The Republicans were exceedingly grudging when they gave in to Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and agreed to an FBI investigation of Donald Trump’s nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Since then, they have done their best to limit the scope of that investigation in several ways. First, White House Counsel Don McGahn laced up the FBI’s investigation tight with an inch-thick directive. Then, the Republicans pull this stunt.
Defense attorney Rachel Mitchell, the woman behind whose skirts the Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee hid during Kavanaugh’s hearing,, released a memo critical of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Ford calmly and with great dignity gave her testimony, which was clearly very difficult for her. She claimed that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when she was 15 and he was 1 7.
She thought that he would inadvertently kill her, when he placed his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. There was another guy in the room, Kavanaugh’s best friend, and when he jumped upon the two of them, she was able to escape.
Both Ford and Kavanaugh have claimed they were 100 percent certain of the telling of what happened. Unfortunately, Mitchell left out half of the hearing — anything relating to the nominee.
Mitchell’s five-page memo went to all of the Senate Republicans, according to The Washington Post:
‘A “he said, she said” case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that. Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them.’
She tried to discredit Ford:
‘For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the (Senate Judiciary) Committee. Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.’
The professor gave her spell-binding testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, stating she was clearly “terrified” of speaking about her sexual abuse. If a woman such as Ford, with a doctorate in what happens to the brain during trauma, was not believed, what chance does a less qualified, less articulate woman have?
Ford testified:
‘I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. This is what terrified me the most.’
She said both of the young men were very drunk. Yet, Kavanaugh claimed he was a choir boy and told a number of smaller lies to the committee. Surely, a free FBI investigation could uncover the actual truth of his drinking habits. Friends have already come forth saying he became belligerent when he drank.
Mitchell’s memo was written for her client — the Republican leaders. She claimed Ford was not consistent in her account, which many experts believe reinforces the professor’s truth. The prosecutor also criticized Ford for not recalling how she got home. Ford, explained how traumatic memory works: consequential events are seared into the memory, whereas other details fade away.
Mitchell wrote:
‘(She) has no memory of key details of the night in question — details that could help corroborate her account…her inability to remember this detail raises significant questions.’
Then, the prosecutor indicated that she wrote the memo freely and without pressure:
‘(I was) not pressured in any way to write this memorandum or to write any words in this memorandum with which I do not fully agree. There is no clear standard of proof for allegations made during the Senate’s confirmation process. But the world in which I work is the legal world, not the political world. Thus, I can only provide my assessment of Dr. Ford’s allegations in that legal context.’
Democrats need a copy of the memo and also a copy of McGahn’s directive to the FBI. Only then, can they tell if the White House has handcuffed the FBIÂ to sway the outcome in Kavanaugh’s favor.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
