The Kavanaugh Controversy

Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump's recent nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, is facing allegations of sexual misconduct as reports of his past behavior surface.

So far, this is what I know:

1) Christine Blasey Ford, a psychologist and researcher, has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a summer party in 1982 when he was a 17-year-old student at Georgetown Prep and she was a 15-year-old student at Georgetown Visitation. Both schools were extremely expensive, Catholic, and single-sex. Ford alleges that Kavanaugh and his friend and schoolmate, Mark Judge, both of whom were very drunk, pushed her into a bedroom and that Kavanaugh lay on top of her, tried to pull off her swimsuit, and covered her mouth when she tried to scream. She claims Judge drunkenly jumped on top of them, causing them to fall and giving her time to get away. Although she doesn't remember the time or location of the incident and has not been able to correctly identify other people who were at the same party, she appears very confident in her recollections and in the identity of her attackers. She has passed a lie detector test and called for an investigation.

2) Mark Judge, now a recovering alcoholic, described Georgetown Prep as "a nest of debauchery" and says his drinking and "immorality" began there. In his memoir, Wasted: Tales of a Genx Drunk, he wrote about a "Bart O'Kavanaugh", who drank until he passed out and "puked" in someone's car.

3) In his high school yearbook, Brett Kavanaugh lists himself as treasurer of the "100 Kegs or Bust" club. Members were apparently committed to drinking 100 kegs of beer.

4) Also in his high school yearbook, Kavanaugh bragged of being a "Renate alumnius [sic]." A photograph of the football team is captioned "Renate alumni". The Renate in question appears to be a Renate Schroeder Dolphin, who initially supported Kavanaugh. In a statement to the NYT, she said, "I learned about these yearbook pages only a few days ago. I don't know what 'Renate Alumnus' actually means. I can't begin to comprehend what goes through the minds of 17-year-old boys who write such things, but the insinuation is horrible, hurtful, and simply untrue. I pray their daughters are never treated this way. I will have no further comment." Kavanaugh, through his lawyer, claimed that he merely kissed Renate, which she denies.

5) Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's, has alleged that he exposed himself and dangled his privates in her face during a drinking game that occured in the 1983-1984 academic year. She claims to recall another male student shouting down the hall that "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie's face." She admits to having been drunk and slurring her words at the time. The New Yorker has has contacted several of Kavanaugh's and Ramirez's former classmates. One says he remembers hearing about the story second-hand and that he is certain he was told that Kavanaugh exposed himself to Ramirez. Others declined to comment or said they don't remember the party.

6) Kavanaugh's freshman roommate at Yale, James Roche, describes Kavanaugh as a "notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time" who was "aggressive and belligerent" when drunk, and that he remembers Kavanaugh "drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk."

7) Amy Chua (of "Tiger Mom" fame), a Yale law professor who has endorsed Kavanaugh, apparently told a group of her students that "it's not an accident" all of Kavanaugh's female law clerks "looked like models." Her husband, Jeb Rubenfeld, allegedly told a student that Kavanaugh "hires women with a certain look." Rubenfeld now denies the comments were ever made.

8) Michael Avenatti, lawyer to Stormy Daniels, claims he has credible evidence of at least one more accuser.

9) Kavanaugh, in a 2015 speech at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, joked that "What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep," and went on to say, "I think that's been a good thing for all of us."

10) In 1998, while working for independent counsel Ken Starr on the Monica Lewinsky case, Kavanaugh encouraged the Independent Counsel to ask Bill Clinton several very prurient, invasive, and explicit questions. In the same menu, he accuses Clinton of disgracing "his Office, the legal system, and the American people by having sex with a 22-year-old intern and turning her life into a shambles -- callous and disgusting behavior that has somehow got lost in the shuffle."

It's hard to prove decades-old allegations, but what reason would these women have to lie when telling the truth is only going to bring down further humiliation on their heads? Points 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9 certainly make the allegations seem more likely than not.

If one assumes the allegations are true, then one has to ask whether the behavior, while falling-down drunk, of a young man in his late teens is relevant to his fitness to do a job today. We know, at the very least, that he drank heavily, could be unpleasant when drunk, and, as the Renate quotes in his high school yearbook reveal, his attitude toward women could be exploitative and callous. Perhaps he's gone through a St. Augustine-style transformation and is now a veritable saint? Even if one assumes that to be true, how could he be a credible arbitrator when ruling on decisions that involve young people? If he got away with attempted rape as a teen, how could he be taken seriously if a case came before the court involving, for example, sexual abuse or discriminatory sentencing of young black teens (and many young black men have done hard time for marijuana possession, never mind attempted rape)? His image and the verifiable aspects of his behavior would undermine respect for his judgments and hence for the justice system.

And then point 10 annihilates his credibility.  If he wanted to play Torquemada to Bill Clinton, how can he play obsequious sycophant to Donald Trump, whose "locker room talk" literally involved bragging about sexual assault? How can he complain that Clinton's behavior (which, while inappropriate, involved consensual oral sex with another adult, not attempted rape of a minor) was disgraceful and shameful, while he has not publicly condemned Trump's pussy-grabbing comments? This is a major point against Kavanaugh. It shows him to be yet another partisan, holier-than-thou hypocrite with a political agenda and a less than spotless personal life of his own.

Kavanaugh appears to be just another good, old boy -- an entitled, over-privileged, self-absorbed elitist who has never been held accountable for his behavior as he's sipped from the silver spoon. He may not be possessed of any outstanding ability. Without his Georgetown Prep education and pedigree, he might not have been accepted to Yale; without Yale, he might not have got into Yale Law School; and without Yale (or Harvard) Law School, it's very unlikely he would have been nominated for the Supreme Court. That crucible of privilege and elitism doesn't simply buy people greater status than they're worth; it tends to render them unsympathetic and callous toward people outside their coterie of power. This is reflected in Kavanaugh's objectification of women (the allegations are unproven, but his comments about "Renate" are not.)