I have been a trial attorney for over 25 years. It is my job to evaluate witnesses and to test their credibility, and to evaluate how testimony is received by a jury.
Christine Blasey Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. I found her testimony genuine, credible and compelling. Moreover, her testimony would be received by a jury as genuine and believable.
In fact, it is reported that thousands of Americans watching Dr. Blasey’s testimony who are themselves victims of sexual assault experienced a cathartic response to her testimony and contacted their elected representatives. She moved the jury. She moved the country.
Dr. Blasey’s testimony was devastating. Dr. Blasey offered to be helpful to the committee more, and volunteered to submit to an FBI background check to test the credibility of her testimony. Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley refused her request.
After a lunch break, it was Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s turn to testify. Brett Kavanaugh is a GOP political operative masquerading as a judge, and he let his mask slip in his opening statement. He delivered an angry jeremiad contemptuous of Democratic Senators whom he asserted were part of a vast left-wing conspiracy trying to destroy him, bent on revenge for the Clintons and their hatred of Donald Trump. It was clearly a political speech delivered for the television audience.
When questioned by senators, Kavanaugh was angry, aggressive and belligerent. He raised new questions about his demeanor and judicial temperament as a judge. Kavanaugh continued to be evasive in his answers, frequently returning to talking points about his innocence that was non-responsive to the question. When given numerous opportunities to request reopening an FBI background check to clear “his good name,” Kavanaugh demurred and would not do so. “I will do whatever the committee decides to do.” President Trump and GOP leadership have refused to reopen the FBI background check. His independence as a jurist is in serious doubt.
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