USA TODAY International Edition
Senate report clears Justice Kavanaugh
‘No evidence’ to support sex misconduct claims
The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee concluded there “was no evidence to substantiate any of the claims” of sexual misconduct leveled against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a report released over the weekend.
Kavanaugh’s initial Senate hearings were contentious, with Democrats working to expose what they felt were his more extreme views and accusing Republicans of withholding relevant documents. But he seemed headed for certain confirmation when reports began to surface accusing the nominee of a decades-old sexual assault.
When psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford came forward publicly with her allegation, a furious national debate erupted.
The furor persuaded Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to hold another hearing in which Ford could share her allegation and Kavanaugh could respond. The Sept. 27 hearing and ensuing media circus captured national attention.
After Ford came forward, other accusations of misconduct against Kavanaugh began to surface, but their credibility appeared increasingly shaky.
“The revelation of last-minute allegations tested the committee in many ways. But these investigative efforts rose to the occasion and were critical to helping us obtain the truth,” Grassley said in a statement with the release of the report. “In the end, there was no credible evidence to support the allegations against the nominee.”
After Kavanaugh was confirmed on Oct. 6, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hailed the effort to stop Kavanaugh’s confirmation “certainly had a good impact” for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections and said because of the left’s tactics, “our base is fired up.”
Democrats also claimed Kavanaugh’s confirmation energized their supporters.
Now, a detailed look at the allegations and the committee’s investigation has landed just days ahead of the 2018 election to determine the next two years of congressional control.
Here are some highlights from the 414-page report, which included interviews with 45 people and 25 written statements.
Grassley learned of Ford’s identity from the Post
Ford sent a letter detailing her allegation against Kavanaugh to the highestranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, on July 30.
According to the report, Feinstein kept the letter to herself until Sept. 12, when she shared it with other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Intercept reported on the letter’s existence the same say. On Sept. 14, a New Yorker article detailed Ford’s allegation but she remained anonymous, and on Sept. 16, Ford came forward publicly in a Washington Post article.
According to the report, Grassley did not learn of Ford’s identity until the Post article ran.
Ford ‘refused’ to hand over evidence
The committee said it collected 24 pages of evidence from Ford. That evidence consisted of her resume, her text messages with the Post, her letter to Feinstein, her communications with the Judiciary Committee, declarations from Ford’s husband and three friends that she had previously mentioned “an incident of sexual assault” and a summary of the results of a polygraph test.
The committee report said it requested the full polygraph test along with audio or video recordings of the exam, but Ford “refused” to give them to the committee along with the notes from a therapy session about a past sexual assault that she shared with reporters.
Ford polygraph exam consisted of two questions
According to the Judiciary Committee report, Ford and her attorney, Debra Katz, gave the polygraph examiner a written statement they had prepared. After an interview, the examiner then asked Ford two questions: “Is any part of your statement false?” and “Did you make up any part of your statement?”
“Dr. Ford answered no to both questions. The examiner concluded that the test results did not indicate deception,” the report said.
Witness said Mark Judge described group sex encounter
Elizabeth Rasor said she dated Kavanaugh’s high school friend Mark Judge, whom Ford said was present during her alleged assault, several years after the incident was said to take place.
Rasor said Judge told her, “in a voice that seemed to convey a degree of shame, about an incident that had occurred a few years prior, where he and several other boys from Georgetown Prep took turns having sex with a woman who was drunk.” Rasor said she couldn’t say whether or not Judge said Kavanaugh was present and that Judge described the incident as consensual.
‘No verifiable evidence’
The conclusion of the report’s sections on Ford’s allegation says, “Committee investigators found no verifiable evidence that supported Dr. Ford’s allegations against Justice Kavanaugh. The witnesses that Dr. Ford identified as individuals who could corroborate her allegations failed to do so, and in fact, contradicted her.”
Another member of Kavanaugh’s frat often exposed himself
Deborah Ramirez, who attended Yale University with Kavanaugh, alleged he “exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away,” according to a New Yorker magazine article Sept. 23.
Kavanaugh denied the allegation in a committee interview Sept. 25, saying “that did not happen.” Several named witnesses praised either Kavanaugh or Ramirez.
The committee report cited an unnamed witness who said another member of the same fraternity DKE often exposed himself at Yale parties. The report described a photograph from the 1988 Yale Banner yearbook of the same individual “with his pants down and his genitals exposed.”
As with Ford, the committee concluded there was “no verifiable evidence to support Ramirez’s allegations.”
False or misleading testimony
Julie Swetnick submitted a sworn statement to the panel Sept. 26 through her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, that alleged Kavanaugh would “cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped’ in a side room or bedroom by a ‘train’ of numerous boys” during the early 1980s.
Kavanaugh vehemently denied the charges, which he called a “farce” and a “circus,” on Sept. 28.
The committee report quoted a handful of unnamed witnesses who questioned Swetnick’s credibility.
The report concluded that there not only was not enough evidence to back Swetnick’s claims, it also appeared that “Julie Swetnick and Mr. Avenatti criminally conspired to make materially false statements to the Committee and obstruct the Committee’s investigation.”