Whitehouse uses
Kavanaugh’s own calendars, yearbook and notes to catch him in lies in his denials of attempted rape
By
Will Collette
I want to share two articles with you about the stand our Senator Sheldon
Whitehouse took during the confirmation hearings on Trump’s pick for
Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh
had, until Friday, tried to play the role of chaste, respectful altar boy, a
man of impeccable character unstained by any sordid past.
None
of what Dr. Christine Ford said about him could possibly be true. And to “prove”
it, Kavanaugh introduced his calendars for his high school years at Georgetown
Prep.
Personally,
I think that Kavanaugh’s production of his calendar notes is enough to show he is
unfit for the Supreme Court because they do not, to paraphrase Princess
Bride, say what he thinks they say. I ask you - would any competent lawyer do that?
That’s
where Sen. Whitehouse came in. Using Kavanaugh’s own calendars and notes, Whitehouse took
him apart, focusing in particular on phrases and notes Kavanaugh himself wrote.
Before
we move on to the two articles, I just want to note how stressful all this must
be to Charlestown’s resident curmudgeon Jim Mageau, who took to the Letters
to the Editor page of the Westerly Sun on September 21 to blast Senator
Whitehouse.
Mageau charged Whitehouse with engaging in “political theatre” and using unproven charges like this to destroy the family and reputation of an outstanding jurist” and calls for Whitehouse to be disbarred.
Mageau charged Whitehouse with engaging in “political theatre” and using unproven charges like this to destroy the family and reputation of an outstanding jurist” and calls for Whitehouse to be disbarred.
Well,
Jim, a lot has changed since September 21. I wonder if you will now write a
letter to the editor with your apology.
Here
are two articles.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
delivered a powerful rebuke of his Republican colleagues for refusing to allow
a law enforcement investigation of sexual assault allegations against Brett
Kavanaugh — and he identified the possible date of the attack.
The Rhode Island Democrat said
accuser Christine Blasey Ford provided credible testimony about her
recollections of the assault, and he said the Supreme Court nominee’s testimony
was unreliable.
“If Dr. Ford’s testimony is true, I
hope we can all agree Kavanaugh has no business on the court, and I for one
believed her,” he added.
He blasted the Republican majority
for refusing to subpoena Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh friend who Ford placed in the
room at the time.
“The greatest legal engine ever
invented for the discovery of truth is cross-examination,” Whitehouse said.
“Mark Judge is in hiding instead of under subpoena, and that greatest legal
engine has been deliberately disabled in this matter.”
Whitehouse pointed to a calendar
Kavanaugh kept as a teenager, which lists a party on July 1, 1982, that matches
up with Ford’s testimony about who was present the night she was assaulted.
“We know ‘Bart’ Kavanaugh was there
because it’s his schedule, and here’s Judge, and here’s PJ, here are all those
three named boys and others at a house together just as she said,” Whitehouse
said. “She said Kavanaugh and Judge were drunk and that she had a beer. (The
calendar shows) skis — (or) brewskis, beer. They were drinking, just as she
said.”
“Now, I will concede that the two
girls aren’t mentioned, but spot me this,” he added. “If you had just sexually
assaulted one of the two girls, would you add the girls’ names to your
calendar? I doubt it. This may, may be powerful corroborating evidence that the
assault happened, that it happened that day, and that it happened in that
place, but with no FBI investigation, we can’t tell.”
Whitehouse vowed to continue
investigating Kavanaugh’s past — regardless of whether he’s ultimately
confirmed.
“We have done a botch of the
investigation, over time I expect the facts to come out,” he said. “They have a
way of doing that. Coverups never last. The sand is running through Kavanaugh’s
hourglass, and I pledge whatever I can do to make sure that the truth of his
conduct is ultimately determined.”
“I like beer,” said Supreme Court hopeful Brett Kavanaugh when Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse asked if his high school “ralph club” referred to alcohol-induced vomiting. “Do you like beer, Senator?” the potential justice then shot back at Whitehouse. “What do you like to drink?”
It
wasn’t the only time Kavanaugh, visibly angry throughout the afternoon, would
answer a question about his drinking habits with a question about a senator’s
drinking habits. He apologized during the hearing for doing so to Minnesota
Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Not
so to Rhode Island’s junior senator, who focused his five minutes of on
examining some passages from Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook, which seemed to
annoy the applicant.
“If
you’re worried about my yearbook, have at it,” Kavanaugh told Whitehouse. “If
you want to talk about flatulence on page 16 in a high school yearbook, I’m
game.”
Only some doubt it was a reference to flatulence on page 16
of that high school yearbook, according to this Vox story.
Similarly with a question Whitehouse asked Kavanaugh about a
reference to “devil’s triangle,” which Kavanaugh told Whitehouse was a drinking
game though others think it’s a reference to sex between two men and a woman.
Whitehouse:
“Devils triangle?”
Kavanaugh:
“It’s a drinking game.”
Whitehouse:
“How’s it played.”
Kavanaugh:
“Three glasses in a triangle,”
Whitehouse:
“And?”
Kavanaugh:
“You ever played quarters?”
Whitehouse:
“No.”
Kavanaugh:
“Okay, it’s a quarters game.”