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| Blumenthal being publicly swabbed |
Before Judge Amy Barrett is called to answer possible objections to her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald Trump, it may be useful to revisit U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal’s questioning of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
During the Kavanaugh hearings, US Senator Dick Blumenthal warmly
welcomed Christine Blasey Ford as
follows, according to a transcript
of the hearing testimony:
BLUMENTHAL: Thanks,
Mr. Chairman.
I want to join in
thanking you for being here today. And just tell you I have found your
testimony powerful, incredible [Blumenthal perhaps meant to say “credible”] and I believe you. You’re a teacher,
correct?
FORD: Correct.
BLUMENTHAL: Well, you
have given America an amazing teaching moment, and you may have other moments
in the classroom, but you have inspired and you have enlightened America. You
have inspired and given courage to women to come forward, as they have done to
every one of our offices and many other public places. You have inspired and
you have enlightened men in America to listen respectfully to women survivors,
and men who have survived sexual attack, and that is a profound public service,
regardless of what happens with this nomination. And so the teachers of
America, the people of America should be really proud of what you have done.
Let me tell you why I
believe you: not only because of the prior consistent statements and the
polygraph tests and your request for an FBI investigation and your urging that
this committee hear from other witnesses who could corroborate or dispute your
story, but also, you have been very honest about what you cannot remember. And
someone composing a story can make it all come together in a seamless way, but
someone who is honest — I speak from my experience as a prosecutor, as well —
is also candid about what she or he cannot remember.
Q: It is interesting, perhaps telling, that Blumenthal uses
the word “credible” rather than truthful. Blumenthal, as Attorney General for
two decades in Connecticut, will be familiar with court jargon. He has himself argued
cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Testimony can be credible – that is,
believable -- without being true, in accordance with the architecture of facts.
In a period of intense partisanship – welcome to the 21st century –
there are two kinds of credible or believable world views – Democrat and Republican. We
should all bear in mind Otto von Bismarck’s observation: “People never lie so
much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.” Supreme Court nominations
since Democrats first borked Judge Robert Bork have been a combination of all three –
hunt, war and election. Lies can be credible and believable; indeed, they fail most conspicuously when they they are neither.
When Blumenthal says “I believe you” to Ford, he is asserting his own certitude. There is a problem. Certitude is a quality of propositions. Blumenthal is here imputing certainty to persons. He believes Ford because she is a woman accusing of improper behavior a man he does not wish to join the Court .
In his role as a U.S. Senator in the hearing proceeding,
Blumenthal, as well as other Senators, is a juror. There can be no adequate
defense against a charge viewed as true when a trier of fact, a jury, is
willing to believe a charge because a testifier is a woman, whereas the accused
is a man he wishes to despoil. Properly speaking, Kavanaugh, at the time the incident was alleged to
have occurred more than thirty years earlier, was a boy in high school, and
Ford was a girl in high school. Judges and jurors in trials know that evidence three decades old is perishable.
Here are some facts that were elicited during the hearing. 1) Blasey Ford did not report the incident to
police at the time it had occurred, three decades before her testimony. Indeed,
she initially spoke of the incident to no one; 2) she was at first reluctant to
testify, but was pressed into service after she had been identified publicly
by Democrat politicians familiar with her account, many of whom opposed the
Kavanaugh nomination, but not, as it turned out for jurisprudential reasons. Kavanaugh was awarded the U.S. Bar Association's highest rating. We do not know whether Blumenthal was one of those
who outed Blasey Ford; 3) three direct witnesses Blasey Ford identified as having
been present when the molestation had occurred testified under oath that they
could not support her charge. Senator Ted Cruz rang the point like the Liberty
Bell when he said:
A fair-minded assessor
of facts would then look to, “What else do we know when you have conflicting
testimony?” Well we know that Dr. Ford identified three fact witnesses who she
said observed what occurred. All three of those fact witnesses have stated on
the record under penalty of perjury that they do not recall what she is
alleging happening.
They have not only not
— not corroborated her charges, they have explicitly refuted her charges.
A contemporary calendar in which Kavanaugh disclosed his
associations and whereabouts showed that Blasey Ford’s timeline and accounts of
Kavanaugh’s molestation could not have been factual. By the time Blumenthal
questioned Kavanaugh, the case against him was already collapsing under the
weight of elicited evidence, as the transcript indicates.
GRASSLEY: (OFF-MIKE)
Senator Blumenthal.
BLUMENTHAL: Thanks,
Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon, Judge
Kavanaugh. As a federal judge, you’re aware of the jury instruction falsus in —
in unibus (sic), falsus in omnibus, are you not? You’re aware of that jury
instruction?
KAVANAUGH: Yes, I’m —
I am.
BLUMENTHAL: You know
what it means?
KAVANAUGH: You can
translate it for me, senator. You can do it better than I can.
BLUMENTHAL: False in
one thing, false in everything. Meaning in jury instructions that we — some of
us as prosecutors have heard many times, is — told the jury that they can
disbelieve a witness if they find them to be false in one thing.
So the core of why
we’re here today really is credibility. Let me talk…
The jury instruction cited by Blumenthal apparently did not
apply to Blasey Ford.
KAVANAUGH: But (ph)
the core of why we’re here is an allegation for which the four witnesses
present have all said it didn’t happen.
This was nervy of the judge under scrutiny, and Blumenthal
quickly changed gears, so he thought.
BLUMENTHAL: Let me ask
you about Renate Dolphin who lives in Connecticut. She thought these yearbook
statements were, quote, “Horrible, hurtful and simply untrue.” end quote,
because Renate Alumnus clearly implied some boast of sexual conquest. And
that’s the reason that you apologized to her, correct?
KAVANAUGH: That’s
false, speaking about the yearbook and she — she said she and I never had any
sexual interaction. So your question…
BLUMENTHAL: But…
There can be no “but.” The woman cited by Blumenthal denied
the planted imputation that Kavanaugh had had questionable sex with her.
Kavanaugh rose to her defense, somewhat angrily.
KAVANAUGH: … your
question is false and I’ve addressed that in the opening statement. And so,
your question is based on a false premise and really does great harm to her. I
don’t know why you’re bringing this up, frankly, doing great harm to her. By
even bringing her name up here is really unfortunate.
BLUMENTHAL: Well,
calling someone an alumnus in that way, was actually interpreted…
KAVANAUGH: Well,
implying what you’re implying what you’re implying about…
BLUMENTHAL: … by a
number of your football friends at the time of boasting of sexual conquest.
That’s the reason that I’m bringing it up. And it conflicts…
KAVANAUGH: Yes. No,
it’s false.
BLUMENTHAL: … with…
KAVANAUGH: You’re
implying that. Look what you’re bringing up right now about her. Look what
you’re doing.
BLUMENTHAL: … Mr.
Chairman, I ask that…
KAVANAUGH: Don’t bring
her name up.
Blumenthal raised a point of order. Kavanaugh’s objections
were answers, not interruptions.
BLUMENTHAL: … these
interruptions not be subtracted from my time.
GRASSLEY: Very well
(ph). Ask your question and then let…
KAVANAUGH: She’s a
great person. She’s always been a great person. We never had any sexual
interaction. By bringing this up, you’re just — just dragging her through the
mud. It’s just unnecessary.
GRASSLEY: Proceed,
Senator Blumenthal (ph).
BLUMENTHAL: Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
You’ve made reference,
judge, to a sworn statement I believe by Mark Judge to the committee. Is that
correct?
KAVANAUGH: I made
reference to what Mark Judge’s lawyer sent to the committee.
BLUMENTHAL: You know
(ph), it’s not a sworn statement, is it?
KAVANAUGH: It would —
under penalty of felony.
BLUMENTHAL: Well, it’s
a statement signed by his lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder. It is six cursory and
conclusory sentences. Are you saying that that is a substitute for an
investigation by the FBI or some interview by the FBI under oath?
KAVANAUGH: Under
penalty of felony, he said that this kind of event didn’t happen and that I
never did or would have done something like that. And…
BLUMENTHAL: As a
federal judge, you always want the best evidence don’t you?
Here the interrogatory descends into self-destructive irony.
The best evidence had all along supported Kavanaugh’s sworn testimony.
KAVANAUGH: … Senator,
he has said and all the witnesses present — look at Ms. Keyser’s statement,
she’s
BLUMENTHAL: Let me…
KAVANAUGH: Dr. Ford’s
longtime friend…
Better run away.
BLUMENTHAL: … let me
move on to another topic. You’ve testified to this committee this morning —
this afternoon, quote, “This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and
orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President
Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my
judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in
money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
Is it your testimony
that the motivation of the courageous woman who sat where you did just a short
time ago was revenge on behalf of a left-wing conspiracy or the Clintons?
KAVANAUGH: Senator, I
said in my opening statement that she preferred confidentially. And her
confidentially was — was destroyed by the actions of this committee.
Run away.
BLUMENTHAL: Let me ask
you this, in a speech that you gave at Yale you — you described, quote,
“Falling out of the bus onto the front steps of the Yale Law School at 4:45
a.m.” and…
KAVANAUGH: I wasn’t…
BLUMENTHAL: … then…
KAVANAUGH: … I wasn’t
describing me. I organized…
BLUMENTHAL: … trying
to…
KAVANAUGH: … Senator.
Senator, let me finish, please. I organized a third-year end of school party
for 30 of my classmates to rent a bus to go to Fenway Park in Boston, which was
about a three-hour trip.
I bought all the
tickets. You and I have discussed that before. I bought all the baseball
tickets. I rented the bus. I organized the whole trip.
We went to Fenway
Park. Roger Clemens was pitching for the Red Sox. We had a great time. George Brett
was playing third base for the Royals — actually, he was playing left field
that night. And he — and we went to the game, and got back, and then we went
out. It was a great night of friendship.
BLUMENTHAL: I — I
apologize for interrupting, judge, but I need to finish the quote before I ask
you the question…
KAVANAUGH: I wasn’t
talking about…
BLUMENTHAL: … The
quote ends…
GRASSLEY: OK, we’ll
let (ph)…
BLUMENTHAL: … the
quote ends that you tried to, quote, “piece things back together,” end quote,
to recall what happened that night. Meaning…
KAVANAUGH: I know what
happened.
BLUMENTHAL: … Well,
you…
GRASSLEY: Judge, let —
will you quickly answer your question? And then I’m going to let him answer
you…
KAVANAUGH: I know what
— I know what happened that night.
BLUMENTHAL: I’ll
finish asking my question…
GRASSLEY: Please, go
ahead…
BLUMENTHAL: … your
honor (ph).
GRASSLEY: … but do it
quickly.
BLUMENTHAL: Doesn’t
that imply to you that you had to piece things back together, you had to ask
others what happened that night?
KAVANAUGH: No, it…
GRASSLEY: OK. You —
you take your time now and answer the question.
KAVANAUGH: … Yes.
GRASSLEY: And then,
Senator Crapo.
KAVANAUGH: Definitely
not. I know exactly what happened that night. It was a great night of fun. I
was so happy that — it was great camaraderie. Everyone looks back fondly on the
trip to Fenway Park. And then we went out together, a group of classmates. And
I know exactly what happened the whole night. And I’m happy.
And here comes the kitchen sink.
BLUMENTHAL: Judge, do
you — do you believe Anita Hill?
GRASSLEY: Senator —
Senator Crapo.
GRAHAM?: (OFF-MIKE)
Time is up (ph). Your time is up (ph)…
God bless the clock. Barret is due to be interrogated -- likely mauled by mostly male Democrats -- by Kavanaugh's interrogators this Tuesday and Wednesday, after having on Monday recorded and carved out their posturings for use in the upcoming elections.
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