Law The Search For The 114th Supreme Court Justice: The Witch-Hunt Against Judge Brett Kavanaugh

[Arkain2K]

Oh NY Times, what happened to you!

 

[Arkain2K]

NYT deletes bizarre tweet referencing Brett Kavanaugh’s ‘harmless’ penis
By Laura Italiano | September 15, 2019

In a bizarre series of tweets and retractions on @nytopinion on Saturday, The New York Times cringingly opined on its latest Brett Kavanaugh story, then retracted the tweet, then retracted the retraction, then posted an apology.

The missteps began at 5:13 p.m., when a reckless tweet posted to @nytopinion opined, “Having a penis thrust in your face at a drunken dorm party may seem like harmless fun…”

The misfire was apparent commentary on the paper’s latest story on the new Supreme Court justice, which revisits accusations by fellow Yalie Deborah Ramirez, who has said a pantsless Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party during freshman year.

Two minutes after that first tweet posted, at 5:16 p.m., a retraction posted reading, “We have deleted an earlier tweet to this article that was poorly phrased.”

Soon after, that retraction also vanished.



Finally, at 11 p.m., the paper apologized and left it at that.

“We deleted a previous tweet regarding this article,” the final tweet read. “It was offensive, and we apologize.”

Still, the internet is forever, and screengrabs of the first offending tweet and its retraction drew fire well into Sunday morning.

https://nypost.com/2019/09/15/nyt-d...eet-about-having-a-penis-thrust-in-your-face/

NY Times reporter who co-wrote Kavanaugh book cops to penning ‘harmless penis’ tweet
By Kate Sheehy | September 17, 2019​

A New York Times reporter who co-wrote a controversial new book on US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh admitted Tuesday that she also penned the paper’s widely panned “penis” tweet published to promote the tome.

The newspaper’s culture reporter and “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh” co-author Robin Pogrebin copped to the cringe-worthy tweet two days after the Times published it online, then retracted it, then deleted its retraction, then posted an apology — all while scores of critics blamed its social-media-content crew and others for the original post.

Pogrebin’s tweet — part of the promotion for her and co-author Kate Kelly’s article about their book in the Times — said, “Having a penis thrust in your face at a drunken dorm party may seem like harmless fun.

“But when Brett Kavanaugh did it to her, Deborah Ramirez says, it confirmed that she didn’t belong at Yale in the first place.”

The tome details years-old sexual-misconduct allegations against the justice.

Pogrebin refused to reveal wrote the tweet to CNN earlier Tuesday morning — even despite having already been outed by Politico.

“Politico is reporting that a Times insider says that it was you, Robin. So I just wanted to get your response to that,” CNN’s Alisyn Camerota said, according to a tweet from a Politico reporter.

Pogrebin replied, “All I can say is the tweet was written, and the tweet was sent out, and it shouldn’t have, it shouldn’t have happened,” according to the tweet.

But Pogrebin, apparently realizing her efforts to tamp down the ongoing firestorm over the bizarre tweet wasn’t working, finally came clean on “The View.”

“It was a misworded tweet, but what happens at the Times is reporters are asked to draft tweets, and we’re also asked to draft suggested headlines. They don’t always get used, they don’t always get sent out. They often don’t,” she said.

“I drafted this with this in mind to have actually the opposite effect, which is to anticipate those who would say, ‘A guy pulling down his pants at a party when they’re drunk is on the spectrum of sexual misconduct. It’s not sexual assault. It’s not rape. What’s the big deal?’ ” Pogrebin said.

“And to say, ‘Actually, it was a big deal. And this can be quite meaningful, depending on where you come from.

“Maybe for me, a New Yorker, I would have said, ‘Get that out of my face,’ ” Pogrebin said, but Kavanaugh’s accuser, Ramirez, was more sheltered growing up and had other background differences that may have kept her from calling him out at the time.

https://nypost.com/2019/09/17/ny-ti...vanaugh-book-cops-to-writing-penis-tweet/amp/

 

[Arkain2K]

Morning Joe Rips New York Times, Democratic Candidates Over Kavanaugh Story
By Graham Piro - September 16, 2019

​

Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough ripped the New York Times‘s decision to run a story about new allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh without including vital context about the story.

The Times published an essay adapted from a forthcoming book about the Kavanaugh confirmation battle in which two Times reporters claimed to have "uncovered a previously unreported story" about alleged sexual misconduct during Kavanaugh's college years.

"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," the Times reporters wrote. They added that this allegation "echoes" the allegation made by Deborah Ramirez, who alleged Kavanaugh "thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent" during a party in college.

On Sunday night, the Times added a note to the story correcting a factual omission. The reporters excluded that the victim of Stier's alleged incident "declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident."

"Wait a second, a woman who Stier claims was abused by Kavanaugh, has she denied this? Has she claimed this happened? Why is there this glaring omission in the New York Times story? There were Mollie Hemingway and others on Twitter were saying that, in fact, she had no recollection of this happening and her friends were saying the same thing," Scarborough said.

"And I could not believe the New York Times would write this piece without that information contained in it. Are you surprised 24 hours—is it 24 hours went by before they clarified that fact?" he said, adding the article also did not note that Stier was the opposing counsel to Kavanaugh during their work on the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

"I don't understand why they didn't put this information in the article. Did that strike you as strange?"

"Yeah, that's certainly good context being provided here about Stier. We were talking about this yesterday and were puzzled and remain so that if the woman involved is saying that she didn't remember, that raises questions about the piece," Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire responded. "Certainly, the New York Times has made their own editorial judgments about what should be included.

Scarborough pointed out each of the major three allegations against Kavanaugh had issues with corroborating witnesses.

"Here we have, again, a New York Times piece where Brett Kavanaugh is accused of something and, again, the very woman who was the alleged victim in this alleged incident is saying she doesn't recall it happening," he said.

Brzezinski addressed the political implications of the new allegations. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) called on Kavanaugh to resign, along with fellow 2020 candidates Beto O'Rourke (D.), Julian Castro (D.), and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D.). Both former vice president Joe Biden (D.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) called for further investigation into the allegations.

"There has not been any new statements from any of the candidates since the Times updated the story overnight, that the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say she does not recall the episode," Brzezinski said, pointing out there are still many unanswered questions.

"I'm just so surprised that candidates are making conclusions here that are impossible to make, again."

https://freebeacon.com/politics/mor...s-democratic-candidates-over-kavanaugh-story/

 

[Happy Man]

God, how can liberals always get fucking shamed.

SHAMED for their nonsense and keep doing it.

Shameless people who were not raised correctly and have zero social life.

 

[Arkain2K]

Washington Post's Opinion: The New York Times’s Travesty of Journalistic Ethics
By Kathleen Parker | September 17, 2019

The recent fiasco at the New York Times, which last weekend published the latest uncorroborated sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, was a monument to hearsay and a travesty of journalistic ethics.

The story, since modified to include crucial information, was an adapted excerpt from a book, “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh,” written by two Times staff writers, Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly. In it, the authors reported allegations by a Yale classmate that Kavanaugh was at a “drunken dorm party” where “friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student.”

Setting aside the logistics of such a feat, more eye-popping was the omission from the original Times piece that the alleged victim refused to be interviewed for the book — and, according to friends, doesn’t remember any such incident .

Such an oversight is inexcusable.

The Times added these details to the story after they were flagged by the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway, who had an advance copy of the book. The Times writers, who said the details had been in the excerpt’s initial draft, made media rounds Monday and Tuesday to explain the omission, and essentially blamed editors, who, they said, “in the haste” of trying to close out production, had deleted the reference.

The facts that the alleged victim refused to be interviewed by the authors, and apparently told friends that she doesn’t recall any such incident, amount to the very definition of a non-story. For the record, The Post learned of the accusation last year but declined to publish it because the alleged witnesses weren’t identified and the woman said to be involved refused to comment.

Indeed, the authors’ only sources for the claim were two unnamed officials who spoke to Washington attorney Max Stier, who last year apparently told the FBI and various senators that he witnessed the alleged incident. But Stier refused to talk to the Times writers himself.

Some Democratic contenders for the presidency immediately called for Kavanaugh’s impeachment. They include Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (Tex.) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

But let’s rewind the reel a bit. With apologies to my grandmothers, the reason the Times writers likely included the penis-in-hand accusation at all is because it added context to the accusations by both Deborah Ramirez, who alleged last year that she experienced sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh at another boozy Yale party, and Christine Blasey Ford.

Ramirez, for her part, initially wasn’t quite sure of events. She has admitted to time lapses and also to having been drunk, but told the New Yorker and the Times writers that she remembers brushing away a penis thrust in her face, allegedly by Kavanaugh.

If these stories are true, then Kavanaugh could have been a creepy, perhaps monstrous, drunk in his youth. But all we have to go by are alleged victims who also were drinking at the time, and comments from former classmates — who may also have been inebriated — some of whom corroborate the Ramirez accusation and others who dispute it. The Times writers reported finding seven people who they say corroborated Ramirez’s story, but much of what they documented were second- and third-hand reports, things overheard and, yes, Ramirez’s mother, to whom she apparently said, “Something happened at Yale.”

Not exactly a wrap for justice.

The truth is, Kavanaugh has been the target of a media siege since his name was announced for consideration for the high court. Ramirez’s story was first reported by the New Yorker just days before Ford’s congressional testimony, which, frankly, was flimsy at best. None of the other four people Ford named as attending the high school party where she claimed Kavanaugh groped her recalled any such gathering. One of them, a close friend and the only other female, Leland Keyser , not only doesn’t remember the party but says she’s never even met Kavanaugh.

What’s all too clear is that America’s privileged youth had a serious drinking problem in the early 1980s, and boozy memories from high school and young adulthood are unreliable. Far more troubling is that several presidential candidates seemingly would impeach a Supreme Court justice on nothing more than hearsay — and impeachable journalism.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...31db76-d99f-11e9-a688-303693fb4b0b_story.html

 

[bobgeese]

It’s like the media is actively trying to destroy their credibility...

 

[Arkain2K]

It’s like the media is actively trying to destroy their credibility...

This about sums it up:

Wonder who's undermining the news media? Just look at Sunday's New York Times
by Becket Adams | September 16, 2019
​

Newsrooms talk a big game these days about the pressure they are under operating in a world where the president of the United States is openly hostile to the press. Journalists and commentators complain a lot about how difficult it is to reach audiences when their credibility is challenged daily by the White House. But I assure you, nothing this president does or says comes close to matching the wounds the press inflicts on itself with its slipshod, ham-fisted brand of politically-skewed reporting.

No one forced the Times to misreport the allegations against Kavanaugh. No one forced the Times to omit crucial context. The paper did that all on its own.

In February 2017, shortly after the inauguration of President Trump, the Times unveiled an ad campaign that declared, “The truth is more important now than ever.”

If only the New York Times believed that.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...ews-media-just-look-at-sundays-new-york-times

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Seano]

​

"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," the Times reporters wrote.
/

FFS, Imagine there are people that believed this line. Just try to picture this scenario.

 

[glenwo2]

I'm confused about Morning Joe.

Why is he taking Kavanaugh's side when he was waving the pitchforks during the Confirmation hearing?

 

[Anung Un Rama]

I voted "not sure" because there are believable aspects of both sides.
I believe Brett is probably a shitty person and I believe the accusers have reasons to be upset, but you can't be destroying people in the court of public opinion without really strong evidence and the accusers only have their word. Its okay to believe the and empathize with them, but you can't take a man's life down based on that.

 

[Anung Un Rama]

And the NYT has really destroyed itself irreparably the last 3-4 years.
Between Trump attacking the media and the media committing suicide for clicks, we, as a nation, have lost an essential aspect of our democracy.
This should be a huge story, but nobody but YouTubers will even touch it, and the masses won't even see it.

 

[Arkain2K]

I'm confused about Morning Joe.

Why is he taking Kavanaugh's side when he was waving the pitchforks during the Confirmation hearing?

It's not that confusing really.

Anyone with a functional brain could see that the New York Times is committing Reputational Suicide with this fiasco, and that includes many people who might dislike Kavanaugh (or even be opposed to his nomination, or even believe Ford's allegations).

The hosts of MSNBC's Morning Joe , the women on The View, and the Washington Post are not necessarily "taking Kavanaugh's side", they are acknowledging the undeniable fact that the New York Times is being run by idiots, the Democratic presidential candidates are embarrassing themselves in this fiasco, and the latest hit on Kavanaugh is backfiring hard and having the opposite result as intended, all because this complete dud of a "bombshell" is the antithesis of the ethical journalism that the Grey Lady was once known for.

Granted, the rabid anti-Kavanaugh crowd on Sherdog would never publicly acknowledge such common sense, because they have this really weird notion that there are two "sides" to everything, and you must always choose one "side". Once you choose a "side", you are then somehow lose the ability/rights/capacity to ever recognize and acknowledge anything bad about your "side", no matter how stupid it is. That's why you don't see anyone who previous talked shit on Kavanaugh in this thread calling out the N.Y Times' stupidity now, even though they knows very well how damaging it is for the reputation of the press, not to mention that with every ludicrous "bombshells" that turns out to be complete duds, Kavanaugh becomes more and more bullet-proof as this on-going witch hunt in the media has become a tragical comedy routine.

So, the "confusing" differences between Joe Scarborough and the anti-Kavanaugh crowd that you see on Sherdog is the differences between people and sheep, I guess.

 

[Arkain2K]

Leland Keyser is the true hero of the Kavanaugh saga
By Kathleen Parker Columnist | September 24, 2019

Every good story needs a hero, and the saga of Brett M. Kavanaugh’s rise to the Supreme Court has provided one: Leland Keyser.

She also became a victim when her longtime friend, Christine Blasey Ford, decided to hit refresh on a decades-old high school incident that apparently only Ford remembers.

Keyser is the other female student whom Ford named as having been at the small party where Kavanaugh allegedly pinned Ford down on a bed and groped her. She is also the friend who swore under penalty of perjury that she doesn’t recall such a party or, in fact, ever having met Kavanaugh. Her comments echoed those of the other partygoers Ford named, none of whom remembered such a gathering.

This isn’t what places Keyser on the heroes’ roster. What earns her that distinction is her steadfastness, at great personal suffering, in refusing to change her story despite what she describes as pressure to rethink her initial statement. According to a new book, “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation” by New York Times reporters Kate Kelly and Robin Pogrebin, some of Keyser’s erstwhile friends and acquaintances tried to persuade her to say she didn’t remember the party, not that it didn’t happen.

Keyser, reportedly a registered Democrat, has become increasingly convinced that Ford’s story isn’t true and doesn’t make sense, according to the book. Given their close friendship during their school days, isn’t it likely that Ford would have told her about such an attack? And, had Keyser been at the alleged party, since she already had her driver’s license and often gave Ford a ride, wouldn’t she have taken her younger friend home?

According to the book, Ford’s team of friends and advisers apparently saw Keyser as an obstacle to Ford’s narrative and brainstormed ways to get her on board. The book cites a group text among Ford’s acquaintances from soon after her testimony. Cheryl Amitay, who attended the same girls’ high school as Ford, wrote: “Maybe one of you guys who are friends with [Keyser] can have a heart-to-heart.” And, “I don’t care, frankly, how f---ed up her life is.”

A man who had gone to a neighboring boys’ school chimed in: “Perhaps it makes sense to let everyone in the public know what her condition is.” To which Amitay responded, “Leland is a major stumbling block.”

Keyser, a former professional golfer who has undergone numerous surgeries on her back and neck, has suffered addiction during her adult life. Although recovering, she told Kelly and Pogrebin she was concerned that this history would be used against her if she didn’t come up with a more acceptable recollection of events. When pressed, however, Keyser refused to take the easy route and protect herself.

For her integrity and valor under perceived pressure, she has been punished. Even Ford seemed to turn on her old friend, mentioning Keyser’s “significant health challenges” during her testimony, and seeming to suggest that her friend might have diminished capacities: “I’m happy that she’s focusing on herself and getting the health treatment that she needs.”

This might have been one of the sweetest condemnations in the history of tossing inconvenient friends under the bus. But, importantly, Ford planted a seed of doubt about Keyser’s credibility, which has been cultivated by the Times writers. On CNN’s “Reliable Sources” on Sunday, Kelly pointed to Keyser’s “memory issues . . . because she has a history of substance abuse, which she acknowledges.”

Oof. What a gut punch. If no one in recovery can ever be trusted again, then the world of rehabilitative addiction therapy might as well shutter its doors.

In fact, Keyser remembers very well the summer of 1982, when Ford believes the alleged incident occurred. It was the year after her grandmother introduced her to golf and Keyser became consumed with the sport, according to another book published this past summer, “Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court,” by Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino. Keyser worked full-time in the golf pro shop at a Washington-area country club and had little time for socializing. Her hard work at school and in sports paid off with stellar grades, seven varsity letters and acceptance to the University of Virginia, followed by a professional golfing career and a coaching position at Georgetown University.

Today, Keyser keeps a low profile, as was always her preference. She is, indeed, in fragile health from her injuries and surgeries. But Keyser can stand tall for having remained true to her convictions despite being exposed and pressured by those who seemed to have used her struggles against her. In my book, that’s heroic.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...12fe9a-df0d-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html

 

[cottagecheesefan]

I voted "not sure" because there are believable aspects of both sides.
I believe Brett is probably a shitty person and I believe the accusers have reasons to be upset, but you can't be destroying people in the court of public opinion without really strong evidence and the accusers only have their word. Its okay to believe the and empathize with them, but you can't take a man's life down based on that.

What are the believable aspects about this accusation or Ford's?

 

[Riptide]

Not shure I want Republicans holding this mutch power.

 

[Arkain2K]

Kamala Harris urges Brett Kavanaugh impeachment inquiry on anniversary of Ford testimony
BY LI COHEN | SEPTEMBER 27, 2019​

Senator Kamala Harris called for the House Judiciary Committee to open an impeachment inquiry into Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. Harris wrote an op-ed in Elle magazine that was published on Friday, the one-year anniversary of Christine Blasey Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The 2020 Democratic hopeful called for an investigation into whether the Supreme Court justice lied while under oath during his testimony to the committee last year.

"If we want to live in a country where women are believed and given access to the justice they deserve, we must roll up our sleeves and get to work holding our leaders accountable — especially those who serve on the highest court in our land," Harris wrote. "We need to get to the truth about Kavanaugh. And I believe the best path to truth and accountability is through a formal impeachment process."

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/su...is-urges-brett-kavanaugh-impeachment-inquiry/

 

[Crocop42]

Kamala Harris urges Brett Kavanaugh impeachment inquiry on anniversary of Ford testimony
BY LI COHEN | SEPTEMBER 27, 201​

Senator Kamala Harris called for the House Judiciary Committee to open an impeachment inquiry into Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. Harris wrote an op-ed in Elle magazine that was published on Friday, the one-year anniversary of Christine Blasey Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The 2020 Democratic hopeful called for an investigation into whether the Supreme Court justice lied while under oath during his testimony to the committee last year.

"If we want to live in a country where women are believed and given access to the justice they deserve, we must roll up our sleeves and get to work holding our leaders accountable — especially those who serve on the highest court in our land," Harris wrote. "We need to get to the truth about Kavanaugh. And I believe the best path to truth and accountability is through a formal impeachment process."

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/su...is-urges-brett-kavanaugh-impeachment-inquiry/

At this point, Harris will do that stupid giggle, and agree with anything she thinks the crowd wants to hear.

 

[Confucamus]

Harris is a dope. I have no idea why she thinks going after Kavanaugh a year after the Democrats' embarrassing failure during his confirmation hearing is a good plan. I really wish Feinstein and the Dems behind that who debacle would be held accountable, but it won't happen.

 

[Arkain2K]

Senators push for prosecution of Justice Kavanaugh's false accusers
By Alex Swoyer - The Washington Times | October 9, 2019

​

Republican senators are pressing the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against women who made false rape accusations against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing last year.

Nine of the 12 Republican members on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray asking for an update to the committee’s four referrals for criminal investigation.

“We are grateful to citizens who come forward with relevant information in good faith, even if they are not entirely sure about the accuracy of that information. But, when individuals intentionally mislead the committee, they divert important committee resources during time-sensitive investigations and materially impede its work. Such acts are not only unfair; they are potentially illegal,” said the letter.

During the course of the probe into Justice Kavanaugh after Christine Blasey Ford came public with allegations of sexual misconduct against him, a few others came forward with different complaints, in an attempt to stop the nominee’s confirmation to the court.

Justice Kavanaugh vehemently denied any misconduct and the allegations were never corroborated.

The committee staff discovered at least four individuals had falsified their claims, suggesting they’ve violated the law by making false statements to Congress, obstructing a Congressional investigation and committing conspiracy.

The letter asked for the Justice Department and FBI to respond to their inquiry by Oct. 21.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment from The Washington Times.

Two of the individuals the committee wanted referred for criminal conduct was lawyer Michael Avenatti and his client Julie Swetnick for falsifying information to the committee in a claim she had witnessed the nominee and a group of his friends getting women drunk at a college party and gang-raping them.

This isn’t the first time Mr. Avenatti has faced accusations of legal misconduct.

The plagued attorney, who is best known for his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels, is also going to trial in April on claims he stole about $300,000 from Ms. Daniels in a book deal. He’s also been charged with criminal extortion after attempting to blackmail Nike for $20 million.

But allies of President Trump have credited Mr. Avenatti’s flailing representation of Ms. Swetnick for getting Justice Kavanaugh confirmed.

“Between President Trump and you, there is a third person that really should get the game ball for getting Kavanaugh over the finish line,” said former White House Counsel Don McGahn at an event with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to Fox News.

“It is Michael Avenatti. The day he burst on the scene, everyone — ‘oh no he’s here.’ I said, ‘Oh no, he’s here. This is good news,’” Mr. McGahn said.

Another woman, Judy Munro-Leighton, claimed in a letter that the nominee and a friend had raped her. But when questioned by the committee staff, she admitted it was not true and said the false claim was made to “grab attention.”

The final individual, whom the committee referred for prosecution but is not named in the letter, made a false allegation that the nominee assaulted a friend on a boat in Rhode Island in 1985. That man, identified as Jeffrey Catalan in media reports at the time and via his Twitter handle in earlier Senate documents, eventually admitted the claim was not true and apologized on Twitter.

The letter was signed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Mike Lee of Utah, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

The three panel Republicans who didn’t sign the letter are Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Josh Hawley of Missouri.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/oct/9/senators-push-for-prosecution-of-justice-kavanaugh/