Thursday, July 1, 1982

I’m not a huge fan of Republican Senator Jeff Flake, but it looks as though we have him to thank for today’s news that the FBI will be reopening the investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, at least temporarily, and I wanted to publicly thank him. Flake, who released a statement earlier this morning stating that he would be voting to pass Kavanaugh’s nomination out of committee, apparently then had a change of heart, which some are attributing to an encounter on an elevator with two women who identified themselves as sexual assault survivors. Whatever the motivation, Flake, who will likely run for president in 2020, returned to the Senate chamber determined to at least explore whether or not an FBI investigation could be conducted in relatively short order. According to press accounts, his fellow Republicans on the judiciary Committee attempted to talk him out of the idea, but, eventually, he and Democratic Senator Chris Coons left the chamber and placed a call to the offices of the FBI. While FBI Director Christopher Wray wasn’t in, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was, and he assured them that an investigation could be conducted in one week’s time, although, according to the report in the New York Times, he told them that it was unlikely they’d discover anything new. But, with that, a deal with struck, and we now have at least a glimmer of hope that federal investigators might find more evidence to substantiate the claim of Dr. Christine Blassey Ford that, 36 years ago, a 17 year old Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape her.

And, for what it’s worth, I don’t know that I agree with Rosenstein that investigators likely won’t find anything new. Just in the last 24 hours, there are already new leads… thanks, ironically, to those 1982 calendar pages that Kavanaugh submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee in his defense. As you may recall from yesterday’s hearing, the Judge said that the calendars proved he was otherwise engaged every weekend night during the time period in question. And that may well be true. But, according to the calendar, there was one week night when he got together with friends for “skis.” [“Skis” is short for “brewskis.”] Kavanaugh, as you might recall, said during his questioning that he couldn’t have gone out on a weeknight, as he worked cutting grass all summer, and needed to remain sharp for it, but there’s the proof that, at least on this one Thursday night, he went over to a friend’s house for beers. And what makes this even more interesting is the fact that three of the people mention as being there that night, in Kavanaugh’s calendar entry, are people that Dr. Blasey Ford said were present at the get-together the night she was attacked… Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, and PJ Smyth… Here’s the entry in question.

Could this be the day the attack against Dr. Blasey Ford took place? Could it be that this small gathering at “Timmy’s house” on Thursday, July 1, 1982, was the event she talked about during her statement to the Judiciary Committee? Prior to this, all Dr. Blasey Ford could say for certain was that it happened that summer, before she turned 16, and at a time around when Mark Judge was working at the Potomac Village Safeway. [She said that she saw Judge working there approximately six to eight weeks after the attack.] Now, though, investigators have at least something a little more solid to go on. They have a possible date. They have a possible location. And they have the names, thanks to Kavanaugh, of other people who could have been there. In addition to the people noted above, Kavanaugh’s calendar entry fro that day notes that Tim Gaudette, Tom Kaine, Bernie McCarthy, and Chris “Squi” Garrett were to attend this event. And, I suspect, the FBI will want to talk with all of them. I also suspect they’ll look at floor plans for the house Tim Gaudette lived in at the time, to see if they line up with Dr. Blasey Ford’s memory of events. [She talked of a narrow staircase leading upstairs, a bedroom at the top of the staircase, and a bathroom right across the hallway from it.]

I could go further down this rabbit hole, but I think I’ll just hand things off to Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who commented about this particular calendar entry of Kavanaugh’s earlier today.

Personally, I don’t think much will come of this, as I suspect most people, even if they were there that night, probably wouldn’t remember wether or not Blasey Ford was there. I do think, however, it’s possible that Mark Judge, who Blasey Ford says was in the room at the time of her assault, egging Kavanaugh on, and laughing, could tell them something. I know that Blasey Ford said he was extremely drunk at the time, but she also said that, when she saw him six to eight weeks after the attack, he was visibly uncomfortable, and avoided speaking with her. This would indicate to me that he knew what had happened, and knew that what he and Kavanaugh had done was wrong. And, if that’s the case, I suspect he still remembers.

[One last thing on Flake’s decision to change his mind. I don’t suppose we’ll ever know why he decided not to vote Kavanaugh out of committee, and instead pushed for the FBI to re-open the investigation, but it’s very possible that he did so either because those two protesters convinced him to do so, or, more likely, because he saw that the video of him attempting not to engage with them was going viral. And, if either of those things is true, it demonstrates just how much power we all have in this age of social media. This was just two women roaming the halls of a Senate office building, and it’s conceivable that they changed the course of history. Just think what might happen if thousands of people were stalking Senators, looking to have exchanges like this.]

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41 Comments

  1. iRobert
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 4:10 am | Permalink

    Over the past several days, every idiot who wanted Kavanaugh’s confirmation to go through has been saying an FBI investigation couldn’t learn anything new. Yet, here we see a simple look at the Kavanaugh’s calendar may have possibly established the location and date of the assault Dr. Ford is remembering.

    If that isn’t glaring proof that EOS, and everyone like him. Just talks out of their ass rather than think about things before they say them, I don’t know what is.

    Where is EOS, by the way? Is he planted back in front of the TV waiting for his idols to issue the revised talking-point strategy? What a bunch of brain-dead goons.

  2. iRobert
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 4:19 am | Permalink

    Auto-correct correction:

    If that isn’t glaring proof that EOS, and everyone like him, just talks out of their ass rather than think about things before they say them, I don’t know what is.

    God gave each individual a brain of their own for a reason, EOS. Try showing some gratitude and respect for being given that gift and put it to use.

    By the way, did you see? Frosted Flakes easily recognized that Kavanaugh’s conduct at the hearing Thursday clearly shows he shouldn’t be confirmed. If you can’t understand what sort of temperament and honesty it requires to be a judge, you need to crawl back into your hole and shut the fuck up.

  3. Jean Henry
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 7:06 am | Permalink

    Would Mike judge’s FBI testimony be under oath or not?

  4. iRobert
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 7:35 am | Permalink

    This is politics. You can never expect anything in such an environment to be carried out without considerable interference from partisans. In many cases the investigations are complete shams.

    You can see how a simple thing like an investigation into e-mails becomes a ridiculous mess. Partisan politics destroys the integrity of everything and everybody it touches.

    Still, I am hoping all of these FBI agents will operate with the highest level of integrity possible. If they do, they will bring Mark Judge in to a hearing room and question him under oath (swearing him in) and with many observers who can note irregularities and such.

  5. Anonymous
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 8:15 am | Permalink

    Former Yale classmate of Brett Kavanaugh’s, Liz Swisher, suggests he perjured himself in describing his drinking in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, adding she is willing to share her knowledge of his college drinking with the FBI. cnn.it/2xIDl2Y

  6. Patty Blackburn by proxy
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 8:27 am | Permalink

    Retired FBI agent, Frank Montoya just said to Joy Reid, if you have information about Brett Kavanaugh, you can go to a field office and give them the information. You don’t have to wait for them to come to you.

  7. EmptyWheel
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 10:49 am | Permalink

    As a reminder, Kavanaugh has lied about his role in warrantless wiretapping, torture, using stolen emails, and some judicial decisions.

    But sure, I’m sure he’s telling the truth abt never dry humping a girl when drunk.

  8. AaronfromJXN
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 11:32 am | Permalink

    I wonder if his time at prep school and Yale we’re anything like this: https://youtu.be/fCKhOrJkzM4

  9. Jean Henry
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 1:07 pm | Permalink

    Aaron— that video looks like a lot more fun. Preppies during the Reagan era (maybe now, don’t know) were afraid of anyone not like them. So the parties were some version of country club affairs/wall st stuff. Think wolf of Wall Street without the freedom. And with more fear of outsiders. They really like to torture one another. It’s super sadistic. They’re relentlessly sarcastic and condescending, using in group words. They all dressed the same to a startling degree. They had their own preferred shoes, clothing brands, sunglasses, etc etc so that they can easily identify who is In Group, who is aspiring to be in group (same style, wrong brands) and who is completely clueless as to their culture. They will ask you what your father does and who he works for within 10 min of meeting you. They will ask you what private club you belong the way southerners ask which church you attend. They will ask you where you summer.
    And then they will use that in group mentality and the privilege associated with it as protection from accountability when they behave very very badly. I’m sure everyone from that social register set is spending a lot of time defending Brett Kavanaugh right now. The idea that they might lose their privileged access is scary as hell to them. They don’t care that much about money (don’t have to); they value their exclusivity above all else.

  10. Kat
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 3:05 pm | Permalink

    They’re desperate. The slut-shaming of Ford has begun.

    https://twitter.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1046116016932233217

  11. Kat
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 3:18 pm | Permalink

    More:

    https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1046128228321173504

  12. Emma
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 4:16 pm | Permalink

    Seriously, who still has a calendar from 1982???

  13. Posted September 29, 2018 at 4:45 pm | Permalink

    Apparently the White House is limiting the people who can be questioned by the FBI. Word is, for instance, they’ve said that Julie Swentick, two woman who says Kavanaugh spiked the punch at parties in order to take advantage of girls, is not on the list.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/white-house-limits-scope-fbi-s-investigation-allegations-against-brett-n915061

  14. Posted September 29, 2018 at 4:50 pm | Permalink

    Greg Sargent from the Washington Post says the following about the restrictions being put on the FBI.

    “Unreal. WH limits scope of FBI probe to complicate effort to place Mark Judge at Safeway that summer, which could bolster Christine Ford’s credibility.”

    Where are you, Jeff Flake.

  15. iRobert
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 5:31 pm | Permalink

    As I said, no investigation can proceed normally and with integrity in such a politicized environment. Prepare to be sickened to your core.

  16. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 29, 2018 at 7:32 pm | Permalink

    Too bad Tim Gaudette lived eleven miles from the country club.

    https://www.weeklystandard.com/john-mccormack/was-blasey-ford-at-a-july-1-1982-party-with-kavanaugh

    “I saw it published today that someone’s floating the notion that there was something on July 1 at Tim Gaudette’s house,” Kane told CNN. “Tim Gaudette lived in Rockville. It’s 11 miles away from Columbia Country Club. And it wasn’t a single-family home. It was a townhouse.”

  17. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 4:22 am | Permalink

    On what street did Gaudette live? Because I see it’s only a 6.6 mile walk from Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase to the center of Rockville.

    Saying it is 11 miles is suspect.

  18. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 4:51 am | Permalink

    If Tim Gaudette is talking about 507 Azalia Drive in Rockville, I guess that is closer to 11 miles. So, it seem Ford couldn’t consider that “close” to the Columbia Contry Club in Chevy Chase.

    Is that the address we’re talking about then? 507 Azalia Drive?

  19. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 5:03 am | Permalink

    If 507 Azalia Drive is the place Kavanaugh and his friends went for some brewskis on July 1st, 1982, I’m a bit surprised. Hearing over and over about how privileged these guys were, I wouldn’t have expected any of them to live in such a modest townhome.

  20. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 5:27 am | Permalink

    I would assume the home in Dr. Ford’s recollection would be that of one of the six people she said were present in the home at the time of the incident she is recalling. Of the five individuals identified as being in attendance, it should be pretty easy to determine if any of their homes match her memory.

    It also shouldn’t be too difficult to identify the sixth individual who was present, and determine if their home is a match to Ford’s recollection.

  21. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 6:40 am | Permalink

    Of the six people she said were present, one was Dr. Ford herself. Of course we can eliminate her own home, haha.

    The calendar really isn’t much help. I’m sure there were many impromptu gatherings of the same groups of people.

  22. Posted September 30, 2018 at 8:48 am | Permalink

    Emma Brown from the Washington Post: Leland Keyser’s lawyer tells Judiciary she will cooperate with FBI. Reiterates she doesn’t remember the party or know Kavanaugh, and adds: “Notably, Ms. Keyser does not refute Dr. Ford’s account, and she has already told the press that she believes Dr. Ford’s account.

  23. Posted September 30, 2018 at 8:51 am | Permalink

    I like said in the post, this may not actually be the party where the incident took place. It could have been another night that summer. Or it could have taken place at someone’s house before they headed to Timmy’s. As she stated in her testimony, this could have been a small pre-party before they headed off somewhere else. The thing is, it’s someplace for investigators to start.

  24. Posted September 30, 2018 at 8:54 am | Permalink

    “If 507 Azalia Drive is the place Kavanaugh and his friends went for some brewskis on July 1st, 1982, I’m a bit surprised. Hearing over and over about how privileged these guys were, I wouldn’t have expected any of them to live in such a modest townhome.”

    I’m hesitant to speculate, but, if these were football playing buddies, I suspect some of them may have been on scholarship. These elite schools like to win. And, in order to do that, they often allow in kids that can help them do that.

  25. Posted September 30, 2018 at 8:55 am | Permalink

  26. Posted September 30, 2018 at 8:57 am | Permalink

    Congressman Adam Schiff: Not content with insisting the FBI conclude a difficult investigation within a week, the White House is now apparently telling the FBI who they can and cannot talk to. This is not how you conduct an investigation. But it is how you do a whitewash.

  27. Posted September 30, 2018 at 9:26 am | Permalink

  28. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 9:54 am | Permalink

    If it’s not limited at all then the Democrats get to stall indefinitely, which is obviously the game. I’d be asking my friend to search the old memory banks pretty fuckin’ hard like “Remember? We were at the pool and found out about the party and I said this and that on the way over there and when we first got there this other thing happened and…” Leland believes her because she wants to support her friend but she can’t find one recollection at all.

  29. Jean Henry
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 11:37 am | Permalink

    Back peddling by the WH, HW. The FBI were given a list of 4 witnesses to question. Now it’s been opened up.

    Guess Trump isn’t as concerned about the deep state on this one.

    Unless the findings are different than he’d like.

    I’m happy that investigative journalists have a week more to work on this story. They’ve already been effective in preventing the WH /GOP senate from limiting the FBI investigation.

  30. Jean Henry
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 11:39 am | Permalink

    Ps commenters here are not investigators of any kind with any kind of access to the necessary information. That won’t stop them from speculating though. Maybe FF will decide to scrutinize a 2 minute video clip for hours again. That was fun.

  31. Jean Henry
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 11:41 am | Permalink

    Word is the GOP don’t have the votes to confirm at this time even with Flake. I still think they’ll politically bargain their way to confirmation though.

  32. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 11:52 am | Permalink

    Maybe some photos of Kavanaugh will come out later this week showing him in a very distasteful light. The search is on.

  33. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 12:02 pm | Permalink

    The QAnan in my head is telling me there will be another revelation at the end of the week. Then another one the following week, and another one the week after that. Each one just bad enough to damage Republicans seeking election in this midterm, but not enough to get the Republicans in the senate to give up on pushing Kavanaugh through.

  34. EOS
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 1:55 pm | Permalink

    Seems Dr. Ford’s brother works for Fusion GPS. Unbelieveable.

  35. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 1:57 pm | Permalink

    Don’t you understand FISA docs are being declassified any day now? Q said FISA brings the house down. Already McCabe is under grand jury investigation and all the other signers are supposed to be also. All Obama era people…

  36. Jean Henry
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 3:32 pm | Permalink

    I’m almost as excited for those FISA docs as you are HW. Although when they don’t deliver as promised by Q, no doubt there will be a complicated explanation and counsel to be patient.

  37. Anonymous
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    Have someone teach you how to use Google, EOS.

    https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2018/sep/21/blog-posting/no-christine-blasey-fords-brother-isnt-linked-russ/

  38. iRobert
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 3:56 pm | Permalink

    That’s an interesting claim, EOS. What evidence is there that Ford’s brother works for Fusion GPS?

  39. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 6:28 pm | Permalink

    You should just start believing the opposite of your instinct, Jean because you are wrong about everything. You said FISA abuse was nothing but now we have one of the signers under grand jury investigation. This cuts to the heart of the Mueller probe. It’s turning around on your peeps like I said it would but you don’t even know it yet. How do you catch a wild animal? Do you run up on it directly in its’ sight?

  40. Kim
    Posted September 30, 2018 at 8:52 pm | Permalink

    Speaking of Kavanaugh’s lying, and Lindsey Graham’s impassioned defense, I’m reminded of this quote.

    “You couldn’t live with yourself knowing that you were going to leave a perjuring judge on the bench” -Rep. Lindsey Graham, January 1999

  41. Paul Heckbert
    Posted October 1, 2018 at 11:41 pm | Permalink

    One angle on Senator Flake’s change of heart regarding Kavanaugh was given in the 60 Minutes story: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeff-flake-lindsey-graham-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-confirmation-inside-the-decision-to-delay-confirmation-hearing/ Flake said: “I just knew that we couldn’t move forward, that I couldn’t move forward without hitting the pause button. Because, what I was seeing, experiencing, in an elevator and watching it in committee and just thinking, this is ripping our country apart.”

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  1. […] large part to Republican Senator Jeff “Vestigial Backbone” Flake, there was going to be an FBI investigation into the charges of sexual abuse against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh? Well, the more time that passes, the more it looks as though the investigation may in fact be a […]

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