New York Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly did a deeper investigation into Brett Kavanaugh, the sexual assailant who was confirmed onto the Supreme Court last year. The book is called The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation. The NYT published a “news analysis” piece on the book and what Pogrebin and Kelly found throughout the course of their investigation. Unsurprisingly, they found further evidence of Kavanaugh assaulting Deborah Ramirez during their freshman year at Yale, and they found evidence (witnesses) of Kavanaugh’s assault of another woman during the same time period at Yale.
Deborah Ramirez had the grades to go to Yale in 1983. But she wasn’t prepared for what she’d find there….During the winter of her freshman year, a drunken dormitory party unsettled her deeply. She and some classmates had been drinking heavily when, she says, a freshman named Brett Kavanaugh pulled down his pants and thrust his penis at her, prompting her to swat it away and inadvertently touch it. Some of the onlookers, who had been passing around a fake penis earlier in the evening, laughed.
…While we found Dr. Ford’s allegations credible during a 10-month investigation, Ms. Ramirez’s story could be more fully corroborated. During his Senate testimony, Mr. Kavanaugh said that if the incident Ms. Ramirez described had occurred, it would have been “the talk of campus.” Our reporting suggests that it was. At least seven people, including Ms. Ramirez’s mother, heard about the Yale incident long before Mr. Kavanaugh was a federal judge. Two of those people were classmates who learned of it just days after the party occurred, suggesting that it was discussed among students at the time.
We also uncovered a previously unreported story about Mr. Kavanaugh in his freshman year that echoes Ms. Ramirez’s allegation. A classmate, Max Stier, saw Mr. Kavanaugh with his pants down at a different drunken dorm party, where friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student. Mr. Stier, who runs a nonprofit organization in Washington, notified senators and the F.B.I. about this account, but the F.B.I. did not investigate and Mr. Stier has declined to discuss it publicly. (We corroborated the story with two officials who have communicated with Mr. Stier.)
Mr. Kavanaugh did not speak to us because we could not agree on terms for an interview. But he has denied Dr. Ford’s and Ms. Ramirez’s allegations, and declined to answer our questions about Mr. Stier’s account. Ms. Ramirez’s legal team gave the F.B.I. a list of at least 25 individuals who may have had corroborating evidence. But the bureau — in its supplemental background investigation — interviewed none of them, though we learned many of these potential witnesses tried in vain to reach the F.B.I. on their own.
Two F.B.I. agents interviewed Ms. Ramirez, telling her that they found her “credible.” But the Republican-controlled Senate had imposed strict limits on the investigation. “‘We have to wait to get authorization to do anything else,’” Bill Pittard, one of Ms. Ramirez’s lawyers, recalled the agents saying. “It was almost a little apologetic.”
I believe Christine Blasey Ford. I believe Deborah Ramirez. And I believe that Max Stier witnessed Kavanaugh assault a third woman. I believe the sexual assailant president rammed through another sexual assailant for the highest court in the land. As many have pointed out, Kavanaugh’s explanation or argument has NEVER been “I got blackout drunk and did really stupid and offensive sh-t.” His argument has always been “I never did any of it and I’m going to yell and scream about it until you give me what I want.”
Anyway Donald Trump tweeted words but IDGAF. Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren and other senators are talking about Kavanaugh’s impeachment though:
I sat through those hearings. Brett Kavanaugh lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly to the American people. He was put on the Court through a sham process and his place on the Court is an insult to the pursuit of truth and justice.
He must be impeached.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 15, 2019
Last year the Kavanaugh nomination was rammed through the Senate without a thorough examination of the allegations against him. Confirmation is not exoneration, and these newest revelations are disturbing. Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 15, 2019
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
This is just shocking. I also saw accounts of people on twitter who lived with Kavanaugh and knew about the assault contacting the FBI, only to be ignored.
Given that this is a lifetime position, is there a process for impeachment should new evidence comes to light (asking as a Brit here) ?
Yes there’s impeachment process, but it’s difficult to employ, like impeaching the president.
There will probably be MORE witnesses coming forward. Then we’ll see.
Also, Kav drank to “blackout drunk,” which isn’t “passed out” —
it’s just his brain checking out while he still walks around.
AND, I’m waiting for Mrs. Kav to have had enough of him drinking into a stupor every night and divorcing him.
Other WH staff got told on for domestic abuse by their spouses, she might talk too.
It’s rage inducing that the FBI didn’t bother to dig deeper into these stories, they were right fucking there!! Why would they ignore people trying to come forward, ugh ugh ugh.
Currently the FBI is functioning as Trump’s lapdogs, as is the Attorney General. We are gravely in danger with the breakdown of our democratic system in the current administration. Trump and the Republican Party that enables him and supports sexual predators are evil.
IIRC the FBI were pretty much muzzled by the White House and Turtle Mitch – they made the FBI work to such a narrow scope that there was no way they were able to do their jobs effectively. Dump and the GOP were desperate to get Crying Beer Boy confirmed. He is only on the SC to protect Dump/GOP and destroy women’s reproductive and all other rights.
Yes. And it was clear that the Republican Senators were willing to do and say anything to get him confirmed. I was off work that day and watched the whole hearing and could not believe what I was seeing. I honestly thought Kavanaugh was going to completely implode and I believe he would have if they hadn’t kept granting him breaks to coach him and help him regroup. And then coddle him further with their own “questions.” It was surreal.
And they were on a very rushed timeline, IIRC.
I believe the pictures here of him actually capture what his soul looks like. Scary.
@Christin, one reason the timeline was so rushed is that McConnell wanted him seated on the Supreme Court before the Appeals Court had time to review the 83 charges of judicial ethics violations related to his contradictory testimony on what he did during the Bush administration
I agree Bella – I get such a bad vibe from EVERY.SINGLE.PHOTO of the guy. It’s creepy.
If it’s true that, as George Orwell said, “At fifty, everyone has the face he deserves,” Kavanaugh is a deeply disturbed, emotionally volatile, and chronically angry man.
One of the things that I find so disturbing about all of this, is that I don’t think Kavanaugh really thinks he did anything wrong. He doesn’t see forced groping while holding a woman down or forcing her hand on his penis as “assault”. He thinks sexual force can be a joke. He gets angry that he even has to explain himself. It horrifies me to think that someone with that mindset has so much power over women, and a lifetime appointment.
Women are constantly being minimized by our employers, our doctors, police, and the justice system. That mindset has been given an “atta boy!” by the Trump Administration.
People were complaining about Obama the other day…but if you look at his judicial appointments compared to Trump’s, it really helps you understand the reach of presidential impact for good or bad.
this is what’s just overwhelming on so many levels to me…it’s all a joke to them. Remember Weinstein saying things like “look do you really want to ruin your career for just 5 minutes of your time…” Or the judge in Brock’s case, and the father saying it was “wrong” to ruin Brock’s life for “a few minutes of action.” Or freakin Antonio Brown playing for the Patriot’s yesterday. The winks about Epstein’s “Lolita Express…” It really crystallized for me w the kavanaugh hearings and I’m not sure I’ll ever get over it. But it has emboldened me to tell myself — it that guy can sit on the Supreme Court, I can do xyz, speak up at a meeting, champion myself and other women, fight past the gaslighting, etc etc. And man o man I think we are hearing women roar now…here’s hoping…
I think you are exactly right and its one of the things about this whole process that disgusted me so much. Kavanaugh wasn’t angry at that hearing because he was trying cover something up. He was angry because someone dared to question HIM and someone dared to bring up his past behavior when he never did anything wrong (in his mind.) And the Republicans didn’t think he did either. Its why they didn’t care whether he was every alone with Dr. Ford. If everything she said was true, they still wouldn’t have thought he was wrong.
Great post, Tiffany.
I wish I could say I was surprised.
Really, not surprised at all.
+1
Ditto.
And yet nothing will come of it. He will continue to occupy one of the most powerful and prestigious offices in the land, for life. The biggest shock to me the last few years is realizing how much America hates women.
The ones I despise the most are the self-hating cvnts who show up at his rallies and/or gleefully yap on twitter about the greatness of trump.
Me, too. I know the anger is misplaced, but if all the women voted against these people and refused to support them, they couldn’t be in power.
It’s not misplaced. They’re collaborators. Remember what the French resistance did to collaborators after the nazi occupation ended. They understood just how deplorable you have to be to be a collaborator.
Yesterday I saw a FB post from one of my groups where a woman was bragging about being a member of Red Pill (one of the Male Rights Activist subgroups). She said she didn’t like feminism because it made poor men feel like they are not appreciated enough. I just don’t understand these women who knowingly align themselves with misogynists. Collaborators indeed.
It’s depressing. MRA’s have so many collaberators. American hatred of women isn’t that surprising though. The culture is just smug -woke enough to believe it’s not a problem here, but regressive enough to point to female suffering and tell women to be grateful for brutalities not visited on them individually. That’s the card often pulled by the Trump/Kavanaugh crowd and others when misogyny is mentioned.
Meanwhile, DT thinks the Justice Department should “rescue” Beer Bash Brett. Flagrant constitutional violation. Blackout Brett deserves impeachment and I hope he gets it right after a Dem Presidency starts.
I remember several people went public on the news saying they contacted the FBI and asked to be interviewed under oath, and were brushed off. It was known that the repubs had severely restricted the investigation so I really don’t see how people, especially lawmakers, can pretend that’s new info.
Exactly. This is not new. Those accusations and reports of the FBI not interviewing witnesses were discussed both in the media and even here at CB. I’m shocked that people are shocked.
Maybe we can get a two for one deal on impeaching Trump and Kavanaugh. I think I have a coupon here somewhere….
Maybe Grope-on will have something.
HA!!
And the nomination for COTW is……
OMG – Grope-on!!! Seriously…genius stuff right there! LOL! *Golf claps*
Unfortunately, I have zero shock about this.
And unfortunately, the power dynamic has not changed since this jerk was confirmed so all that is going to come of it is a lot of unhinged tweets from 45 and probably another obnoxious, tearful, probably vaguely threatening denial from Kavanaugh himself. I sincerely doubt he’s going to lose sleep over it.
Is anyone surprised that this slime ball did this? I’m sure there are others, but unfortunately, he is probably going no where, as I have zero faith that he will get ‘impeached’ or whatever the technical term for ‘fired’ is at that level. He’s a POS, I know that for sure!
It’s very difficult to talk about this, especially online, because I get myself into such a rage…I feel that they shoved Kavanaugh’s penis into the face of every American woman and laughed over our powerlessness to do anything about it. Trump, McConnell, etc. Please don’t forget that George W Bush worked fervently behind the scenes to get votes for Kavanaugh, and is credited with getting Susan Collins’ vote.
I was thrilled to see Senator Harris tweet early on, and I feel that vowing to support the impeachment of Kavanaugh is a litmus test for candidates. However, it won’t be done in the WH, we will need the senate.
Or, we need a female uprising ala Hong Kong. We need to truly march on Washington, shut down business and traffic around the Supreme Court, and occupy the Supreme Court, until they cry uncle. Or should I say; until they cry for their mamas.
^^same. 100% same. for anyone longing for the days of GW – remember his war criminal ass is still here screwing up and helping rapists get lifetime appointments!
I have never understood the attempts to paint (no pun intended) Shrub into a harmless grandfatherly figure during the past couple of years. His terms were full of wars and a near-depression economy.
In some ways, Trump was the best thing that happened to GWB, because so many people are now like, “remember when he was the republican president? At least he wasn’t tweeting at Chrissy Teigen! and he paints now!” the whole GWB area has been completely sanitized and I’m just hoping that history will have a better perspective on it.
@DaisySharp – I am seething with the strength of 1,000 suns. That said, I’ll take the rage if it keeps this story alive. No one should ever forget there is a serial assaulter on the court.
this isn’t surprising. but i guess men just need to say “i didn’t do it” and women need to have filed a police report withing 5 mins of being assaulted, have 5 forms of physical evidence, 10 credible witnesses, video evidence with three angles where the identity of both parties can be confirmed with retinal scanning and adequate audio proof she screamed and called for help. should she be able to provide that evidence, she should also be prepared to prove she was wearing an unattractive outfit and chastity belt at the time of the assault – otherwise – she was asking for it.
i swear to god i hate this world.
It is sad-making.
I’m reading She Said-written by the journalists who pursued the Weinstein story. The book also delves into how Christine Blasey Ford’s story exploded just days after their initial story was published. But I have to take breaks from reading it-too many stories of how sexual harassment/assault had been handled.
I really love that Warren’s tweet included the spot-on use of the word “rammed.”
We need to stop being afraid to call these behaviors what they are.
But remember, Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks he’s a very decent man!
Sigh. This is where you can really get into radical theory about privilege and elitism and the establishment. Not really where my passions lie. I feel it’s comparable to the Senate. You have 100 senators. 100 of the most elite people in the world. We know how good this position must be on account of how desperately they try to hang onto it. Trading their dignity, their values, anything, for just one more term. They want to be carried out, and will not resign even in the case of brain cancer that is taking away their ability to think. AND, they all seem to laugh it up together. I saw a tweet talking about how a pig like Lindsey Graham will go on TV and say the most horrific, and base, and absolutely untrue things, and then 30 minutes later you see him yukking it up with Chuck Schumer. You know, if I was in the senate, I couldn’t yuk it up with Lindsey Graham.
Now you have someone like RGB defending a sex predator and why? Because he reached her own exalted status. He is one of the nine. It’s enough to turn a moderate gal like myself into a radical.
This is a great post. Your line about anything for “one more term” was spot on. It’s all about power. These people worship it, at all costs. I agree with brain cancer part too. Even RBG—this is an unpopular opinion but she’s so sickly, supports Kavanaugh, and while I appreciate her liberal voice and all she’s done for women, you know she loves the power of her position as well. Only death will peel her fingers off the mantle of the Supreme Court.
Thanks August.
I’ve always felt RGB should have retired during Obama’s first term. I mean, people gotta think ahead, they really do. But then, you would need to have some sense of self-sacrifice for the greater good, and I don’t believe any of these elites have that.
Ugh. I had forgotten all about her stance on Kavanope. How empowering! How inspirational! In a world full of…….. Be like RBG!
I’d say if you remove Beer ad Brett than you also need to remove Clarence Thomas from the Supreme Court. Anita Hill never received any justice.
Indelible, in the hippocampus, is the laughter — Dr. Christine Blasey Ford
I always believed her and it broke my heart (more than anything, anything else) to see this rapist confirmed to the supreme court. I lost my faith in America as an idea that day.
+1
+2
Your post brought tears to my eyes.
The only surprising thing about the Kavanaugh saga is how bad he is with PR. I’m not a PR professional, but this kind of seems like a no-brainer to me: imagine if, when Dr. Blasey Ford’s allegations became public, he offered a heartfelt apology in which he acknowledged that he had a serious drinking problem in his teens and early twenties, that he knows he blacked out on occasion and was shocked and horrified to learn that he caused her so much pain during one of those episodes, etc.
My theory is that he couldn’t take this route because he has a current drinking problem. An interesting thing about his confirmation hearing was the way he lost his mind and lashed out like a cornered 9th-grader every time the subject of drinking came up: his exchange with Amy Klobucher (“no, I don’t have a drinking problem, do you have a drinking problem?”) was insane.
He has a current drinking problem AND a very long list of victims.
He’ll skate like always. That’s just the world we live in now. God help us.
We have always lived in a world where the powerful evade justice and we have always lived in a world where patriarchy denies women justice.
When you read the article, you just get a sinking feeling in your stomach. The FBI agents who talked to Ramirez told her lawyer that they found her credible. And Ramirez gave them 60+ names to corroborate. But the FBI were never given the authorization by the Senate to approach them. Remember Jeff Flake making a big show out of being so overwrought and giving the FBI ONE week to investigate 30+ years of bad behavior? What a farce. Did they ever question the Mark Judge guy, the one CBF identified as present during her assault?
Never mind we do not know who or what paid off Kavanagh’s mortgage. Or why he was in such debt to begin with.
And while I’m going down Memory Lane, remember how they lined up rows of preteen girls to sit behind him (his daughter’s basketball team)? Or the disrespect he showed to the Dem senators (Whitehouse, Klobuchar?) Or “Renata Fan Club”?
A great reckoning is due.
No surprises here, only extreme disgust.
Fox’s headline on this story was something to the effect of “NYT Amends Article about Kavanaugh “Accuser” to note she doesn’t remember “assault.””
They are losing their minds over there with really gross gross headlines all over.
Honestly, every time I hear the words “The Justice System” anymore I just laugh. It’s become a total and complete farce, like: The Presidency, Congress, “checks and balances”. PFFFFT.
This is the topic on today’s Fresh Air. Terri Gross will interview the two reporters who covered this story. Last week Terri interviewed the two reporters who broke the Weinstein story and it was fascinating. This should be just as good.
If only Terry Gross had the same reach as Sean Hannity.