It involved a woman reportedly. If he was in high school and she was adult, he could not have just been sex.
She’s a woman now. Who knows about 30 years ago. While we’re just guessing.
Word from the Lawrence O’Donnell show is that both were minors at the time.
Oh. So it was probably just your basic sexual assault, date rape no doubt, and we’ll all get to listen to outrage slowly morph into “well, there really is no proof and you can’t hang a guy for one little mistake he made when he was a kid” and we will have two known predators on the court.
Except - why would Feinstein feel compelled to provide information to the FBI about something that happened 35 years ago?
and why has she been sitting on it for a couple months ?
Well … if, hypothetically, the woman in question was blackmailing Kavenough, and Kavenough tried to pay her off by buying $200,000 worth of basketball* tickets, and then got a wealthy Republican to offer him cash for those tickets, Kavenough could then give the woman that money to keep quiet. That would be something the FBI wanted to look into.
Or if Kavenough has lied about anything … for example, if someone had asked him, “have you ever been accused of sexual misconduct” and he’d denied it, but in fact, as a youth, Kavanough had been accused of raping this girl - the FBI might want to indict him for the lies.
Just off the top of my head.
Feinstein might have held onto the letter while she did her own background checks. Or she might have been given the letter to use only as a last resort. Or she might have held onto the letter, hoping the writer would come forward in person.
I can imagine all sorts of things, really. David Lynch has nothing on reality, these days.
*it might be baseball tickets. I forget.
All my friends are asleep; I’ll have to wait til tomorrow to spread this line. But spread it I shall.
That’s not a serious question. Anita Hill - it was horrible what Dr. Hill went through, for her and for the country.
Unless by her you means Senator Feinstein. I thought she forwarded the letter to the FBI within days, a reasonable about of time to verify what could be verified. I’m wrong about that?
Merneith point about perjury or lying to the FBI makes sense. That would explain both her sending it to the FBI and the delay. What did Kavanaugh testify to right before the letter was sent?
They are going to confirm a justice accused of sexual assault, aren’t they? I’ve said elsewhere that I don’t want someone’s life ruined for one youthful mistake, but that doesn’t mean I want the person on the Supreme Court of the United States. I despair.
I am referring to Senator Feinstein -
Timing is everything, Simster. Seriously, why wouldn’t she wait until it can do the most possible damage to his chances? If it is a 30+ year old incident, what’s an additional 50 days?
Thanks, I hadn’t seen that report yet.
I’m more concerned about the substance of the allegation than the timing of the Senator’s referral. That there will be no criminal investigation might mean that the statute of limitations on any crime has expired.
I certainly hope so. He knew what was going on, too.
I’m not sure of that. There was a scene in one episode of Arrested Development, where a prosecutor is laying on GOB, an playboy knucklehead, to spill the beans. After the grilling, the prosecutor tells his colleagues, “He knows less than anyone we’ve ever questioned.”
I could see the same about Pence. Sure, he might be playing the long game, where he burrowed in to a thoroughly corrupt campaign and administration knowing that his chance at the Oval Office would come sooner or later.
Or, he just has cartoons playing in his head all day about Jesus and how great Donald Trump is.
Tough call.
My guess is that she didn’t think it was all that significant, and wasn’t inclined to report it at all (especially since she says the alleged victim is very opposed to publicizing it). But after word got out about it, and under the intense pressure of the nomination and the desperate Democratic effort to derail it, she punted by referring it to the FBI.
Peter Carr has confirmed that Manafort has reached a plea deal for the second trial. No link yet. Dunno if the deal includes cooperation.
For what it’s worth, that’s my take as well. As far as timing is concerned, I think dropping this earlier would have been much more effective. Now it just looks like a Hail Mary.
The FBI won’t investigate whatever the allegations are against Kavanaugh. Link to tweet. Actual article linked to in tweet.
This -
If its worthy of involving the FBI, we want it as soon as possible, not at the end of the process.
IMO, the significance of whether or not the deal includes cooperation is not so much the danger for Trump if he does cooperate as what it says about the state of the investigation if Mueller doesn’t insist on cooperation.
He’s cooperating.