It was Friday, September 28, 2018, and Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court was in serious trouble. The day before, Christine Blasey Ford had testified under oath that she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh when she was in high school. Trump described Ford's testimony as "very compelling" and "
Good to know that EVERY SINGLE check and balance our government has in place FAILED when a maniacal man became President AND that an entire party got behind him supporting his lies and misinformation. I’d say this is a warning that things need to change because the pandemic that is ‘trump’ is still flourishing.
There is additional concern about Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court because of the lack of investigation into his financial affairs. Who paid his credit card debt of at least $45,000? Who paid his $92,000 initiation fee to an exclusive country club, with a $9,000 annual fee? Who paid his $245,000 down payment on his $1.2 million dollar home? How can he afford to send his two daughters to a private school that costs $20,550 annually? His financial disclosures (since he was a federal appeals judge he was required to file these) don’t answer these questions, nor has he offered an explanation. There has not been an investigation. The question then becomes, did somebody buy a Supreme Court Judge?
I have asked this question over and over since the pay off surfaced several years ago. Why no one has found the answers boggles my mind. There is a trail. Follow the money.
Indeed, they did..between Justice Kennedy being indirectly paid off to retire early and Kavanaugh’s sudden clean financial slate it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to connect the dots. Even when some are missing. And we know that’s the Trump admin MO.
It's a mistake to think that Kavanaugh was some independent person whose loyalties were only recently purchased by this shady windfall. Kavanaugh was practically grown in a lab by the Federalists, trained in the art of weaponized illogic, taught that the proper goal of the law is to entrench the power of wealthy predators.
Imagine a child going to school on picture day with some messy chocolate smeared on his chin. His mother wipes the chocolate off before the picture is taken so he looks his best. Then bystanders say: "foul play! that kid will do whatever that lady wants *because* she cleaned his chin!" That objection fundamentally confuses the nature of the relationship between the actors, and thus wildly misinterprets the significance of the act. The truth is that the child's loyalty runs deep, and the cleaning-up was not a bribe, but one effort to pave the child's way.
Kav was grown in a lab by Charles Koch's cabal of rich predators. Some dark-money villain paid all his debts, not to curry favor as a wannabe client, but to clear the path for their vassal. As a patron would. Kav's loyalties did not change one iota: he was already committed to subverting the rule of law, and undermining the public good as an impediment to private profit.
What's the point of anything anymore? What's the point of being in control of the senate if the left doesn't do anything of value when they have that control? The previous administration can skirt laws as they see fit, ram through far right nominees to sit on benches across the country for years, and in Kavanaugh's case, a lifetime appointment - with absolutely zero consequence. I'm so tired of the left pulling punches. Wray needs to go immediately and so does every single holdover from the trump administration. Every single one needs to go as a matter of principle. This is astounding that someone with a personal connection to Kavanaugh was also allowed to lead the investigation into him. Nothing about the previous administration was fair or by the book and apparently future republican administrations will be able to do the same thing without consequence. This is a dark time in our country and the beginning of the end of democracy.
If it is determined that Kavanaugh was not fairly vetted for his position, why will he be allowed to keep it? All this wrong-doing and yet we shrug our shoulders and move on. His appointment alarms me as a woman, and the fact that it is a lifetime position is terrifying. The system is broken, but how do we fix it? They say to vote - but it doesn’t matter if we don’t have a redo/undo button. Seems we’re stuck with corrupt people regardless. Frustrating!
As Bill Maher has said, “I don’t know how they did it, I just know they did it”. We all knew the FBI was working in concert with the GOP. It was obvious and for this reason I have been livid over the retention of Wray. I have been forced to sit by and watch TWO Supreme Court justices confirmed knowing that they would never treat women fairly in their decisions. It’s unforgivable And my anger at Biden over this retention is certainly flamed by know knowing “how”.
No wonder the Jan. 6 insurrectionists are getting off so easily. Beg to answer, Judd. How does Merrick Garland at the DOJ run in all of this? Is he on the porch with these dawgs protecting tradition or is he barking in the yard at the Robbers? And Joe? Is/ was he aware?
The questions unearthed here are monumental.
My fav is always going to be and has the ability to be solved.
Who paid off Kavanaugh's debts. There is a paper trail. There had to be tax consequences.
You state "Kavanaugh has a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court and nothing the Senate discovers about the FBI investigation will change that". Surely there are means to remove an unfit justice? Wouldn't lying under oath be considered a felony? Can someone retain the office of Supreme Court Justice if they have been convicted of a felony?
There an MOU for the FBI when they do background checks. The client is the white house. They do not have the freedom to investigate whereever the evidence takes them. Their clients tell them who they can interview and what they can ask. Put the blame where it belongs - with Trump and Don McGahn. THEN get Biden to CHANGE the MOU so that when the FBI does any background check on a potential appointee they can investigate ALL and every lead to the fullest extent. White House needs to hand over those 4500 tips that were phoned in and somebody needs to open a criminal investigation into Kavanaugh. But I'm probably living in a dream world where justice matters. Frank Figluzzi suspects the FBI set up a tip line (HIGHLY unusual) as a way to thumb their noses at the WH for suppressing a full investigation into Kavanaugh. FBI tried to bury the WH counsel in evidence they were undoubtedly going to ignore.
Great reporting. You put everything into context, and yes it’s quite terrifying, but helpful to have answers to what happened to the 4500 tips. It doesn’t seem too late to resurrect them, either.
Anyone with half a nose could smell that “investigation” a mile away. The only question I have now is why does Chris Wray still have a job? It should be obvious to everyone now that everything the former guy touched is now covered with his corrosive filth. Too many good people left federal jobs because of him and his crap appointees. Rooting the rot out will be a prodigious job. The sooner Coons or Whitehouse can get to the bottom of all this, then maybe the Senate can begin impeachment proceedings against beer-loving Kavanaugh.
Is anyone, and I’m asking you directly, Judd, keeping track of all the constitutional and legislative tears that have occurred since McConnell grabbed power?? We cannot have a democracy run by secretive cabals.
Good to know that EVERY SINGLE check and balance our government has in place FAILED when a maniacal man became President AND that an entire party got behind him supporting his lies and misinformation. I’d say this is a warning that things need to change because the pandemic that is ‘trump’ is still flourishing.
There is additional concern about Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court because of the lack of investigation into his financial affairs. Who paid his credit card debt of at least $45,000? Who paid his $92,000 initiation fee to an exclusive country club, with a $9,000 annual fee? Who paid his $245,000 down payment on his $1.2 million dollar home? How can he afford to send his two daughters to a private school that costs $20,550 annually? His financial disclosures (since he was a federal appeals judge he was required to file these) don’t answer these questions, nor has he offered an explanation. There has not been an investigation. The question then becomes, did somebody buy a Supreme Court Judge?
I have asked this question over and over since the pay off surfaced several years ago. Why no one has found the answers boggles my mind. There is a trail. Follow the money.
Indeed, they did..between Justice Kennedy being indirectly paid off to retire early and Kavanaugh’s sudden clean financial slate it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to connect the dots. Even when some are missing. And we know that’s the Trump admin MO.
> did somebody buy a Supreme Court Judge?
No. It's far worse than that.
It's a mistake to think that Kavanaugh was some independent person whose loyalties were only recently purchased by this shady windfall. Kavanaugh was practically grown in a lab by the Federalists, trained in the art of weaponized illogic, taught that the proper goal of the law is to entrench the power of wealthy predators.
Imagine a child going to school on picture day with some messy chocolate smeared on his chin. His mother wipes the chocolate off before the picture is taken so he looks his best. Then bystanders say: "foul play! that kid will do whatever that lady wants *because* she cleaned his chin!" That objection fundamentally confuses the nature of the relationship between the actors, and thus wildly misinterprets the significance of the act. The truth is that the child's loyalty runs deep, and the cleaning-up was not a bribe, but one effort to pave the child's way.
Kav was grown in a lab by Charles Koch's cabal of rich predators. Some dark-money villain paid all his debts, not to curry favor as a wannabe client, but to clear the path for their vassal. As a patron would. Kav's loyalties did not change one iota: he was already committed to subverting the rule of law, and undermining the public good as an impediment to private profit.
There are way too many holdovers from the Trump administration to the Biden administration. Wray needs to go.
I just sent a Tweet to president Biden imploring him to do that. I doubt that I will get the answer that I requested... down the rabbit hole we go.
What's the point of anything anymore? What's the point of being in control of the senate if the left doesn't do anything of value when they have that control? The previous administration can skirt laws as they see fit, ram through far right nominees to sit on benches across the country for years, and in Kavanaugh's case, a lifetime appointment - with absolutely zero consequence. I'm so tired of the left pulling punches. Wray needs to go immediately and so does every single holdover from the trump administration. Every single one needs to go as a matter of principle. This is astounding that someone with a personal connection to Kavanaugh was also allowed to lead the investigation into him. Nothing about the previous administration was fair or by the book and apparently future republican administrations will be able to do the same thing without consequence. This is a dark time in our country and the beginning of the end of democracy.
Good analysis.
At what point, if ever, is the press going to assume that everything the GOP says is untruthful?
Dozens of years of lies with no critical analysis and then no consequences have set our country on a course of terminal decline.
It's mind-boggling and terribly sad that this keeps going on. It is perfectly reasonable to assume nothing will happen from this "revelation.
If it is determined that Kavanaugh was not fairly vetted for his position, why will he be allowed to keep it? All this wrong-doing and yet we shrug our shoulders and move on. His appointment alarms me as a woman, and the fact that it is a lifetime position is terrifying. The system is broken, but how do we fix it? They say to vote - but it doesn’t matter if we don’t have a redo/undo button. Seems we’re stuck with corrupt people regardless. Frustrating!
As Bill Maher has said, “I don’t know how they did it, I just know they did it”. We all knew the FBI was working in concert with the GOP. It was obvious and for this reason I have been livid over the retention of Wray. I have been forced to sit by and watch TWO Supreme Court justices confirmed knowing that they would never treat women fairly in their decisions. It’s unforgivable And my anger at Biden over this retention is certainly flamed by know knowing “how”.
Me: Face Palm. Exasperated sigh and light bulb.
No wonder the Jan. 6 insurrectionists are getting off so easily. Beg to answer, Judd. How does Merrick Garland at the DOJ run in all of this? Is he on the porch with these dawgs protecting tradition or is he barking in the yard at the Robbers? And Joe? Is/ was he aware?
The questions unearthed here are monumental.
My fav is always going to be and has the ability to be solved.
Who paid off Kavanaugh's debts. There is a paper trail. There had to be tax consequences.
The Truth is Out There
The dog has pooped on the living room carpet and everyone is walking around it.
You state "Kavanaugh has a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court and nothing the Senate discovers about the FBI investigation will change that". Surely there are means to remove an unfit justice? Wouldn't lying under oath be considered a felony? Can someone retain the office of Supreme Court Justice if they have been convicted of a felony?
what, if anything, is being done regarding his debt that was somehow cleared, but required no investigation into how it was cleared?
There an MOU for the FBI when they do background checks. The client is the white house. They do not have the freedom to investigate whereever the evidence takes them. Their clients tell them who they can interview and what they can ask. Put the blame where it belongs - with Trump and Don McGahn. THEN get Biden to CHANGE the MOU so that when the FBI does any background check on a potential appointee they can investigate ALL and every lead to the fullest extent. White House needs to hand over those 4500 tips that were phoned in and somebody needs to open a criminal investigation into Kavanaugh. But I'm probably living in a dream world where justice matters. Frank Figluzzi suspects the FBI set up a tip line (HIGHLY unusual) as a way to thumb their noses at the WH for suppressing a full investigation into Kavanaugh. FBI tried to bury the WH counsel in evidence they were undoubtedly going to ignore.
who wrote the MOU? why isn't Senate Judiciary Committee empowered to follow up on tips/background issues?
A federal judge CAN be removed, by impeachment, and I believe that if we don't test that law now, in the words of Boris Johnson "if not now, when"?
Great reporting. You put everything into context, and yes it’s quite terrifying, but helpful to have answers to what happened to the 4500 tips. It doesn’t seem too late to resurrect them, either.
Anyone with half a nose could smell that “investigation” a mile away. The only question I have now is why does Chris Wray still have a job? It should be obvious to everyone now that everything the former guy touched is now covered with his corrosive filth. Too many good people left federal jobs because of him and his crap appointees. Rooting the rot out will be a prodigious job. The sooner Coons or Whitehouse can get to the bottom of all this, then maybe the Senate can begin impeachment proceedings against beer-loving Kavanaugh.
Is anyone, and I’m asking you directly, Judd, keeping track of all the constitutional and legislative tears that have occurred since McConnell grabbed power?? We cannot have a democracy run by secretive cabals.