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Promoted from the diaries by streiff. Promotion does not imply endorsement.
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Facts matter.
In the case of unproven allegations, those are few and far between. With Christine Ford’s accusation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, that he attempted to sexually assault her 35 years ago, facts are non-existent.
What makes an accusation believable in the face of no evidence usually relies on two things. One, showing a proven pattern of behavior. This is why Bill Clinton assaulting women is believable. He had many accusations against him, the behavior continued throughout his life, and he ended up having pay off women to keep quiet. Taking all that together allows us to say that it’s not proven, but probable that he did indeed assault the women who accused him.
To take an example from the other side, the same is true for Donald Trump and sleeping with porn stars. Did Trump sleep with Stormy Daniels? Given his history and the payoffs, I’d suggest it’s highly probable and it’s fair to take that position.
In the case of Kavanaugh though, we have none of that. Unfortunately, some conservatives are now calling for a hearing while attempting to stay above board on this. They are making a mistake.
This woman has simply not provided enough to warrant a hearing. In fact, what we do know actually undermines her credibility.
THE CONVENIENT LACK OF DETAILS
Perhaps the biggest reason why this should be dismissed, unless serious evidence emerges, is Mrs. Ford’s convenient lack of detail in almost every aspect of this story.
She can’t tell us when. Not the day, not the month, not even the year. She can’t even tell us what decade this supposedly happened in (giving a range from the late 70’s to early 80’s). She can not tell us what house it happened in. She can not tell us who else was at the party except Mr. Kavanaugh and Mr. Judge.
Why do I call this convenient? Because by being so vague, her accusation allows for no rebuttal. Can we pinpoint the time of the party to investigate further? Nope. Can we know what house it was in so we can look up the owner? Nope. Can we ask others at the party? Nope, because she can’t name anyone.
Since she can’t name anyone and Kavanuagh/Judge have vehemently denied this, that makes this a single sourced allegation with no corroboration. At the very least, there should at least be someone who can place Mrs. Ford at this party if it happened. That person doesn’t exist.
Past that, some of the details she has given are actually contradicted by her therapist’s notes from 2012.
THE CONVENIENT TIMING
Sen. Feinstein had this letter for months. Why is it just now being revealed?
The answer is clear. This was politically timed to blow up Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination. Nothing more, nothing less. Even the assertions from Mrs. Ford that she wanted to not push this and remain anonymous don’t add up. It’s now been revealed that she originally called a tip line at the Washington Post, attempting to push her story. That’s odd behavior for someone who supposedly didn’t want this to get out.
That leaves us with political timing on two fronts. Democrats in the Senate clearly planned this, held onto the letter until after the hearings were over, and then sought to use it to blow up or at least delay the vote until after the midterms. To deny that is to be naive.
The timing of Mrs. Ford deciding to “speak out” is also suspect. After claiming she didn’t want to go public, she just so happens to go public less than a week before the vote on Kavanaugh is to take place. Furthermore, she’s got a high powered Democrat activist lawyer and polygraph results ready to go. That timing, coupled with the fact that she also has a history of Democrat activism, further undermines her.
By waiting until now to go public with her allegation, she has all but assured the vote will now be delayed by weak kneed Republicans. Had she come forward a week ago or two months ago, it would not of had the same effect. Again, if you think this wasn’t purposeful, you are naive.
Right on cue, here’s Dick Durbin calling for a delay of the vote by asserting that it’s “too soon” for Mrs. Ford to testify.
JUST NOW: @SenatorDurbin told me he supports public testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford…but this week would be too soon.
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) September 17, 2018
“We need to hear from the Kavanaugh accuser before the vote! But, not on background calls w committee. And not in the committee room bc old white men. And not right now, bc it’s too soon. But WE MUST HEAR FROM HER!” – Dems rn.
— Camaran (@Camaran) September 17, 2018
This all reeks of a setup. Democrats have played this to perfection, knowing that Senators such as Jeff Flake and Lisa Murkowski will play right along with them. The timing has been used to maximize the possibility of a delay in the vote. That’s why this didn’t come out in July and why the accuser claimed she wanted to remain silent until the best possible time for Democrats.
THERE SHOULD BE NO SENATE HEARING ON THIS
With what we know now, this does not warrant a hearing. It would be an incredibly bad precedent to set by giving this woman a platform to repeat a single sourced, vague accusation which the other party has no hope of rebutting. If Republicans cave on this, there will never be another man seeking the Presidency or Supreme Court who won’t be hit with such an accusation at the 11th hour. You can not reward Democrats for doing this and if you do, they will never stop.
Aside from the very serious political factors at play, Mrs. Ford’s story simply is not credible enough (at this point at least) to be given a hearing. To do so would turn the hearing process into a circus, whereby anyone who makes an accusation must then be afforded standing before the Senate. That should not happen.
Conservatives who are now saying she should go before the Judiciary committee are making a mistake. If she wants to be heard without providing further evidence or corroborating details, then she can go on CNN or give another interview to The Washington Post.
Republicans should not walk face first into a buzz-saw here. There is a game being played and Republicans should simply refuse to participate. If this woman has actual, smoking gun evidence of her allegation, she is welcome to share that with a media source. Until then, this non-credible accusation should not be legitimized with a Senate hearing.
The post The Kavanaugh Accusation is not Credible Enough to Warrant a Hearing at This Point appeared first on RedState.
