Rachel Mitchell's disappearing act confirms GOP blunder

Politico

"Senate Republicans thought that bringing a female prosecutor to question Christine Blasey Ford would help them avoid looking like they were ganging up on an alleged victim of sexual assault.

" But once the hearing was underway, they seemed to quickly regret outsourcing their work to former sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell. She lasted through the first part of the hearing featuring Ford, but was quickly relegated to the sidelines once Brett Kavanaugh started testifying, never to be heard from again. 

"At the outset of the hearing, Mitchell's seemingly picayune lines of questioning failed to dent Ford's credibility and put Republicans on the defensive over the sexual abuse allegations against Kavanaugh. The five-minute rounds of questioning — a request from Ford's legal team that not every Democrat was comfortable with initially — didn't help the GOP's cause, either. Mitchell couldn't establish any rhythm, clearly frustrating Republicans. 

"I haven’t seen the whole thing, but I wish our counsel had a longer period of time rather than breaking it up into five-minute segments,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “It’s just chopped up [so] you don’t have … a really good fact-finding type of exchange. That’s been unfortunate.” 

"During a lunch break a little more than halfway through Ford’s testimony, some Senate Republicans expressed concern on the chamber floor over where Mitchell was going with her questioning, according to a GOP senator present for the exchange. They were told that Mitchell was not trying to score points against Ford, but that she would put together a case that Republicans could lay out Friday during the committee vote on Kavanaugh. 

"The No. 2 Senate Republican, Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, said Mitchell was doing “very well” midway through her questioning of Ford, crediting the prosecutor with asking "respectful questions and [getting] pertinent information." But Cornyn acknowledged that the format was “a little awkward with five-minute rounds.” 

"Despite Cornyn's claim that Mitchell performed well, she asked only two rounds of questions of Kavanaugh and then was effectively yanked by Republican senators who chose not to cede more of their time to her." . . .

Charles Hurt: Caligula exits the arena, vanquished

Washington Times

Democrats on the committee not only tried to destroy a man. They tried to destroy the boy he once was.

. . . "We have come a long way since Paula Jones was called a liar and trailer-park trash by Bill Clinton’s war dogs after she accused the then-governor of exposing himself to her and sexually harassing her. Those charges were corroborated, and Mrs. Jones was ultimately vindicated.
"But James Carville’s disgusting treatment of her could never be erased.
"Mr. Grassley does not play those vile games. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about others.
"Over the past two weeks, sitting senators have publicly and enthusiastically denounced the single most fundamental tenet of fairness in America: the notion that an accused person is presumed innocent until proved guilty.
"Judge Kavanaugh was accused of a very serious crime. Instead of being allowed to rebut the charges and clear his name, the accusations were allowed to sit and fester like a dead body rotting inside an upstairs room of an un-air-conditioned house in the Southern heat.
"By the time the authorities arrived, the body was unrecognizable. Judge Kavanaugh had deformed into a monster.
"It is little wonder.
"As soon as Judge Kavanaugh was nominated, Democrats warned that women would suffer and millions would die if he was elevated to the Supreme Court.
"During his confirmation hearings, Sen. Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat, set the tone of the ridiculous circus, excitedly declaring it his “‘I am Spartacus!’ moment.”
"No, sir, Mr. Booker. You are not Spartacus — except in that you will ultimately lose.
"You are Caligula." . . .

Kavanaugh Post-Hearing Assessment: Home run, call the vote

Lindsey Graham on Fire: ‘This is the Most Unethical Sham Since I’ve Been in Politics’

Legal Insurrection

"I can’t remember a time I have been as angry over politics as I have been watching what has unfolded the past two weeks."

"Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony is over. I assessed Christine Ford’s testimony earlier, Mid-Hearing Assessment: Christine Blasey Ford believes an untruth.

"I heard Kavanaugh’s opening statement, but missed over half of his question and answer because of another commitment. So I’ve been catching up via Twitter, highlights and reports. I think I have a good sense of how it went.

"It was a home run for Kavanaugh. I was surprised that he came out so aggressively in the opening statement, but it was the right choice. Ford was so controlled and contrived that he was at risk of losing to the sympathy vote.

"Kavanaugh was emotional during his opening statement. You could see how Democrats came close to breaking him. Most people could not withstand the Democrat smear machine and sleazy POS social media, entertainment industry and political operatives.

"I can’t remember a time I have been as angry as I have been watching what has unfolded the past two weeks. The earlier hearings were bad enough, but at least those smears were about politics. This was personal, and attempt to destroy the man and his family because they could, a blood sport.

"In an earlier post I mentioned that there but for fortune could go you or I.

Never was that more clear that today. What they did to Brett Kavanaugh could be done to any of us, and is being done to many of us on campuses and in workplaces.

"Those NeverTrump Republicans who argue that Democrats need to win in 2018 and 2020 to save the Republican Party want to throw the rest of us to the wolves who attacked Kavanaugh while they keep their newspaper, cable TV and book deals.

"Fortunately, Republican Senators abandoned handing off questioning to the Arizona prosecutor and stepped in to make their points during Kavanaugh’s testimony. This may have been Lindsey Graham’s finest moment.

"There is going to be a political reckoning. It needs to start right now with a vote confirming Kavanaugh."

How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America: "The hard left is nothing but a lynch mob with alternative tools."

Photosnark by Rich Terrell

Notice any familiar Democrat faces in the crowd behind them?*

American Thinker; 2011  . . . "Justice Thomas paid the media mob the compliment of calling them a "high-tech lynch mob."  Clarence Thomas was born in the South at a time when lynch mobs were very real.  But technology just amplifies what they already are, as moral low-lives.  Bull Connor passed out ax handles to the mob in the sixties, but today's high-tech lynch mobsters are no different when they try to destroy the careers, jobs, and reputations of good and decent people -- and even their children, like one-year-old baby Trig Palin.  Michele Bachmann was just threatened by one of the media mobsters, because now her 23 foster children are free bait for the media lynchers.  This is like mafia thugs walking through your nice family home and telling you what a fire hazard it is, and are you sure you don't want to sell out?

"They have no decency.  None at all." . . .

* Cory "Spartacus" Booker, Mazie "Shut up men!" Hirono, and Dianne "The world is heating up!" Feinstein.

The Mob and Judge Kavanaugh

National Review

Democrats’ standards of evidence are as low as politics demands

"Even before Professor Christine Blasey Ford alleged that Judge Brett Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when they were both teenagers, the Left was inflamed with fury against the judge.

"Kavanaugh was the nominee to replace Anthony Kennedy, the swing justice on a Supreme Court that has grown more and more important. He was the nominee of an unprecedentedly polarizing president, Donald Trump. And his nomination came after Senate Republicans had, in the minds of most Democrats, “stolen” a previous seat on the Supreme Court by declining to take up President Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland and then confirming Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch.

"Many liberals were thus able to convince themselves, on the flimsiest of pretexts, that Kavanaugh was guilty of serious misconduct — again, even before almost anyone in Washington, D.C., had heard of Blasey Ford. Liberal senators, activists, and journalists accused him of lying repeatedly in previous congressional testimony." . . .

Several Democratic senators, including Senate Judiciary Committee members Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Chris Coons of Delaware, announced that they “believed” Ford. Blumenthal said he believes survivors (and, implicitly, in question-begging). Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, another Democrat on the committee, first said that men should “shut up and step up.” Then she argued, in two interviews, that in evaluating the claim of sexual assault Kavanaugh’s conservative views about the law should count against him. Coons and Blumenthal subsequently were asked about Hirono’s remarks and agreed that the burden was on him to disprove the allegations.  . . .

Ford Admits She Flies Often after Citing Fear of Flying to Delay Hearing

"During her public testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday, Christine Blasey Ford admitted that she has flown often for business and pleasure in recent years despite citing her fear of flight in requesting that the hearing regarding her allegations against Brett Kavanaugh be delayed.
"In explaining why their client could not grant Committee chairman Chuck Grassley’s request that she travel to Washington, D.C. to testify on September 17, Ford’s lawyers cited her unwillingness to fly, which they claimed stemmed from her fear of enclosed spaces. Ford’s attorney’s further alleged her claustrophobia was brought on by the alleged assault.
"Rachel Mitchell, the Arizona sex-crimes prosecutor retained by the Committee to ask questions of Ford and Kavanaugh, established during the hearing that Ford traveled by plane to Washington, D.C. to testify regarding her claim that Kavanaugh pinned her down and tried to remove her clothes when they were in high school.
“ 'May I ask, Dr. Ford, how did you get to Washington?,” Mitchell asked.
“ 'By airplane,” Ford responded." . . .

Ford’s Testimony Has Changed Everything and Nothing  . . . But it’s also very important to note that Dr. Ford’s testimony has changed nothing about the underlying evidence in the case. She has made her claim, there are no corroborating witnesses. No one else can place the two of them together at the party — not even the witnesses she’s identified. She is inconsistent or forgetful on a number of key points. She can’t even identify who brought her to the party or who took her home. He’s denied the claims and will deny them again.

"That’s thin — very thin — evidence of sexual assault. The evidence is no stronger this afternoon than it was before Dr. Ford testified. When this controversy began, I said that her claims were serious enough that, if true, Kavanaugh should not be confirmed. Further, I said that that she should only have to carry the lowest burden of proof — to establish that her claims were more likely than not. If you step back, look at the totality of the evidence and consider that she has brought no new evidence to the committee, I still don’t believe she has met that minimal burden.

Posts about today's Ford-Kavanaugh hearings

After Kavanaugh’s Stand, Republicans Abandon Him at Their Peril  . . . "But even when you express your anger, it must be expressed with reason, and in a hearing that reason has to be laden with evidence. That’s what Kavanaugh did. He countered Ford’s accusation with his own denial, but he went well beyond he said/she said. He constantly reminded the committee that Dr. Ford’s named witnesses could not place him at the party. He went through calendars showing that it was improbable that he would have been at the party that Dr. Ford described. He showed time and again that there was no corroborating evidence supporting Dr. Ford’s allegations. This was powerful. This was true."

That’s what Brett Kavanaugh did today. He fought with passion, evidence, and compassion. And absent any new, substantiated revelations, he united the conservative movement. Any Republican who abandons him now will abandon the electorate that put them in power.

Kavanaugh’s Impassioned Rebuttal To Accusations Of Sexual Abuse May Have Just Saved His Nomination  . . . "Kavanaugh was on the verge of tears nearly every time he mentioned his family — as he should be. And by wearing his heart on his sleeve, Kavanaugh may have just saved not just his nomination, but his reputation." . . .

Actress Alyssa Milano Tries To Shame Sen. Susan Collins By Recalling Her Response To Al Franken Allegations

Although these two stories are somewhat similar in that they both involve sexual harassment or assault, it’s not a 1-1 comparison. To make such a claim, as Milano appears to be doing, is intellectually dishonest.

CNN's Tapper Argues There's 'No Contemporaneous Corroborating Evidence For Any Of The Charges' Against Kavanaugh

"Stolen Valor Blumenthal Vouches For Kavanaugh Accuser’s Credibility"

Dems already fundraising off Ford-Kavanaugh hearing

It’s jiu-jitsu time on the Kavanaugh accusations  "As desperate people intoxicated by early success are wont to do, the Democrat opponents of Judge Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court have overplayed their hand.  We've seen something very like this happen before."

Lindsey Graham explodes in anger at Kavanaugh hearing blasting the Democrats’ tactics

Charleston Post and Courier

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham exploded in a rant of outrage at the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings just moments ago, attacking his Democratic colleagues and a process he said has worked to destroy the judge’s reputation. 
“You’re looking for a fair process? You came to the wrong town, at the wrong time my friend,” an angry Graham told Kavanaugh during his assigned moment of questioning. 
“Would you say you’ve been through hell?” Graham added. 
“I’ve been through hell and then some,” Kavanaugh responds. 
During his allotted time, Graham asked Kavanaugh if he were a gang rapists or even a Bill Cosby in high school. He went on to blast the line of questioning Kavanaugh has faced, saying it would stain the country for decades to come and prevent good people from serving. 
“I hope the American people will see through this charade,” Graham said, calling the afternoon the “most despicable thing” he’s ever seen in politics. 
“This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics,” he added. “And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t do what you’ve done to this guy.” 
Graham’s comments came seven hours after the day began with the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Christine Blasey Ford discuss in detail her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while both were in high school in the early 1980s. 
Kavanaugh has denied the accusation. 
Graham went on to threaten Democrats as well, saying he was fair to Democratic nominees to the court and that goodwill il is forgotten. 
“If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us,” he said speaking to Democrats on the committee. To date, Byrd has won awards for her work. “What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in. You’ve said that, not me,” Graham said, shouting to Democrats. 
Turning back to Kavanaugh, Graham continued, “You’ve got nothing to apologize for. When you see Sotomayer and Kagan, tell them Lindsey say hello because I would never do to them what they’ve done to you.” 
Graham’s outburst drew praise from the White House. 
″@LindseyGrahamSC has more decency and courage than every Democrat member of the committee combined. God bless him,” said press spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

Caitlin Byrd is a political reporter at The Post and Courier and author of the Palmeo Politics newsleer. Before moving to Charleston in , her byline appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times. To date, Byrd has won awards for her work. 

Senate Democrats Smile, Laugh Before Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony

Big Government   WASHINGTON, D.C. – SEPTEMBER 27: Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) smiles ear to ear while talking with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (Photo Screenshot/C-SPAN)

"President Donald Trump said Democrats are “laughing” at the attacks on Kavanaugh’s character in a press conference Wednesday night: “They know it’s a big, fat con job.”

“ 'And they go into a room, and I guarantee you, they laugh like hell at what they pulled off on you and on the public.' ” . . .

Christine Ford Giggles and Asks For Coffee After Claiming Kavanaugh’s Assault “Drastically Altered” Her Life (VIDEO)

Democrats at work

DEMOCRAT SHEILA JACKSON LEE Caught On Video Discreetly Handing Note (Envelope?) To Ford’s Lawyer  "What was Democrat Rep. Sheila Lee Jackson (TX) doing at the table where Democrat activist Christine Blasey Ford was testifying to the Senate Judicial Committee? What was on the white note card or piece of paper the Democrat Congresswoman discretely handed to Ford’s lawyer, Michael Bromwich, just as they were getting ready to take a break in her testimony? 
"The Republican Party sat in that room like a collective group of cowards, afraid to be labeled “old, white Republicans”. Who, in that group of cowards will have the courage to ask what Sheila Jackson Lee what she handed Ford’s attorney during the hearing?"
Video  

STUNNING: CNN’s Jake Tapper Calls Out ALL Kavanaugh Accusers For Having “No Corroborating Evidence” [Video]  "How often do you get to hear a CNN anchor tell the truth? No often! Well, Jake Tapper made a very bold and truthful observation this morning:
"CNN’s Jake Tapper stunned Thursday by saying there is “no contemporaneous, corroborating evidence” coming from ANY of the accusers of Brett Kavanaugh…None! Zilch! Zero! Nada! 
“They’re brutal accusations, and his denial is so unequivocal, that there’s nothing that happened that he can even understand why these charges would be brought forward. At the same time, there is, as of now, no contemporaneous, corroborating evidence for any of the charges, as far as we know. We haven’t seen anybody emerge and say, ‘Yes, I remember that.'”

Senator Feinstein apparently discussing Sen. Murkowski's vote on Kavanaugh

Lindsey Graham on What 'Sealed it' for Him in Disbelieving Latest Accuser

Cortney O'Brien

"Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has several questions for Christine Blasey Ford, who is accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. The alleged incident happened 36 years ago at a high school party, but the details are hazy. Two other women came forward to accuse Kavanaugh of inappropriate sexual behavior. The third accuser, Julie Swetnick, says Kavanaugh was present at parties where girls were drugged and raped. In an interview with "Fox & Friends," Graham cast doubt on the accusation. 

" 'Why would you go back to the second party," if you knew girls were being drugged and raped, Graham wondered. "Why did you keep hanging around that crowd?" 

" 'I don't buy this," Graham added. A "reasonable person" would not go to a party where people are being drugged and raped and not tell anyone. 

" 'This makes zero sense," he said. "Why didn't she inform her girlfriends?" The thing that "seals it" for the senator, however, is that Kavanaugh says he doesn't even know Swetnick. "I believe him." 

" 'If you’re a serial rapist, it sticks with you the rest of your life," Graham said. By contrast, Kavanaugh is "a good man" and he gives the latest accusation "zero credibility." 

"Graham rejects his colleagues assertions that Kavanaugh needs to prove his innocence. Sen. Chris Coons (D-and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, for instance, say there's no presumption of innocence. Democrats like Coons are "willing to ruin his life because he's a Trump nominee," Graham concluded. "The accusation doesn't need to be corroborated, it just needs to be made." 

"They are "destroying" his life with an accusation that "is not specific to time, place, or corroboration."

" 'His life rejects these allegations," Graham said. Kavanaugh "doesn't have to prove to me he was not at a party 35 years ago." Ford, however, "has to prove me there is credibility beyond the allegation."

"Graham implored his colleagues not to abandon Kavanaugh. He wants to see Republicans fight back. If they don't, they "deserve" to be abandoned by voters."

Two men tell Senate that they, not Kavanaugh, assaulted Ford

Kavanaugh smeared, but two men coming forward actually find the real (narrative) killer  "Is the nightmarish miasma of increasingly flimsy charges against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh about to come to an end?  Sure looks like it, as two men step forward and say they were the ones who assaulted the woman who charges Kavanaugh with the assault 37 years ago.  It's as if O.J. Simpson really did find "the real killer."

"According to USA Today:

WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee has questioned two men who say they, not Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, had the disputed encounter with Christine Blasey Ford at a 1982 house party that led to sexual assault allegations. 

The revelation was included in a late-night news release by Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the committee.  The release includes a day-by-day view of the committee's investigative work over the last two weeks since allegations surfaced targeting Kavanaugh.

"Oh, my.  You wouldn't expect the real attackers to come forward just to keep Kavanaugh from having to bear an improbable accusation of sexual predation and having to defend himself alone.  How often does anyone see someone take a bullet based on his own actions to at least ensure that someone innocent doesn't take it?  They would have had nothing to gain from this, yet they came forward, signaling that they eventually grew up.  Incredibly, it has happened.

"Something like this has potential to end the whole nightmare for Kavanaugh." . . .

NY Post

"Two men have come forward to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to claim that they are the ones who actually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford during a house party in 1982 — and not Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

"Republicans on the committee released a timeline of events late Wednesday, which included details about their interactions with the two men who admitted to the attacks.

"On Monday, the timeline recounts GOP staff members interviewing “a man who believes he, not Judge Kavanaugh, had the encounter with Dr. Ford in 1982.”

"The “encounter” refers to an episode in which Ford claims that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in a bedroom at a Maryland house party.

"They had a follow-up interview with that man, and he provided more detail about the assault.

"Then on Wednesday, the committee staff said they spoke with a second man who said he assaulted Ford in 1982.

"The committee did not release any more details about the men, or why both were coming forward with the claims." . . .