So HD,you’re saying you’d be fine with Whelan speculating Ford had you confused with Kavanaugh on the night she claimed Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her?
If so, let my people get to work on this.
I wouldn’t be “fine” with it, but I don’t think it amounts to actionable libel. I believe that’s called an “excluded middle”. IANAL though, and won’t be the judge or on the jury if it comes to a trial, so my opinion on the matter isn’t terribly relevant. I suspect you’re in the same boat.
It’s not going to trial. Again, for the upteenth time, this a just a confirmation hearing. An extra elaborate job interview, in other words.
“Actionable” libel, who the fuck cares? You know damn well you’d be upset if someone tried to blame you for an offense they’d been accused of, for no reason except that you happened to look like them.
Perhaps you missed the conversation we were having:
I happen to agree with you: I don’t think it’s going to trial either, but if you can’t see that that was what was being discussed … I’m amazed.
The Ford matter be as it may, the spying email seemed like a slam dunk on perjury. Did that somehow get disproved? Or was the topic insufficiently sexy and so everyone moved on?
Mea culpa; I thought the trial you were alluding to was in reference to Ford’s allegation, not Whelan’s assertion.
I’m not a lawyer so I don’t know what needs to be proven to sue for libel. But can we agree that if Kavanaugh is behind this speculation, it makes him look unethical at a minimum?
…for no reason except that you happened to vaguely look like them…as claimed by a friend of the person originally accused in which said friend is a self-proclaimed expert on ethics.
Ethics.
Bwahaha.
BWAAAAAH-hahahaha hahaha hahahahaha
Yes. Can we also agree that no evidence has, as of yet, been presented to suggest that he is (behind this speculation)?
That a written statement which tends to reduce a persons standing and reputation is published.
There is evidence, so no can do.
…
Kavanaugh tells Hatch accusation may be mistaken identity seems to be the source. It does NOT say “Kavanaugh said it might have been Garrett” or anything along those lines. Your tweet says that Hatch’s deputy chief of staff previewed a scoop and “Hatch has been in close contact with Kavanaugh”. There are several leaps in logic to get from there to “evidence” that “Kavanaugh is behind this speculation”.
Well hell, I wonder why Republicans don’t want to run him for President.
We’re learning a lot about the personal moral character of many of our fellow Americans.
For those of you with TPM Prime subscriptions, there’s a great piece by Tierney Sneed (doing an amazing job, being recognized more and more :)) about the use of supplemental FBI background investigations.
The upshot: while only the White House has the power to have the FBI do such an additional investigation, it’s fairly routine for Senate committees to ask the White House to have the FBI do one when they’ve got more questions that require delving further into the nominee’s background, and it’s generally a matter of course for the White House to have the FBI investigate per the committee’s request - and Grassley in particular has made frequent use of this.
She adds that the committee has excellent leverage here, because if the committee says it needs more info to reach a decision on a nomination, the White House has a choice between having the FBI investigate further, or pulling the nomination.
So (my interpretation now) Grassley’s basically bullshitting us when he says he can’t make the FBI investigate. Technically he’s telling the truth, but only technically.
Ken White (Popehat) called it “Beach House Defamation…because though it is not actually defamation, some lawyer may make a very large amount of money establishing that.”
I predict by this time next week the nomination will be withdrawn. What’s open to speculation is who will Republicans stop whining about first: Bork or Kavanaugh?
It takes a great deal of mental bullshittery to think Hatch would’ve been working with Whelan on this but not Kanavaugh. The man who is:
- at the center of this controversy and is expected to answer questions about it
- personal friends with Whelan
- reportedly told Hatch he thought mistaken identity was at play right before Whelan’s stupid tweet went out
- the only one between the three of them that went to Georgetown Prep, would’ve known that Garrett was BK’s supposed lookalike, and knew the location of Garrette’s home relative to the country club mentioned in Ford’s story.
It doesn’t take “several leaps of logic” to connect this shit to Kanavaugh. It takes several truckloads of willful obtuseness to act as if Whelan acted without his involvement and approval.
Nonzero chance that Whelan’s beautiful mind will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on Kavanaugh.
Prove it.
And simply denying it doesn’t count, because you might have been so drunk you don’t remember.
Regards,
Shodan