It has been a long time since I last posted, and I was not sure if I would post again. The recent events surrounding the nomination of and confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh to become the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court have caused me to write. Before I start, I want to make a couple of preliminary points.
First the definition of lie - Mirriam-Webster online dictionary defines the verb "lie" (here)
1. To make an untrue statement with intent to deceive
2. To create a false or misleading impression
Second a disclaimer - While I believe Dr. Ford when she claims that Kavanaugh assaulted her and therefore believe that Kavanaugh is lying when he denies her account of what happened, I am not going to use that example as one of the reasons why it is clear that Kavanaugh is a liar. There are plenty of other examples to rely on.
There are
many reasons why I do not think that Kavanaugh should be on the Supreme Court
or any court for that matter. First, I
disagree with his judicial philosophy and many of the opinions that he has
written. With respect to this objection,
people can differ.
Second, Kavanaugh lacks the appropriate
judicial temperament as demonstrated by his self-righteous rant that was his
opening statement at the hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on September
27. In his statement he alleged a vast
left wing conspiracy fueled in part by Trump's 2016 election victory and by a desire to get
revenge for the Clintons. There is, of course, no evidence to support his claim. In fact his claim is easily refuted by the timing of Dr. Ford's disclosure of her claim to her therapists, husband, friends and ultimately to The Washington Post. You can watch
it here. I do not
think that any reasonable person can say that Kavanaugh has the temperament
necessary to be an impartial federal judge much less a Supreme Court Justice.
Third and the
reason for this post is that Kavanaugh is a liar on things both big and little. Certainly a serial, unrepentant liar should
not be on the Supreme Court and should be removed from the DC Circuit Court of
Appeals. Much of the information and
citations for this post are from an editorial in The Boston Globe, entitled "The lies that Senators must tell
themselves to support Brett Kavanaugh" (here).
As enumerated in The Boston Globe editorial, in Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings, he has consistently lied under oath about his involvement in certain controversial judicial nominations, specifically those of William Pryor, Charles Pickering and William Haynes. While only a fraction of the documents related to Kavanaugh's time in the George W. Bush White House have been released, some of those that have been released include emails that demonstrate that Kavanaugh lied under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his involvement in these nominations. Also as pointed out in The Boston Globe editorial, Kavanaugh lied under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his knowledge of the memos and other materials stolen from the Democratic staff of the Senate concerning its approach to various judicial nominations.
These lies are big deals both because they involve significant issues and because they were made to enable Kavanaugh to become a judge on the DC Circuit Court. A person who lies to ascend to the federal bench should not be allowed to ascend to the Supreme Court or to stay on any court.
Kavanaugh also lied multiple times during the Senate Judiciary hearing on September 27 both in his opening statement referred to above and in his answers (or often non-answers) to questions. A number of these lies are set forth in The Boston Globe editorial. In addition there is a very lengthy discussion of them in Current Affairs by Nathan Robinson entitled "How We Know Brett Kavanaugh is Lying" (here). There are also many shorter summaries like one at Slate.com by William Saletan entitled "Kavanaugh Lied to the Judiciary Committee - Repeatedly" (here). The following is a list of some of the ones that are particularly obvious lies.
Kavanaugh said that any gathering like that described by Dr. Ford must have been on a weekend because he did not go to parties and drink during the week because they all had jobs and football practice, etc. In fact his calendars show that he did drink on weekdays as well as on weekends. Especially telling is a gathering on July 1, a Thursday, where he went to a gathering to drink beer with the some of the same boys that Dr. Ford claims where at the gathering at which she was assaulted.
Kavanaugh tired to mislead by saying that it was legal for seniors to drink beer. Unfortunately it was not legal for seniors to drink at that time nor was Kavanaugh a senior.
Kavanaugh on multiple occasion claimed that all of the people who were specifically named by Dr. Ford as being present at the gathering where she was assaulted have said that they were not there and that no such gathering took place. In fact, Kavanaugh is the only person to make that claim. The others have all said variations of "I do not recall". Certainly a Yale Law School graduate who is as smart as Kavanaugh claims to be knows that there is a significant difference between not recalling and affirmatively denying.
Kavanaugh claims that the 13 references in his yearbook about "Renate" were an affectionate reference that she was one of the boys. The various boys claiming they were "Renate Alumnius" clearly did not intended that as an affectionate reference. It is clearly a sexual conquest boast (most assuredly untrue). This explanation is bolstered by a little ditty about her in the yearbook implying that if you needed a date just call Renate. His stated position is not the least bit credible and is refuted by a classmate.
In response to questions, Kavanaugh made up definitions for two phrases that were used in his yearbook. He claimed that boofing is farting. Boofing has never been farting. It is in fact a reference to some combination of anal sex and absorbing drugs or alcohol through the anus. The same is true when he claimed that devil's triangle was a drinking game when it really refers to sex with two men and a woman. These were bold faced lies.
Kavanaugh's explanations about his drinking were both evasive and completely untrue. They have been refuted both by classmates, his own words in his yearbook, a taped speech and common sense.
I could go on and on but if you need more proof, read the articles I have cited and/or google something like "lies of brett kavanaugh".
There is a common thread running through most all of Kavanaugh's lies. They are intended to cover up any evidence that he is not and has not been the "choir boy" he claims to be. The reality is that he is a classic example of a man raised in a world of white male privilege who believes that he is entitled to anything that he wants, even a seat on the Supreme Court. His testimony, his lies and his demeanor all reek of privilege and self-righteous anger that somebody might keep him from that to which he believes he is entitled.
No person who cares about justice, the credibility of the federal judiciary (particularly the Supreme Court), the credibility of the Senate, or our country could possibly vote to put a serial and unrepentant liar on the Supreme Court.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
