Lack of proof reveals anti-Kavanaugh bias
WASHINGTON — As the father of two daughters, I want them to live in a world where they are treated with respect and never experience sexual abuse — and if they ever do, they are taken seriously. As the father of two sons, I want them to live in a world where their lives and reputations cannot be destroyed by allegations without corroboration.
Last Thursday’s hearing did not add an iota of corroboration to Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations against Brett M. Kavanaugh. It remains true that none of the people Ford named, man or woman, has confirmed that the gathering in question took place at all, much less that any assault occurred. Ford says her friend Leland Keyser was at the party; Keyser may have told The Washington Post that she believes Ford, but that means nothing: As Kavanaugh pointed out, Keyser “said under penalty of felony she does not know me, does not ever recall being at a party with me ever.” Ford was too young to drive but cannot recall how she got there or how she left — a big deal for those of us who remember the days before cellphones or Uber. She cannot recall whose house it was; she cannot recall the date.
The burden of proof is not on Kavanaugh to prove he didn’t do it. He cannot prove a negative. In the United States of America, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. But apparently not in the U.S. Senate. Asked before the hearing whether Kavanaugh deserved a presumption of innocence, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) said, “There’s no presumption of innocence or guilt when you have a nominee before you.” That is simply un-American.
“This confirmation process has become a national disgrace,” Kavanaugh declared. He’s right: “The Constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process, but you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. Since my nomination in July, there’s been a frenzy on the left to come up with something, anything to block my confirmation.”
He called out Democratic committee members — like Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who called him “evil” — and accused them of unleashing the torrent of unfounded allegations. “Your words have meaning,” Kavanaugh reminded them. “Millions of Americans listen carefully to you. Given comments like those, is it any surprise that people have been willing to do anything to make any physical threat against my family, to send any violent email to my wife, to make any kind of allegation against me and against my friends? To blow me up and take me down?”
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (RS. rocked the hearing room when he asked Kavanaugh whether he knew when he met with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Aug. 20 that she had had these allegations for 20 days and had recommended a lawyer to Ford. The point, as Graham said, is that Democrats only want to drag this out so there is time for more fake accusers to come out of the woodwork. They want to run out the clock until the midterm elections, when they hope to retake the Senate and block Trump from putting anyone on the Supreme Court. And in the process, they want to “destroy this guy’s life,” Graham said.
Regardless of whether he is confirmed, Kavanaugh said, they have already done that. “I’ll never get my reputation back,” Kavanaugh said. “My life is permanently and totally altered.” Whether our democracy is permanently altered depends on whether the Senate rejects this campaign of character assassination and confirms Kavanaugh. We’ll find out the answer shortly.
Marc A. Thiessen is a syndicated columnist.