, confidently promised her client would be willing to testify in public before the Judiciary Committee on national television. Once Grassley agreed to a hearing to allow Ford to testify, the backtracking began. Ford was utterly silent and in spite of what her attorney had said, it was apparent she had not agreed to appear. The agenda changed abruptly with a letter fired off from another Ford lawyer who stated Ms. Ford could not be expected to testify until the FBI had completed an investigation of her charges. That information was disseminated through an exclusive interview with CNN, which just coincidently happens to be one of the more vocal anti-Trump news organizations in the country. The letter from Ford’s attorney included the statement Grassley had scheduled a hearing which would force Ford to sit at the same table as Judge Kavanaugh, an outright lie. Ford’s conditions changed yet again. That despite the fact Senator Grassley had offered to allow Ms. Ford to testify either in public or private, banning television cameras. Ford’s lawyers seemed horrified at the prospect some senators might doubt her story, which is incredible on the face of it. Ms. Ford’s allegations are exactly that; there is not a single shred of evidence nor a solitary witness to back up her story. A healthy dose of skepticism, especially as Ms. Ford’s details are sparse, seems in order. Clearly, Ms. Ford and her attorneys think the only fair hearing is one before senators who support her.
Ms. Ford claims to be a victim, yet she is seeking preferential treatment no victim would receive in a court of law. No one is above the law and Ms. Ford should have precisely the same rights as Judge Kavanaugh.
Nobody has been able to explain why it would take days or weeks for Ms. Ford to relate what only she thinks she knows. Even Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Democrat from California who sat on Ford’s initial letter making her accusation against Judge Kavanaugh for months, has said she couldn’t say “everything’s truthful” about Ford’s charges. Feinstein admitted she doesn’t know if Ford’s accusations are the truth.
The rush on the part of some to “support” Ms. Ford before knowing all the facts is disgraceful, especially when considering the hypocrisy of those who conveniently forgot how the left denigrated those women who accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct and abuse decades earlier. One of the most prominent defenders of Clinton, who took every opportunity to debase and demean his accusers, was none other than his spouse, Hillary. The senator from Hawaii who said men simply ought to “shut up” took PAC money from a colleague who admitted he had slapped the hell out of his wife.
It is quite obvious the leaks and favorable news stories propping up Christine Blasey Ford are the standard anti-Trump outlets like the Washington Post and the New York Times and it’s hardly a coincidence. It confirms the suspicion that the Ford accusation may not be grounded in truth and is calculated simply to destroy Brett Kavanaugh.
Nor can we ignore the hypocrisy of those attempting to assassinate the life, character, and reputation of Judge Kavanaugh are those same people who believe in lighter punishments for juvenile offenders. These are the same people who argue a 17-year-old’s brain isn’t fully formed, yet Brett Kavanaugh was evidently a flow blown adult at the same age.
The left cries Ms. Ford’s life has been threatened; so has that of Judge Kavanaugh, though we hear little about that. All Ms. Ford has to do is appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, make her statement and let the American people decide if she is telling the truth. The court of public opinion will determine whether or not she is believable.
The time has come for the process to work and not work around Christine Blasey Ford. A hard deadline needs to be set, no more demands entertained, and get on with it. It’s time for the U. S. Senate to vote the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh up or down.
It is wrong to make any presumption that Christine Blasey Ford is a victim without knowing all the facts; what facts are available thus far seem to indicate there is every reason to believe the real victim is Brett Kavanaugh.
