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Christine Ford’s smears imperil his confirmation
By Jeffrey T. Kuhner
Pity Judge Brett Kavanaugh. His reputation and honor lies in tatters. The reason: He is now accused of attempted sexual assault while he was a teenager.
The accuser, Prof. Christine Blasey Ford, claims that, at a suburban Maryland home in the summer of 1982, during a beer party Kavanaugh, then a 17-year-old teenager attending Georgetown Prep, tried to rape her when she was only 15 years of age. With no adults or parents at the house, Ford says that Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, were “stumbling drunk” and that they took her to a room. From there, according to Ford, Kavanaugh grabbed her and tried to pin her on the bed, where he “clumsily” attempted to take her clothes off. When Ford sought to scream, she claims that Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth and could have “inadvertently killed” her. Ford then alleges that Judge, laughing hysterically, jumped on top of both of them and they tumbled onto the floor, where she then ran to the bathroom and eventually left the home.
I don’t believe her for one simple reason: Ford’s story does not add up. She cannot remember the address or location of the house. She cannot remember who drove her to the party or how she got there. She cannot remember how she got home. She admits she drank alcohol at the party, but refuses to answer whether she was “stumbling drunk” herself. In short, Ford cannot recall key aspects of the incident.
Moreover, she told no one about the alleged sexual attack—until over 30 years later. Ford said nothing at the time to her parents, family members or friends at high school. Only in 2012, at a couples’ therapy session, did she recount the alleged incident. Yet, the therapist’s notes claim she never mentioned Kavanaugh specifically. In fact, Ford’s story has changed. The therapist says she talked about “four boys” being in the room—not two. Ford now says the therapist is wrong; it was only Kavanaugh and Judge who were involved. Judge himself, the only witness who can corroborate her story, says she is lying.
“It’s just absolutely nuts,” Judge said in an interview with The Weekly Standard. “I never saw Brett act that way.”
Because he didn’t. Kavanaugh “categorically” and “unequivocally” denies the “false” allegation. Even his judicial critics concede that Kavanaugh is a man of sterling character. This is why 65 women—some who have worked with him, others who knew him in high school—signed a letter attesting to his moral integrity and civilized decency.
Then there is the sleazy way Ford’s accusations have been handled. Ford, a registered Democrat and staunch anti-Trump activist, insisted when she made her shocking allegations that she remain cloaked in anonymity. Hence, she sought to damage and destroy Kavanaugh’s public reputation—and his entire career—based on one anonymous accusation regarding an incident that purportedly took place over 36 years ago. She told her Democratic congresswoman, who then passed it on to Sen. Diane Feinstein of California. Feinstein was aware of the explosive allegations in late July. Yet, instead of confronting and asking Kavanaugh about the alleged attempted sexual assault, she did nothing. In over 65 private meetings with Democratic and Republican senators, Kavanaugh was never—not once—asked to address Ford’s accusations.
Rather, Feinstein sat on them until two days before a confirmation vote, which Kavanaugh was expected to win, and sprang them at five minutes to midnight. Her goal: to spark a media circus and delay the confirmation vote until after the midterm election—when Democrats hope they will be in a stronger position to sink his nomination. This was a political hit job masquerading as a #MeToo scandal. If Feinstein believed Ford’s allegations to be serious and credible, why did she wait six weeks to publicly release them? The answer is obvious—and odious: to tarnish and defame Kavanaugh’s reputation.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight is an historic watershed. For the first time since the 1930s, conservatives have a chance to remake the Supreme Court into a center-right majority—one that will end the liberal social revolution that the high court has imposed upon America for the past 50 years. The era of judicial dictatorship will be over. Hence, the Democrats are desperate to retain power at all costs, even if it means spewing lies about and ruining a good family man and a brilliant jurist.
More ominously, should Kavanaugh be defeated it will establish a dangerous precedent. That one, old and completely unsubstantiated accusation can destroy the life and entire career of a Supreme Court nominee means the very basis of our legal system will be overturned—the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. In the eyes of the Left, Kavanaugh is now guilty until he can prove his innocence. Which begs the question: How does he prove that an alleged sexual assault 36 years ago never took place? He can’t. And if this now becomes the new standard, then we will all be living in a totalitarian society where baseless accusations run rampant and countless innocent lives destroyed. No sane judge will ever want to be named to the Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh must be confirmed. And Democrats need to be taught a lesson: America is sick of their dirty tricks.
-Jeffrey T. Kuhner is host of “The Kuhner Report” on WRKO AM-680 in Boston weekdays from noon-3:00 pm EST. He can be reached at jeffreykuhner@iheartmedia.com