The Commentariat -- Sept. 26, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the way Brett Kavanaugh has defended himself in wake of sexual assault allegations that have threatened to derail his Supreme Court nomination, multiple sources tell CNN. It has led the President to believe that he must personally take charge of defending his embattled nominee ahead of Thursday's critical appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Trump made the decision to hold a news conference on the eve of the hearing, making it the fourth he has held as president.... 'The Democrats are playing this game that's disgraceful,' Trump said alongside his Japanese counterpart in New York. 'It's disgraceful to this country.' He said voters would punish Democrats in the midterm elections for their actions and trashed lawyer [Michael] Avenatti." ...

** Jessica Estepa of USA Today: "Julie Swetnick, a client of attorney Michael Avenatti, alleged in a signed statement released Wednesday that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh would drink to excess and 'engage in abusive behavior' toward teenage girls while he was in high school. In an explosive statement released by Avenatti, Swetnick said in the 1980s, she witnessed efforts by Kavanaugh and Mark Judge to get teenage girls 'inebriated and disoriented so they could then be 'gang raped' in a side room or bedroom by a 'train' of numerous boys.' 'I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their "turn" with a girl inside the room,' she said in the statement. 'These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh.' Swetnick alleged she became one of the victims of 'one of these "gang" or "train" rapes.' She did not allege that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her." ...

     ... Here's a slightly easier-to-read copy of Swetnick's declaration. ...

... John Wagner of the Washington Post covers Swetnick's allegations & other developments today in the Kavanaugh case. ...

... Axios publishes about a page-and-a-half of Kavanaugh's prepared testimony for Thursday hearing, ending with a note, "Additional Testimony to Follow." ...

     ... The POTUS* has responded with his usual careful consideration:

Avenatti is a third rate lawyer who is good at making false accusations, like he did on me and like he is now doing on Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He is just looking for attention and doesn't want people to look at his past record and relationships - a total low-life! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet this afternoon

     ... Worth noting: Trump doesn't deny Swetnick's accusations, only Avenatti's.

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday said President Trump has told him he will sign a spending bill to avert a government shutdown. The House is prepared to pass the legislation later Wednesday and send it to Trump's desk."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley suggested Wednesday that world leaders laughed at President Trump's speech the day before because they respect and enjoy his honesty, arguing that negative media coverage of the president has hurt America's standing in the world. Haley, in an appearance on 'Fox & Friends,' blamed the media for misinterpreting why U.N. General Assembly members chuckled when Trump boasted that his administration's accomplishments outdid those of nearly any other in American history." Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. Mrs. McC: In another studio, Haley would have been struck on the spot by lightning, but Fox "News" studios, of necessity, have built-in elaborate anti-lightning protection. However, Haley's nose did grow noticeably during the course of the brief interview.

Ashley Parker & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "When Rod J. Rosenstein reports to the Oval Office on Thursday to be fired, resign or continue tenuously in his post, the deputy attorney general will also be cementing his status as a player in one of President Trump's favorite parlor games: White House Survivor. Though the outcomes often differ -- fired by tweet (former secretary of state Rex Tillerson), permitted to faux-amicably resign (former national security adviser H.R. McMaster) or flayed but never quite offed (Attorney General Jeff Sessions )-- one near-certainty for those navigating their departures from Trump's orbit is a prolonged and capricious public humiliation. Trump's penchant for allowing his underlings to dangle and stew in Washington's fickle swamp often seems to be a form of psychological cruelty -- and also the way he prefers to conduct business, according to the president's advisers and associates."

Breaking News: Akhilleus has "come across a secretly recorded video of Grassley and company, and what they were doing while Deborah Ramirez and her lawyer were waiting for them on the phone. They were bringing in three crack researchers to give them a better idea of how to help them and their boy Brett deal with this woman problem":

Here's a good summary of Trump's speech before the U.N. General Assembly:

*****

Trump Attacks Kavanaugh's (Alleged) Victim. Mark Landler & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump accused Democrats on Tuesday of orchestrating 'a con game' against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh in hopes of stopping his confirmation to the Supreme Court and said that one of two women who have accused him of sexual misconduct as a student was 'messed up' and 'drunk' at the time. Dispensing again with the restraint that advisers have urged him to exercise, Mr. Trump went beyond defending Judge Kavanaugh into attack mode, saying that Democrats were 'making him into something he's not' as part of a strategy to 'delay and obstruct' his confirmation.... He went on to call it a con game a couple more times, and then spelled it out, 'C-O-N.' Mr. Trump singled out the latest accuser, Deborah Ramirez, who said in an interview with The New Yorker that Judge Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a drinking party while they were students at Yale University." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Gang of Powerful Old Men Don't Have the Guts of One Woman. Elana Schor, et al., of Politico: "Senate Republicans have hired an attorney to use as a questioner of Christine Blasey Ford at Thursday's high-stakes hearing on a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh but are declining to name her. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told Politico on Tuesday as he entered the Capitol for a weekly GOP meeting that 'we aren't announcing the name for her safety.' Asked if Republicans have received any indication of threats to the attorney they're preparing to use, Grassley said: 'I don't know, but I guess we're just being cautious.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... New Lede Plus: "The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court on Friday morning, fewer than 24 hours after Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford appear before the panel to discuss Ford's allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 30 years ago. According to committee rules, Judiciary must schedule a committee vote three days in advance. But the committee said the vote will only proceed if a 'majority of the members' of the 21-member committee are ready to vote on Friday. 'For Republicans to schedule a Friday vote on Brett Kavanaugh today, two days before Dr. Blasey Ford has had a chance to tell her story, is outrageous," said Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the committee's ranking member. 'First Republicans demanded Dr. Blasey Ford testify immediately. Now Republicans don't even need to hear her before they move ahead with a vote.'"

... Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Republican Party leaders may be insisting that they will install Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, but Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is offering a blunt warning of her own: Do not prejudge sexual assault allegations against the nominee that will be aired at an extraordinary public hearing on Thursday. 'We are now in a place where it's not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified,' Ms. Murkowski, a key swing Republican vote, said in an extended interview in the Capitol Monday night. 'It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.' One of two Republican women in the Senate who supports abortion rights -- Susan Collins of Maine is the other -- Ms. Murkowski was always expected to be a critical vote in Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation process. But she is making clear that, beyond matters of abortion, she is deeply troubled by Christine Blasey Ford's story of a sexual assault by Judge Kavanaugh when she was 15 and he was 17." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie BTW: Here's an uplifting thought: if Mitch McConnell had the votes to confirm Kavanaugh, Chuck Grassley would not be doing any of this stuff. The downer: once the committee has pulled off its little show trial, the few GOP holdouts likely will get in line as they usually do, satisfied that Kavanaugh deserves to spend the rest of his natural life judging the rest of us.

... Rebecca Shabad, et al., of NBC News: "In a letter to a lawyer for Ford on Monday, Mike Davis, who handles nominations for Republicans on the committee -- all of whom are men -- said that the GOP had hired a woman whom he described as 'an experienced sex-crimes prosecutor to serve as an investigative staff counsel for the hearing.'... Asked by NBC's Kasie Hunt Tuesday what message it sends to the nation that the entire GOP side of the panel lacks women, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, "... we have hired a female assistant to go on staff and to ask these questions in a respectful and professional way...." Emphasis added. ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Sure, this mystery woman is "an experienced prosecutor," but to the Boys in the Chamber, she a female assistant. I wonder if Chuck will ask her to get coffee during the hearing. As Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) "said Tuesday it would not be wise for Republican senators to ask questions themselves during the hearing. 'Somebody will do something that you guys will run 24/7 and inadvertently somebody will do something that's insensitive,' he told reporters." Is calling a professional woman a "female assistant" insensitive enough for you, Bob? ...

     ... Update. Mystery Female Assistant ID'd. Sean Sullivan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell has emerged as Senate Republicans' choice to question Brett M. Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused the Supreme Court nominee of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers, according to two people familiar with the decision. Mitchell, the sex crimes bureau chief for the Maricopa County Attorney's office in Phoenix, is the leading candidate to query the two at Thursday's highly anticipated hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to the individuals. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it on the record. A registered Republican, Mitchell has worked for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for 26 years." ...

... Rachel Maddow was wondering out loud how come Judiciary Committee Republicans think they don't need the FBI to help them "investigate" claims of violent sexual attacks yet they don't have the chops to even question a witness, something that apparently an "assistant" must do for them. Maybe it's kinda like when the boss has to get his assistant to run the copy machine. MEANWHILE, Maddow interviewed John Clune, Deborah Ramirez' attorney, who said staff Republicans failed to show up for several scheduled phone appointments Tuesday. ...

     ... Here's a Denver Post story, by Elise Schmelzer, on the Grassley crew's failures to pick up the phone. ...

... Steve Kiggins & Richard Wolf of USA Today: "The attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford have sworn and signed declarations from four people who corroborate her claims of sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. In documents sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee..., Ford's attorneys present declarations from Ford's husband, Russell, and three friends who support the California college professor's accusation that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her and attempted to pull off her clothes while both were high school students in 1982.... Kavanaugh has flatly denied all accusations, including during a national television interview on Fox News Monday night. In her declaration, Adela Gildo-Mazzon said Ford told her about the alleged assault during a June 2013 meal at a restaurant in Mountain View, California, and contacted Ford's attorneys on Sept. 16 to tell them Ford had confided in her five years ago.... In another declaration, Keith Koegler said Ford revealed the alleged assault to him in 2016, when the two parents were watching their children play in a public place and discussing the 'light' sentencing of Stanford University student Brock Turner. In another declaration, Rebecca White, a neighbor and friend of more than six years, said Ford revealed the alleged assault against her in 2017." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Wow! Blasey has been planning to "smear" Kavanaugh for a long time. Very clever the way she started laying the groundwork way back in 2013. ...

     ... Axios has copies of the sworn declarations here. ...

... Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Three former Yale Law School classmates who endorsed Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh called Tuesday for an investigation into allegations by two women that he engaged in sexual misconduct in the 1980s. Kent Sinclair, Douglas Rutzen and Mark Osler were among roughly two dozen of Kavanaugh's law school classmates who in an Aug. 27 letter to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Their support for an investigation came as Yale Law professor Akhil Amar -- who taught Kavanaugh and testified on his behalf before the committee this month -- also called for a probe into what he described as 'serious accusations' from the women." ...

... Maya Salam & Niraj Chokshi of the New York Times: "Survivors of sexual assault and their supporters stood shoulder to shoulder on the steps of New York's City Hall on Monday, holding signs that read 'I believe Christine,' 'Misogyny bores me' and 'Block InJustice Kavanaugh.' In Washington, over 100 protesters were arrested after gathering in front of the Supreme Court and inside Senate office buildings. They were part of a series of protests across the country to show solidarity with Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, women who have publicly accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, of sexual assault and misconduct." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Lara Bazelon in a New York Times op-ed: "Republican senators have no problem trying Dr. Blasey in the court of public opinion. Senator [Orrin] Hatch has already made up his mind: Judge Kavanaugh is telling the truth and Dr. Blasey is simply 'mixed up.' Lindsey Graham, another Republican committee member, told The Washington Post, 'I'll listen to the lady,' then immediately implied the opposite. 'We're going to bring this to a close,' he said and called the accusation 'a drive-by shooting.' And yet, they are apparently too afraid to speak to her face to face.... Come on, gentlemen. Man up." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

Brett was a sloppy drunk, and I know because I drank with him. I watched him drink more than a lot of people. He'd end up slurring his words, stumbling. There's no medical way I can say that he was blacked out.... But it's not credible for him to say that he has had no memory lapses in the nights that he drank to excess. -- Liz Swisher, friend of Kavanaugh at Yale & a medical doctor

He's trying to paint himself as some kind of choir boy. You can't lie your way onto the Supreme Court, and with that statement out, he's gone too far. It's about the integrity of that institution. -- Lynne Brookes, former pharma executive who remembered "a drunken Kavanaugh" at a Yale fraternity event

Nearly a dozen people who knew him well or socialized with him said Judge Kavanaugh was a heavy drinker in college. -- New York Times, yesterday

... Aaron Rupar of ThinkProgress: "During his interview on Fox News that aired Monday evening..., Brett Kavanaugh cited his college reputation as evidence he's been falsely accused by former Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez, who told the New Yorker Kavanaugh once thrust his genitals into her face at a party. 'The women I knew in college and the men I knew in college say it's inconceivable that I could have done such a thing,' he said.... But around the same time Kavanaugh was making that claim on Fox News, his former Yale roommate, James Roche, told the Bay Area ABC affiliate that he believes Ramirez. 'I concluded that although Brett was normally reserved, he was a notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time, and that he became aggressive and belligerent when he was very drunk,' Roche told ABC 7. 'I did not observe the specific incident in question, but I do remember Brett frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk.'" ...

Perhaps Brett Kavanaugh was a virgin for many years after high school. But he claimed otherwise in a conversation with me during our freshman year in Lawrance Hall at Yale, in the living room of my suite.... [I remember it] because it was the first time I had had such a conversation with an acquaintance who was not a friend. -- Stephen Kantrowitz, dormmate of Kavanaugh in their freshman year at Yale

... John Harwood of CNBC: It's hard to believe Kavanaugh's denials about sexual attacks because he has lied a lot about other things. ...

... ** "Toxic Homosociality." Lili Loofbourow in Slate: "... I believe Brett Kavanaugh's claim that he was a virgin through his teens. I believe it in part because it squares with some of the oddities I've had a hard time understanding about his alleged behavior: namely, that both allegations are strikingly different from other high-profile stories the past year, most of which feature a man and a woman alone. And yet both the Kavanaugh accusations share certain features: There is no penetrative sex, there are always male onlookers, and, most importantly, there's laughter. In each case the other men -- not the woman -- seem to be Kavanaugh's true intended audience. In each story, the cruel and bizarre act the woman describes ... seems to have been done in the clumsy and even manic pursuit of male approval. Even Kavanaugh's now-notorious yearbook page ... seems less like an honest reflection of a fun guy than a representation of a try-hard willing to say or do anything as long as his bros think he's cool. In other words: The awful things Kavanaugh allegedly ... appear to .. fit into a ... category -- a toxic homosociality -- that involves males wooing other males over the comedy of being cruel to women." Read on. Mrs. McC: This is the smartest piece I've read by way of an explanation of who Kavanaugh was -- and is. ...

... Caitlin Flanagan of the Atlantic on Georgetown Prep, circa 1982. "There was ... -- as there always is in top Catholic schools that wish to be considered on the same intellectual and social plane as the great Protestant schools -- a constant, grinding, and not misplaced sense of inferiority among many of the students.... In a boys' school in the '80s, sexual frustration was combined with a casual misogyny -- if not of deed then of word -- that the authorities were in no way concerned about.... In the midst of it all (the Georgetown Prep way, the frat-boy tradition, the Irish problem -- who knows) seems to lie an ocean of alcohol." (Also linked yesterday.)

Alabama Evangelicals Counting on Kavanaugh to Oppose Separation of Church & State. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "More than a decade after Roy S. Moore was ousted as Alabama's chief justice for defying federal court orders to remove a 5,280-pound stone slab of the commandments from the state judicial building, voters [in Alabama] will consider a constitutional amendment in November that would allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in schools and other public property across Alabama.... Those campaigning for it now say their goal is to get a case before Supreme Court, where they hope -- if a Justice Kavanaugh is on the bench -- a conservative majority will rule in favor of such displays." ...

... Aaron Rupar: "Minutes after Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in a state prison for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, his publicist read a statement to reporters linking Cosby with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.... Ignoring the difference between consensual sex and sexual assault, publicist Andrew Wyatt claimed that both Cosby and Kavanaugh are victims of America's 'sex war.' 'What is going on in Washington today with Judge Kavanaugh is part of that sex war that Judge O'Neill is a part of,' Wyatt said, referring to the judge who presided over Cosby's case."

Trump Gets Laughed off World Stage. John Bennett of Roll Call: "Other world leaders laughed Tuesday when ... Donald Trump began his UN General Assembly address by saying his administration has accomplished more than perhaps any in U.S. history. Trump smiled wide and looked around the hall as the laughter continued. 'Didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK,' he said. The laughter returned later when Trump turned to global energy prices. 'The United States stands ready to export our abundant, affordable supply of oil, clean coal and natural gas. OPEC -- and OPEC nations -- are, as usual, ripping off the rest of the world,' Trump said. 'And I don't like it. Nobody should like it.'" Mrs. McC: That's what happens when your audience isn't larded with handpicked nincompoops. Thanks to forrest m. for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "President Trump has long argued that the United States has been taken advantage of by other nations -- a 'laughing stock to the entire World' he said on Twitter in 2014.... But at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump got a comeuppance on the world's biggest stage. Delivering a speech that aimed to establish U.S. 'sovereignty' over the whims and needs of other nations, the president's triumphant moment was marred in the first minute when he was met by laughter -- at his expense. The embarrassing exchange came when Trump boasted that his administration had accomplished more over two years than 'almost any administration' in American history, eliciting audible guffaws in the cavernous chamber hall.... At the United Nations, Trump's claim to have done more in less than two years than most of the 44 previous administrations defied any bounds of reality -- or hubris. The difference was that he was not talking to a room full of excited, red-hat-wearing 'MAGA' supporters who cheer him on." ...

... David Nakamura & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Trump declared Tuesday that his administration will reject attempts from other nations to impose constraints on the United States, vowing to take action in world affairs based on his judgment over how it would benefit Americans. In a speech before world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, Trump issued sharp warning to the leaders Iran, Syria, Venezuela and China over what he described as their rogue behavior. But the president also made clear that the United States under his leadership would not be bound in its affairs by the consensus among traditional allies and partners." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Vox publishes a transcript of the full speech, as delivered, which the White House provided.

Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "Rod J. Rosenstein's departure seemed so certain this week that his boss's chief of staff told colleagues that he had been tapped by the White House to take over as second-in-command of the Justice Department, while another official would supervise the special counsel probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, people familiar with the matter said. But by Monday afternoon, the succession plan had been scrapped. Rosenstein, who told the White House he was willing to quit if President Trump wouldn't disparage him, would remain the deputy attorney general in advance of a high-stakes meeting on Thursday to discuss the future of his employment. The other officials, too, would go back to work, facing the prospect that in just days they could be leading the department through a historic crisis. Inside the Justice Department on Tuesday, officials still struggled to understand the events that nearly produced a seismic upheaval in their leadership ranks -- until it didn't -- and they braced for a potential repeat of that chaos later in the week.... While it remained possible that Rosenstein could still resign or be fired imminently, people inside and outside the department said it seemed increasingly more likely that Rosenstein would stay in the job until after November's elections and then depart, probably along with the attorney general. Two White House officials said Tuesday that Trump is unlikely to fire Rosenstein until after the midterms."

Hunter Walker of Yahoo! News: "Raj Shah, a deputy press secretary who has stepped behind the podium for numerous daily briefings, has told multiple people he plans to leave the West Wing following the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Shah has been leading the communications efforts in support of the confirmation process since Kavanaugh's nomination in July. Two sources familiar with Shah's thinking said he thought that helping to shepherd the successful confirmation would allow him to end his White House tenure on a high note." Mrs. McC: Ha ha. The best laid plan of Mister Shah gang aft a-gley.

Adolfo Flores of BuzzFeed News: "A memo signed by Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen contradicts statements she made at the height of the family separation crisis last spring that the administration did not have a policy of separating children from parents. Nielsen signed off on the option to prosecute all adults who crossed the border illegally, including those with kids, knowing it would lead to family separations.... 'DHS could also permissibly direct the separation of parents or legal guardians and minors held in immigration detention so that the parent or legal guardian can be prosecuted,' the memo said. When the administration was under fire for the family separations Nielsen told reporters 'This administration did not create a policy of separating families at the border.' Yet, the memo she signed states the effect of attempting to prosecute every adult at the border would result in children being separated from their parents." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: We knew she was lying then; we have proof now.

Khorri Atkinson of Axios: "An internal investigation has found that the head of FEMA, Brock Long, used unauthorized government vehicles and employees to drive him to his home in North Carolina and his family around Hawaii during a business trip that coincided with his family's spring break last year, costing taxpayers $151,000, per the WSJ."

About Those $52,000 Curtains. Brett Bruen in a Politico Magazine opinion piece: The New York Times, in a correction to its original story, blamed the Obama administration for the purchase of curtains for the United Nations ambassador's residence in New York City. But the contract was let in April 2017. Nikki "Haley was responsible for the purchase." More importantly, the contract was signed while the Trump administration was cutting off "many other essential services," like security for embassies in dangerous areas of the world. "What kind of public leader pursues costly upgrades to their residence even as their employees lack basic support?"

AP: "His Hollywood career and good-guy image in ruins, an 81-year-old Bill Cosby was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years behind bars for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman, becoming the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to be sent to prison." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... The New York Times story, by Graham Bowley & Jon Hurdle, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Commentariat -- Sept. 25, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

AP: "His Hollywood career and good-guy image in ruins, an 81-year-old Bill Cosby was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years behind bars for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman, becoming the first celebrity of the #MeToo era to be sent to prison." ...

     ... The New York Times story, by Graham Bowley & Jon Hurdle, is here.

Trump Attacks Kavanaugh's (Alleged) Victim. Mark Landler & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump accused Democrats on Tuesday of orchestrating 'a con game' against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh in hopes of stopping his confirmation to the Supreme Court and said that one of two women who have accused him of sexual misconduct as a student was 'messed up' and 'drunk' at the time. Dispensing again with the restraint that advisers have urged him to exercise, Mr. Trump went beyond defending Judge Kavanaugh into attack mode, saying that Democrats were 'making him into something he's not' as part of a strategy to 'delay and obstruct' his confirmation.... He went on to call it a con game a couple more times, and then spelled it out, 'C-O-N.' Mr. Trump singled out the latest accuser, Deborah Ramirez, who said in an interview with The New Yorker that Judge Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a drinking party while they were students at Yale University." ...

... Gang of Powerful Old Men Don't Have the Guts of One Woman. Elana Schor, et al., of Politico: "Senate Republicans have hired an attorney to use as a questioner of Christine Blasey Ford at Thursday's high-stakes hearing on a sexual assault allegation against ... Brett Kavanaugh but are declining to name her. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told Politico on Tuesday as he entered the Capitol for a weekly GOP meeting that 'we aren't announcing the name for her safety.' Asked if Republicans have received any indication of threats to the attorney they're preparing to use, Grassley said: 'I don';t know, but I guess we're just being cautious.'" ...

... Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Republican Party leaders may be insisting that they will install Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, but Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is offering a blunt warning of her own: Do not prejudge sexual assault allegations against the nominee that will be aired at an extraordinary public hearing on Thursday. 'We are now in a place where it's not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified,' Ms. Murkowski, a key swing Republican vote, said in an extended interview in the Capitol Monday night. 'It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed.' One of two Republican women in the Senate who supports abortion rights -- Susan Collins of Maine is the other -- Ms. Murkowski was always expected to be a critical vote in Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation process. But she is making clear that, beyond matters of abortion, she is deeply troubled by Christine Blasey Ford's story of a sexual assault by Judge Kavanaugh when she was 15 and he was 17."

Trump Gets Laughed off World Stage. John Bennett of Roll Call: "Other world leaders laughed Tuesday when ... Donald Trump began his UN General Assembly address by saying his administration has accomplished more than perhaps any in U.S. history. Trump smiled wide and looked around the hall as the laughter continued. 'Didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK,' he said. The laughter returned later when Trump turned to global energy prices. 'The United States stands ready to export our abundant, affordable supply of oil, clean coal and natural gas. OPEC -- and OPEC nations -- are, as usual, ripping off the rest of the world,' Trump said. 'And I don't like it. Nobody should like it.'" Mrs. McC: That's what happens when your audience isn't larded with handpicked nincompoops. Thanks to forrest m. for the lead. ...

... David Nakamura & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "President Trump declared Tuesday that his administration will reject attempts from other nations to impose constraints on the United States, vowing to take action in world affairs based on his judgment over how it would benefit Americans. In a speech before world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, Trump issued sharp warning to the leaders Iran, Syria, Venezuela and China over what he described as their rogue behavior. But the president also made clear that the United States under his leadership would not be bound in its affairs by the consensus among traditional allies and partners."

Maya Salam & Niraj Chokshi of the New York Times: "Survivors of sexual assault and their supporters stood shoulder to shoulder on the steps of New York’s City Hall on Monday, holding signs that read 'I believe Christine,' 'Misogyny bores me' and 'Block InJustice Kavanaugh.' In Washington, over 100 protesters were arrested after gathering in front of the Supreme Court and inside Senate office buildings. They were part of a series of protests across the country to show solidarity with Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, women who have publicly accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, of sexual assault and misconduct."

Lara Bazelon in a New York Times op-ed: "Republican senators have no problem trying Dr. Blasey in the court of public opinion. Senator [Orrin] Hatch has already made up his mind: Judge Kavanaugh is telling the truth and Dr. Blasey is simply 'mixed up.' Lindsey Graham, another Republican committee member, told The Washington Post, 'I'll listen to the lady,' then immediately implied the opposite. 'We're going to bring this to a close,' he said and called the accusation 'a drive-by shooting.' And yet, they are apparently too afraid to speak to her face to face.... Come on, gentlemen. Man up." ...

... Caitlin Flanagan of the Atlantic on Georgetown Prep, circa 1982. "There was ... -- as there always is in top Catholic schools that wish to be considered on the same intellectual and social plane as the great Protestant schools -- a constant, grinding, and not misplaced sense of inferiority among many of the students.... In a boys' school in the '80s, sexual frustration was combined with a casual misogyny -- if not of deed then of word -- that the authorities were in no way concerned about.... In the midst of it all (the Georgetown Prep way, the frat-boy tradition, the Irish problem -- who knows) seems to lie an ocean of alcohol."

*****

Statement by the Management: When my close friend the Constant Weader (ret.) started this job exactly ten years ago, she thought she would be posting one or two political news items a day & a bit of commentary on each to put that news into perspective. Okay, maybe a little more during high election season, but just enough so that readers could leisurely contemplate the implications of the major news stories of the day. That is not how it has worked out.

Happy Days! The Starr Chamber Gathers. That's Brett Kavanaugh standing next to Ken Starr to the left & Rod Rosenstein on the right wing of the couch.
Axios: "President Trump will meet with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at the White House on Thursday, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a Monday statement.... 'At the request of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he and President Trump had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories. Because the President is at the United Nations General Assembly and has a full schedule with leaders from around the world, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington, D.C.[,' Sanders said in the statement.&" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Michael Shear & Julie Davis of the New York Times: "Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, was considering resigning on Monday, days after private discussions were revealed in which he talked about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office and secretly taping him to expose chaos in the administration. Over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning. On Monday morning, Mr. Rosenstein was on his way to the White House to meet with Mr. Trump's chief of staff, John F. Kelly." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... The story has been updated, with others added to the byline. New Lede Plus: "When Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, headed to the White House on Monday morning, he was ready to resign and convinced -- wrongly, it turned out -- that President Trump was about to fire him. Top Justice Department aides scrambled to draft a statement about who would succeed him. By the afternoon, Mr. Rosenstein was back at his Pennsylvania Avenue office seven blocks away, still employed as the second-in-command at the Justice Department and, for the time being at least, still in charge of the Russia investigation. What happened in between was a confusing drama in which buzzy news reports of Mr. Rosenstein's imminent departure set in motion a dash to the White House, an offer to resign, Capitol Hill speculation about Mr. Rosenstein's successor and, finally, a reprieve from an out-of-town president." ...

     ... Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein has told White House officials he is willing to resign in the wake of revelations that he once suggested secretly recording the president, but it is unclear whether the resignation has been accepted, according to White House officials. One Justice Department official said Rosenstein was on his way to the White House Monday and is preparing to be fired. But the official said Rosenstein is not resigning.... Amid the conflicting accounts of whether Rosenstein would resign, be fired, or still be in his job at the end of the day, it was clear that his position at the Justice Department had never been more tenuous. One Trump adviser said the president has not been pressuring Rosenstein to leave the job, but his resignation was a topic of private discussions all weekend. The person said Rosenstein had expressed to others that he should resign because he 'felt very compromised' and the controversy hurt his ability to oversee the Russia probe, according to a person close to Trump." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: If Rosenstein goes & the dominos fall, we can thank the New York Times for its largely-misleading report about Rosenstein's supposed 25th-Amendment chatter. (The Times stuck by its story, but Washington Post & NBC News reporters largely discredited the story.) We can also thank the Times for exaggerating the Clinton e-mail! story, turning it from what it really was -- another case of Hillary's customary imperious disregard for rules that apply to others -- into a story of possible criminal malfeasance. ...

... Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair: "For all the morning's madness, there may have been an underlying logic. Over the weekend, as Brett Kavanaugh's prospects appeared increasingly imperiled, Trump faced two tactical options, both of them fraught. One was to cut Kavanaugh loose. But he was also looking for ways to dramatically shift the news cycle away from his embattled Supreme Court nominee. According to a source briefed on Trump's thinking, Trump decided that firing Rosenstein would knock Kavanaugh out of the news, potentially saving his nomination and Republicans' chances for keeping the Senate.... The leak about Rosenstein's resignation could have been the result, and it certainly had the desired effect of driving Kavanaugh out of the news for a few hours.... Trump is keeping his distance from the nominee. A White House official said he hasn't spoken with Kavanaugh in recent days. 'This is Brett Kavanaugh's fight,' the White House official said." Mrs. McC: The WashPo reports (linked below) that Trump phoned Kavanaugh Monday. Sherman has more on Trump's "thinking." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: If Sherman is right about Trump's "thinking" (or even if he's wrong), it makes a lot of sense for Trump to meet with Rosenstein on Thursday (as Sarah Sanders says he will do) & fire him then. Because, um, something else is happening on Thursday that will otherwise dominate the news cycle. ...

... Surprise, Surprise. Lachlan Markay & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump's legal team is calling for a pause of the investigation into Russian election meddling should deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation, resign or be fired. 'If in fact Rod Rosenstein does end up resigning today,' Trump attorney Jay Sekulow said on his radio program on Monday, 'I think it clearly becomes necessary and appropriate ... that there be a step back taken here, and a review, a review that has to be thorough and complete ... and basically a time out on this inquiry.' Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's lawyer and former New York City mayor, told The Daily Beast on Monday afternoon that he agrees with Sekulow's call for a cessation of the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, in the event of Rosenstein's ouster --; which was reported to be near as of Monday morning." ...

... Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "If Trump does fire Rosenstein, there is a good deal of uncertainty who has legal authority over the investigation. And the most likely suspect, [Noel] Francisco, may be ethically precluded from supervising this investigation.... As Georgetown law professor Marty Lederman points out, Francisco 'is probably recused from the Russia investigation (at a minimum), because Jones Day, his former firm, represents the Trump Campaign (unless there's been a change).' According to Lederman, Francisco has thus far taken his ethical obligation to recuse himself from cases involving his former firm fairly seriously, as Francisco has stepped away from 'all SCOTUS cases where Jones Day represents a party.'" --safari ...

... David Frum of The Atlantic: "If the president can browbeat Rosenstein into resigning -- or even plausibly misrepresent the firing as a resignation -- Trump gains the power to bypass the Senate confirmation process under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. He can replace Rosenstein with any serving official previously confirmed by the Senate to any other job. The issue of 'Did he resign or not?' is likely to end up being adjudicated by the Senate Judiciary Committee -- the same body that has proven itself so uninterested in getting to the true bottom of the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh.... The Trump White House has spread confusion in the past about whether appointees quit or were fired.... If Trump can sell the claim that Rosenstein resigned, he can buy himself substantial impunity for many months -- months in which the GOP may lose control of the Senate altogether. By the time a new Senate can reassert authority over the Department of Justice, the Mueller investigation may be long dead." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Since Rosenstein, according to the WashPo, has offered to resign, I think the point may be moot.

Kate Riga of TPM: "... Donald Trump on Monday affirmed his continuing support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh despite the second allegation of sexual misconduct against him that surfaced Sunday, saying that it's 'unfair,' 'unjust' and 'totally political.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "Despite their public projections of unity, Trump and his aides behind the scenes see Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) as having been too accommodating to Christine Blasey Ford.... The president has said that Republicans are too easily manipulated by Democrats, that he is sick of Ford's attorneys getting their way and that he does not believe her accusations are credible, according to a Republican briefed on Trump's private comments. Trump told Kavanaugh in a call Monday that he remained behind him and wished him luck in an interview scheduled later in the day with Fox News, a senior White House official said. The White House found itself grappling Monday with a second crisis as well -- the uncertain job status of Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Russia probe and is a frequent target of the president's ire. Rosenstein is expected to meet Thursday with Trump, and it remains unclear whether he intends to resign, will be fired or will remain in his post.... The one-two punch over Kavanaugh and Rosenstein marked the start of a potentially consequential week and again plunged the White House into tumult...." ...

... I Was a Virgin! Lisa Moraes of Deadline: "Brett Kavanaugh tonight took to Fox News Channel to deliver a whopper pre-buttal to Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who will appear Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss her sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee.... 'I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter, and the girls from the schools I went to and I were friends,' Kavanaugh told The Story host Martha MacCallum in the pre-taped interview." ...

... Here's a transcript, via USA Today, of the full interview. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Say, is that Tammy Wynette standing by her man? -- a man who cannot contain his tears saying, a la Little Jack Horner, what a good boy was I. ...

... Really, Brett. What About This? Kavanaugh's High School Yearbook Page Boasts He Had Sex with a Specific Woman. Kate Kelly & David Enrich of the New York Times: "Among the reminiscences ... about sports and booze ... [on] Brett Kavanaugh's page in his high school yearbook... is a mysterious entry: 'Renate Alumnius.' The word 'Renate' appears at least 14 times in Georgetown Preparatory School's 1983 yearbook, on individuals' pages and in a group photo of nine football players, including Judge Kavanaugh, who were described as the 'Renate Alumni.' It is a reference to Renate Schroeder, then a student at a nearby Catholic girls' school. Two of Judge Kavanaugh's classmates say the mentions of Renate were part of the football players' unsubstantiated boasting about their conquests. 'They were very disrespectful, at least verbally, with Renate,' said Sean Hagan, a Georgetown Prep student at the time, referring to Judge Kavanaugh and his teammates. 'I can't express how disgusted I am with them, then and now.'... I learned about these yearbook pages only a few days ago,' [Renate Schroeder] Dolphin said in a statement to The New York Times. 'I don't know what "Renate Alumnus" actually means..., but the insinuation is horrible, hurtful and simply untrue. I pray their daughters are never treated this way....'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In fairness to Brett, Schroeder says Brett & his friends were lying and did not have any sexual contact with her. Were you lying then or are you lying now, Brett? ...

... Brett Plays the Nixon Checkers* Card. Jeff Greenfield in Politico Magazine: "By appearing with his wife on Fox News on Monday night to defend himself against accusations of sexual misconduct, Kavanaugh threw himself into what Justice Felix Frankfurter called 'the political thicket.' He is seeking to rally support for his confirmation in the face of polls showing him to be an increasingly unpopular choice. There was nothing subtle about the choice of venue. Fox News is not only ... Donald Trump's loyal echo chamber during early morning and prime time, but it is also the network whose founder and most popular on-air personality were both fired for repeated acts of sexual misconduct. And it is the network whose former co-president, Bill Shine, now directs communication for the White House. The striking aspect of this strategy is that is makes no pretense about keeping Kavanaugh outside the boundaries of blatantly partisan political tactics.... By taking his defense to the news media, Kavanaugh has given an unmistakable acknowledgement that there is no difference between running for office and seeking a lifetime appointment to the federal bench."

     * Checkers. Just what Akhilleus wrote in yesterday's thread.

.... Little Brett Horner Vows to Pull out that Plum. Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh ... vowed on Monday to fight the 'smears,' saying he will not withdraw his nomination. 'These are smears, pure and simple. And they debase our public discourse,' he wrote in a letter to the senior Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'But they are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country. Such grotesque and obvious character assassination -- if allowed to succeed -- will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service.'... Senior Republicans, led by Senator Mitch McConnell..., are closing ranks around the nominee, and they echoed Judge Kavanaugh's claims, accusing Democrats of running 'a smear campaign' to derail his confirmation." ...

... Ed Kilgore: "Gone is the calm jurist who did a lot of stonewalling in his earlier testimony, but didn’t lose his cool. Now, emulating many of his defenders, he&'s going on the attack and presenting himself as the victim of 'smears' and 'character assassination' by people in a 'frenzy' to defeat his confirmation.... And eliminating any mystery about the approach he will take on Thursday, he rejects both sets of accusations as not worthy of consideration[.]... Kavanaugh's resort to ... raw fear of the loss of white male privilege is a sign that he's staking his survival on a backlash from the Republican Party's conservative base that stiffens the spines of GOP senators and keeps pressure on the two Republicans -- Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski -- could actually kill his confirmation. But ... Kavanaugh [also] may well be making it clear to the president that he won't take a bullet for the team and go away quietly -- and that if Trump tries to withdraw the nomination, he'll be exposed to his own electoral base as a loser and a coward, unwilling to fight the character assassins." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As a few pundits have pointed out, Supreme Court nominees don't go on the teevee. The Fox "News" interview was an unprecedented attempt to get a big promotion. ...

... Elaina Plott of the Atlantic: "On Monday morning, the White House hastily arranged a conference call with surrogates across the country to address the latest sexual-misconduct allegations levied against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. According to a source on the call, it was an unwelcome start to the day: Republicans had begun to breathe easier over the weekend, with Kavanaugh's second hearing finally confirmed. But a New Yorker story published Sunday night prompted yet another round of doubt about Kavanaugh's fate.... The White House was scrambling to assure its supporters that nothing had changed. The Republican line? 'Plow ahead.' That's how a staffer for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put it, according to the source on the call. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who was also on the line, called the New Yorker story a 'smear,' part of a 'vast left-wing conspiracy' to take down Kavanaugh for his judicial ideology.... According to emails shared with me, the White House also sent surrogates a series of tweets from Senator Lindsey Graham encouraging Republicans to hold the line." ...

... Don't Blame Republicans. Jesus Made Them Do It. Dylan Scott of Vox: "While Democrats are appalled, Republicans are listening to a different drummer: the conservative grassroots. Those voters want their Supreme Court justice confirmed, or else they are threatening to stay home on Election Day -- and that really could put the Republican majority at risk. Evangelicals are maybe the single cohort most loyal to Trump and therefore crucial in midterm elections, which will be a referendum on the president. They were already warning Republicans not to withdraw Kavanaugh or else risk electoral disaster before [Deborah] Ramirez came forward. They don't sound likely to change course now." ...

... Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "The Senate Judiciary Committee contacted Michael Avenatti after the lawyer claimed to represent a client who has damaging information about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Update. Chris Woodyard & Jorge Ortiz of USA Today: "A third woman accusing ... Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct will come forward in the next 48 hours, according to Michael Avenatti.... Following a Monday hearing over [Stormy] Daniels' lawsuit against Trump and ... Michael Cohen over a hush-money deal, Avenatti told reporters he has been hired by a former employee of both the State Department and the U.S. Mint who has information of a sexual nature about Kavanaugh and his high school friend Mark Judge. 'It will relate to how they behaved at countless house parties," Avenatti said." ...

... Teevee pundit John Heilemann remembers Kavanaugh buddy Mark Judge: "Mark Judge in 1987-88 frequented a bar where John was then a bartender: 'He was an obnoxious, slovenly, disrespectful, thuggish drunk.'" -- Sahil Kapur, in a tweet ...

... Brian Karem of the (Montgomery County, Maryland) Sentinel: "Investigators in Montgomery County confirmed Monday they're aware of a potential second sexual assault complaint in the county against former Georgetown Prep student and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. While investigators weren't specific and spoke on background, they said they are looking at allegations against Kavanaugh during his senior year in high school after an anonymous witness came forward this weekend. This would potentially bring the number to four women accusing Kavanaugh of wrongdoing and comes after Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale college student, stepped forward this weekend to accuse Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her in college, and after attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted out a message saying he represents a woman with 'credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Steven Nelson of the Washington Examiner: "The chief of police in Montgomery County, Md., says his officers are not looking into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, appearing to contradict a local news report that 'investigators' were looking at a potential second high school misconduct allegation.... The local publication did not identify the 'investigators' as police, but ordinarily police would investigate an alleged crime before a decision on whether to prosecute." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Amnesty International: "Amnesty International USA [Monday] called on a halt to a vote on President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States unless and until any information relevant to Kavanaugh's possible involvement in human rights violations -- including in relation to the U.S. government's use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, such as during the CIA detention program -- is declassified and made public." ...

... Sometimes Smear Campaigns Don't Go All That Well

      ... Adam Raymond of New York: The Republican National Committee published a list of "7 very serious problems with the New Yorker story" about Deborah Ramirez's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. No 5: "The accuser is supposedly 'not politically motivated,' but is a registered Democrat who also 'works toward human rights, social justice, and social change.'" Raymond: "In this context, working toward 'human rights, social justice, and social change' is a negative quality. The RNC is suggesting that a dedication to such things inherently puts one at odds with the GOP. We already knew that, of course, but it's nice to see the RNC admit it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... AND George Soros! ...

National Review columnist John Fund is offering "sincere apologies" for spreading false information about Kavanaugh accuser Deborah Ramirez. Last week, a number of false claims spread through RW media about Christine Blasey Ford, misidentifying her w/a women of the same name. pic.twitter.com/UycpC85Muf

— andrew kaczynski🧐 (@KFILE) September 24, 2018

 

     ... AND. Matt Shuham of TPM: "Two people [Louisa Garry and Dino Ewing, the former of whom starred in a recent Judicial Crisis Network ad supporting Kavanaugh] who signed onto a statement sowing doubt about the New Yorker's recent report of a second allegation of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh withdrew their names from that statement on Monday, emphasizing that they were 'not present' when the alleged incident occurred and therefore 'cannot dispute' allegations from Deborah Ramirez.... The New Yorker said in an update Monday that the statement had been 'provided by [Kavanaugh's] attorneys.' The New Yorker subsequently removed Garry and Ewing's names from the statement." --safari ...

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "Its becoming harder to view the hurry [to confirm Kavanaugh] as anything other than an attempt to move the process along without hearing the allegations.... Although Kavanaugh’s defenders have complained that these allegations are unfair because they emerged at the last minute, that’s in part because the process has been so fast. The White House has consistently failed to find weaknesses in candidates' resumes, and a more deliberate vetting process might have allowed them to be prepared for allegations against Kavanaugh.... The Judiciary Committee was also relying on press help from an aide named Garrett Ventry. But Ventry was a temporary employee, detailed from a conservative public-relations firm that helped push a bogus debunking of the Kavanaugh allegations. Moreover, he was made to resign after NBC News revealed that he had been forced out of an earlier job after a sexual-harassment allegation.... Kavanaugh may still be confirmed, but the rush has created conditions that both endanger his nomination and undermine any political gain Republicans sought to make." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Andrew Cohen in the New Republic: "This notion that Kavanaugh can convince America that he is innocent by producing his calendar from 1982 is patently absurd in a process in which live witnesses are barred from providing their insight about what Kavanaugh's life was like in those days. It wasn't going to fly when Ford was the only accuser. It's certainly not going to fly now that Ramirez has stepped forward.... The man who preached 'judicial independence' during his listless testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month ... spent parts of at least four days last week at the White House being 'prepped' for his looming confrontation with Ford. Prepped, that is, by the very executive branch officials whose presidential privilege claims he may be asked to adjudicate ... if he ascends to the High Court. That's not judicial independence. That's a conflict of interest.... Kavanaugh is being coached in great detail to clap together precisely the right phrases during his next round of public testimony that will allow Vichy Republicans like Susan Collins or Jeff Flake to declare themselves satisfied that he's not an attempted rapist." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Matt Yglesias of Vox: "There is one thing that I -- who, like most Americans, did not follow his career pre-selection -- really know about Brett Kavanaugh: He is willing to fib to get a Supreme Court seat. When ... Donald Trump announced Kavanaugh's selection..., these were the first three sentences Kavanaugh uttered to introduce himself to the American public: 'Mr. President, thank you. Throughout this process, I've witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary. No president has ever consulted more widely, or talked with more people from more backgrounds, to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination.' Neither ... is true.... It sounds a little old-fashioned in the Trump era, but you are genuinely not supposed to pull up to a microphone in the White House and say stuff that isn't true. And you're not supposed to mislead Congress -- even if you manage to do so in ways that don't meet the legal standard for perjury." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Rebecca Traister of New York: "There is so much I don't know about what's going to happen next, whether on the Supreme Court or in the midterm elections or when it comes to the fate of the Trump administration or the future of the Democratic Party. But what I do know with absolute assurance is that we are living through a period in which women are enacting crucial, swift, large-scale social and political change. That change is happening whether or not Republicans push Kavanaugh through, whether or not Democrats take the House or the Senate. The change is not simply (or perhaps, not yet) about outcomes, but rather about expectations and what it's okay to talk about and when." ...

... Michelle Goldberg: "Regardless of what happens to Kavanaugh..., this scandal has given us an X-ray view of the rotten foundations of elite male power. Despite Donald Trump's populist posturing, there are few people more obsessed with Ivy League credentials. Kavanaugh's nomination shows how sick the cultures that produce those credentials -- and thus our ruling class -- can be.... In the rarefied social world that produces so many of our putative leaders, a young man who frequently gets blackout drunk, as Kavanaugh reportedly did, is a fun guy.... His story shows, in lurid microcosm, how a certain class of men guard and perpetuate their privileges. Women who struggle ceaselessly to be smart enough, attractive enough, ambitious enough and likable enough have been playing a rigged game."

POTUS* Insults Own Citizens. Ken Thomas of the AP: "President Donald Trump on Monday declared himself an 'absolute no' on statehood for Puerto Rico as long as critics such as San Juan's mayor remain in office, the latest broadside in his feud with members of the U.S. territory's leadership. Trump lobbed fresh broadsides at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, a critic of his administration's response to hurricanes on the island last year, during a radio interview with Fox News' Geraldo Rivera that aired Monday. 'With the mayor of San Juan as bad as she is and as incompetent as she is, Puerto Rico shouldn't be talking about statehood until they get some people that really know what they're doing,' Trump said in an interview with Rivera's show on Cleveland's WTAM radio." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is classic Trump projection. He knows his administration was criminally incompetent in its response to Maria, especially in comparison to its responses to earlier mainland hurricanes, so he calls a San Juan official so "incompetent" the entire territory must be punished. Instead of "Crooked Hillary," Trump's campaign "answer" to his own shady character, now it's "Incompetent Carmen." And, yeah, extra points for dissing another female leader. ...

... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Trump’s assessment brought a rebuke from Ricardo Rosselló, the governor of the commonwealth, who has been making a stepped-up effort to persuade Trump and Congress to support statehood in the wake of the anniversary of the storm. 'This is an insensitive, disrespectful comment to over 3& million Americans who live in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico,' Rosselló said in a statement in which he also lamented 'the unequal and colonial relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.'"

Joe Romm of ThinkProgress: "One of the biggest myths about global warming pushed by ... President Trump is that climate action benefits other countries much more than us. But a new study in the journal Nature Climate Change makes clear that, in fact, the reverse is true: There is only one country in the world, India, that benefits more than the United States when carbon pollution is reduced.... The study found that India suffered the most from additional carbon pollution followed by the United States -- and thus have the most to gain economically from climate action, whether at home or internationally." --safari

Rosa Smith of The Atlantic: "There's an eerie symmetry between Donald Trump and The Great Gatsby's Tom Buchanan, as if the villain of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel had been brought to life in a louder, gaudier guise for the 21st century.... [T]heir shared personality traits are the product of their shared relationship to power -- the casual unreflective certainty that comes from inheritance, and enables its holders to wield its blunt force as both a weapon and a shield. Such power has its own logic; it responds not to social or moral rules, but to what it perceives as danger. It's for these reasons that in 2018, The Great Gatsby reads like a warning. For as much as it is a story about the American Dream, it is also a story about power under threat, and of how that power, lashing out, can render truth irrelevant." --safari

Paul Krugman: "... Republicans have decisively lost the battle of ideas. All of their major policy moves, on health care, taxes and tariffs, are playing badly with voters. In fact, Republican policies are so unpopular that the party's candidates are barely trying to sell them. Instead, they're pretending to stand for things they actually don't -- like protecting health coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions — or trying to distract voters with culture war and appeals to white racial identity. The G.O.P. has become the party of no ideas." ...

... Andy Borowitz: "The Republican Party officially filed for moral bankruptcy on Tuesday morning, a move that many in the nation considered long overdue.... Harland Dorrinson, a Washington attorney who specializes in moral bankruptcies, said that, by making its moral vacuum official, the G.O.P. could theoretically break itself up and sell off the parts, but, he warned, 'There are no buyers.'"

Election 2018

Missouri Senate Race. Addy Baird of ThinkProgress: "Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is currently running for Senate against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), put out an ad Monday afternoon touting his commitment to protecting people with pre-existing conditions, despite currently working as part of a lawsuit that aims to end protections for pre-existing conditions." --safari

Texas Senate Race. Daniel Drezner of the Washington Post: "Last Friday, [Ted] Cruz tweeted out that, 'Over and over again Congressman O'Rourke -- when faced with police and law enforcement -- he sides against the police.'" In his next tweet, embedded in yesterday's Commentariat, Cruz tweeted a video clip of O'Rourke speaking at a black church against the murder-by-cop of a black man inside his own home. Cruz comments in this tweet only "In Beto O'Rourke's own words." "The only possible reason I can see for showing O'Rourke's perfectly sane words without comment is because it has nothing to do with his words and everything to do with the visual. O'Rourke delivers this speech at an African American church, and the churchgoers react in an extremely energetic manner. That is the image that Ted Cruz wants his supporters to see, because he thinks it is the image that will mobilize his supporters into disliking O'Rourke and voting against him.... He thinks bigotry will get out the GOP vote in the state of Texas. As Marginal Revolution's Alex Tabarrok notes, 'It's shocking that Ted Cruz thinks tweeting this helps him. It's even more shocking if he is right.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Zack Ford of ThinkProgress: "Two different federal courts granted rulings [in Minnesota & Wisconsin] last week in favor of allowing transgender people to access the medically necessary care prescribed to them by their doctors. The rulings confirm the Affordable Care Act's protections on the basis of sex extend to transgender people." --safari

David Dayen of The Intercept: "The Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a university-based think tank funded by outside interests including the Koch family foundations, uses a private email server for its communications, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation. The setup allows Mercatus employees to have '@mercatus.gmu.edu' addresses, without the content of the emails passing through the university email system. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, emails from a publicly funded university could be considered public records, and having a private email server would help get around that requirement. The Mercatus Center at George Mason University did not respond to questions about why they have a private server for their emails." --safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Unsolved Mysteries. German Lopez of Vox: "If you murder someone in America, there's a nearly 40 percent chance you'll get away with it. If you severely assault someone, there's a 50 percent chance. And if you commit any other crime, there's a good chance you'll get away with that, too. That's the takeaway from the FBI's latest data on crime in the US." With charts. --safari

Elisha Fieldstadt & Adam Reiss of NBC News, & the AP: "A psychologist testified during Bill Cosby's sentencing hearing Monday that he is a 'sexually violent predator,' saying evidence shows that he can't stop himself from violating women and would probably do so again if he could. The hearing at a courtroom outside Philadelphia comes five months after Cosby was convicted for sexual assault against Andrea Constand, 45." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Update. Eric Levenson & Aaron Cooper of CNN: "Bill Cosby had potentially faced up to 30 years in prison, but he now faces a maximum of 10 years after prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to merge the three counts of his conviction into one for sentencing purposes. Prosecutors asked a judge on Monday to sentence Cosby to five to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, saying he had shown 'no remorse' for his actions."

Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "The world's most used weedkiller damages the beneficial bacteria in the guts of honeybees and makes them more prone to deadly infections, new research has found.... Glyphosate, manufactured by Monsanto, targets an enzyme only found in plants and bacteria. However, the new study shows that glyphosate damages the microbiota that honeybees need to grow and to fight off pathogens. The findings show glyphosate, the most used agricultural chemical ever, may be contributing to the global decline in bees, along with the loss of habitat." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Absent bees, we'll all die, people. Thanks, Monsanto.

Beyond the Beltway

Blake Paterson of ProPublica: "In June, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation mandating that all early voting sites in the state remain open for uniform hours on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., a move supporters argued would reduce confusion and ultimately make early voting easier and more accessible.... A ProPublica analysis of polling locations shows that North Carolina's 2018 midterm election will have nearly 20 percent fewer early voting locations than there were in 2014. Nearly half of North Carolina's 100 counties are shutting down polling places, in part because of the new law. Poorer rural counties, often strapped for resources to begin with, are having a particularly difficult time adjusting to the new requirement." --safari

E.A. Crunden of ThinkProgress: "Delaware has become the latest state to take a hard line against offshore fossil fuel efforts, with a bipartisan push to protect the coastal state's waters from oil and gas development. Two bills allowing Delaware to both withhold permits from oil and gas drillers offshore and pursue legal action against them were signed into law on Thursday by Gov. John Carney (D)." --safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kalinda Kindle of KTUU, Anchorage, Alaska: "On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Michael Corey dismissed Justin Schneider's case of kidnapping and first-degree harassment. Many Alaskans like Elizabeth Williams, say they are outraged by the decision. Williams said she started a Facebook page called NO retention for Judge Michael Corey that quickly gained traction urging Alaskans to vote no for the retention of Judge Michael Corey during the November election. 'We are also putting pressure on the assistant district attorney and we are saying why didn't you advocate for this woman,' Williams said.... Schneider was sentenced to two years imprisonment with one year suspended and will receive no jail time." ...

... Amy Wang of the Washington Post: Schneider was "arrested last August after police said he offered a woman a ride from a gas station, stopping on the side of a road and asking her to step out under the pretense of loading items into the car, choking her until she lost consciousness, then masturbating on her.... Schneider was given credit for a year under house arrest, meaning he would not serve additional time in prison.... Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Andrew Grannik, the prosecutor in the case who said he had made the plea deal because Schneider had no prior criminal record and seemed amenable to rehabilitation, according to the Alaska Star. Grannik had said in court that he had 'reasonable expectations' that Schneider would not offend again. 'But I would like the gentleman to be on notice that that is his one pass. It's not really a pass, but given the conduct, one might consider that it is,' Grannik said then. On social media, people seized on the 'one pass' comment and demanded that Grannik be given the boot along with the judge. Meanwhile, Alaska state officials have acknowledged the outrage but said that, while Schneider's conduct was 'very disturbing,' Corey and Grannik were constrained by sentencing laws." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Schneider is white; his victim is Native American.

The Commentariat -- Sept. 24, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Elisha Fieldstadt & Adam Reiss of NBC News, & the AP: "A psychologist testified during Bill Cosby's sentencing hearing Monday that he is a 'sexually violent predator,' saying evidence shows that he can't stop himself from violating women and would probably do so again if he could. The hearing at a courtroom outside Philadelphia comes five months after Cosby was convicted for sexual assault against Andrea Constand, 45."

Axios: "President Trump will meet with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at the White House on Thursday, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a Monday statement.... 'At the request of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, he and President Trump had an extended conversation to discuss the recent news stories. Because the President is at the United Nations General Assembly and has a full schedule with leaders from around the world, they will meet on Thursday when the President returns to Washington, D.C.[,' Sanders said in the statement." ...

... Michael Shear & Julie Davis of the New York Times: "Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, was considering resigning on Monday, days after private discussions were revealed in which he talked about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office and secretly taping him to expose chaos in the administration. Over the weekend, Mr. Rosenstein called a White House official and said he was considering quitting, and a person close to the White House said he was resigning. On Monday morning, Mr. Rosenstein was on his way to the White House to meet with Mr. Trump's chief of staff, John F. Kelly." ...

     ... Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein has told White House officials he is willing to resign in the wake of revelations that he once suggested secretly recording the president, but it is unclear whether the resignation has been accepted, according to White House officials. One Justice Department official said Rosenstein was on his way to the White House Monday and is preparing to be fired. But the official said Rosenstein is not resigning.... Amid the conflicting accounts of whether Rosenstein would resign, be fired, or still be in his job at the end of the day, it was clear that his position at the Justice Department had never been more tenuous. One Trump adviser said the president has not been pressuring Rosenstein to leave the job, but his resignation was a topic of private discussions all weekend. The person said Rosenstein had expressed to others that he should resign because he 'felt very compromised' and the controversy hurt his ability to oversee the Russia probe, according to a person close to Trump." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: If Rosenstein goes & the dominoes fall, we can thank the New York Times for its largely-misleading report about Rosenstein's supposed 25th-Amendment chatter. (The Times stuck by its story, but Washington Post & NBC News reporters largely discredited the story.) We can also thank the Times for exaggerating the Clinton e-mail! story, turning it from what it really was -- another case of Hillary's customary imperious disregard for rules that apply to others -- into a story of possible criminal malfeasance.

Kate Riga of TPM: "... Donald Trump on Monday affirmed his continuing support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh despite the second allegation of sexual misconduct against him that surfaced Sunday, saying that it's 'unfair,' 'unjust' and 'totally political.'" ...

Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "The Senate Judiciary Committee contacted Michael Avenatti after the lawyer claimed to represent a client who has damaging information about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh." ...

... Brian Karem of the (Montgomery County, Maryland) Sentinel: "Investigators in Montgomery County confirmed Monday they're aware of a potential second sexual assault complaint in the county against former Georgetown Prep student and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. While investigators weren't specific and spoke on background, they said they are looking at allegations against Kavanaugh during his senior year in high school after an anonymous witness came forward this weekend. This would potentially bring the number to four women accusing Kavanaugh of wrongdoing and comes after Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale college student, stepped forward this weekend to accuse Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her in college, and after attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted out a message saying he represents a woman with 'credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge.'" ...

     ... Steven Nelson of the Washington Examiner: "The chief of police in Montgomery County, Md., says his officers are not looking into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, appearing to contradict a local news report that 'investigators' were looking at a potential second high school misconduct allegation.... The local publication did not identify the 'investigators' as police, but ordinarily police would investigate an alleged crime before a decision on whether to prosecute." ...

... Adam Raymond of New York: The Republican National Committee published a list of "7 very serious problems with the New Yorker story" about Deborah Ramirez's allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. No 5: "The accuser is supposedly 'not politically motivated,' but is a registered Democrat who also 'works toward human rights, social justice, and social change.'" Raymond: "In this context, working toward 'human rights, social justice, and social change' is a negative quality. The RNC is suggesting that a dedication to such things inherently puts one at odds with the GOP. We already knew that, of course, but it's nice to see the RNC admit it."

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "It's becoming harder to view the hurry [to confirm Kavanaugh] as anything other than an attempt to move the process along without hearing the allegations.... Although Kavanaugh's defenders have complained that these allegations are unfair because they emerged at the last minute, that's in part because the process has been so fast. The White House has consistently failed to find weaknesses in candidates' resumes, and a more deliberate vetting process might have allowed them to be prepared for allegations against Kavanaugh.... The Judiciary Committee was also relying on press help from an aide named Garrett Ventry. But Ventry was a temporary employee, detailed from a conservative public-relations firm that helped pusha bogus debunking of the Kavanaugh allegations. Moreover, he was made to resign after NBC News revealed that he had been forced out of an earlier job after a sexual-harassment allegation.... Kavanaugh may still be confirmed, but the rush has created conditions that both endanger his nomination and undermine any political gain Republicans sought to make." ...

... Andrew Cohen in the New Republic: "This notion that Kavanaugh can convince America that he is innocent by producing his calendar from 1982 is patently absurd in a process in which live witnesses are barred from providing their insight about what Kavanaugh's life was like in those days. It wasn't going to fly when Ford was the only accuser. It's certainly not going to fly now that Ramirez has stepped forward.... The man who preached 'judicial independence' during his listless testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month ... spent parts of at least four days last week at the White House being 'prepped' for his looming confrontation with Ford. Prepped, that is, by the very executive branch officials whose presidential privilege claims he may be asked to adjudicate ... if he ascends to the High Court. That's not judicial independence. That's a conflict of interest.... Kavanaugh is being coached in great detail to clap together precisely the right phrases during his next round of public testimony that will allow Vichy Republicans like Susan Collins or Jeff Flake to declare themselves satisfied that he's not an attempted rapist." ...

... Matt Yglesias of Vox: "There’s a fundamental problem for Kavanaugh in a he-said, she-said context. There is one thing that I -- who, like most Americans, did not follow his career pre-selection -- really know about Brett Kavanaugh: He is willing to fib to get a Supreme Court seat. When ... Donald Trump announced Kavanaugh's selection..., these were the first three sentences Kavanaugh uttered to introduce himself to the American public: 'Mr. President, thank you. Throughout this process, I've witnessed firsthand your appreciation for the vital role of the American judiciary. No president has ever consulted more widely, or talked with more people from more backgrounds, to seek input about a Supreme Court nomination.' Neither ... is true.... It sounds a little old-fashioned in the Trump era, but you are genuinely not supposed to pull up to a microphone in the White House and say stuff that isn't true. And you're not supposed to mislead Congress -- even if you manage to do so in ways that don't meet the legal standard for perjury."

Daniel Drezner of the Washington Post: "Last Friday, [Ted] Cruz tweeted out that, 'Over and over again Congressman O'Rourke -- when faced with police and law enforcement -- he sides against the police.'" In his next tweet, embedded in yesterday's Commentariat, Cruz tweeted a video clip of O'Rourke speaking at a black church against the murder-by-cop of a black man inside his own home. Cruz comments in this tweet only "In Beto O'Rourke's own words." "The only possible reason I can see for showing O'Rourke's perfectly sane words without comment is because it has nothing to do with his words and everything to do with the visual. O'Rourke delivers this speech at an African American church, and the churchgoers react in an extremely energetic manner. That is the image that Ted Cruz wants his supporters to see, because he thinks it is the image that will mobilize his supporters into disliking O'Rourke and voting against him.... He thinks bigotry will get out the GOP vote in the state of Texas. As Marginal Revolution's Alex Tabarrok notes, 'It's shocking that Ted Cruz thinks tweeting this helps him. It's even more shocking if he is right.'"

E.A. Crunden of ThinkProgress: "Delaware has become the latest state to take a hard line against offshore fossil fuel efforts, with a bipartisan push to protect the coastal state's waters from oil and gas development. Two bills allowing Delaware to both withhold permits from oil and gas drillers offshore and pursue legal action against them were signed into law on Thursday by Gov. John Carney (D)." --safari

David Dayen of The Intercept: "The Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a university-based think tank funded by outside interests including the Koch family foundations, uses a private email server for its communications, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation. The setup allows Mercatus employees to have '@mercatus.gmu.edu' addresses, without the content of the emails passing through the university email system. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, emails from a publicly funded university could be considered public records, and having a private email server would help get around that requirement." --safari

*****

The Party of Youthful Indiscretions Rapists

** You Knew This Was Coming. Ronan Farrow & Jane Mayer of the New Yorker: "As Senate Republicans press for a swift vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh..., Senate Democrats are investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. The claim dates to the 1983-84 academic school year, when Kavanaugh was a freshman at Yale University.... Senior Republican staffers also learned of the allegation last week and, in conversations with The New Yorker, expressed concern about its potential impact on Kavanaugh's nomination. Soon after, Senate Republicans issued renewed calls to accelerate the timing of a committee vote.... 'This is another serious, credible, and disturbing allegation against Brett Kavanaugh. It should be fully investigated,' Senator Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, said. An aide in one of the other Senate offices added, 'These allegations seem credible, and we're taking them very seriously. If established, they're clearly disqualifying.' The woman at the center of the story, Deborah Ramirez ... attended Yale with Kavanaugh.... She remembers Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.... 'Somebody yelled down the hall, "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie's face,"' she said.... Kavanaugh was eighteen, and legally an adult. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh swore under oath that as a legal adult he had never 'committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature.'" Ramirez was intoxicated at the time of the (alleged) incident. Farrow & Mayer also reference accounts consistent with Michael Avenatti's claims, linked next. The remarks Elizabeth Rasor, a one-time girlfriend of Mark Judge, made to them are significant. ...

     ... Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Let's be clear: [t]he Republican leadership knew about the second allegation, and their response was to try to hasten the process to get him confirmed to a lifetime appointment the Constitution makes it essentially impossible to be removed from. Whether they confirm Kavanaugh or another hack this is what the Republican Party is. Trump is a logical manifestation of the party's coalition, not an usurper." ...

     ... digby: "[Republicans] wouldn't let the FBI investigate. They concocted a ridiculous 'doppleganger' conspiracy theory and blamed an innocent man for the assault. They went nuts trying to get him on the court before anyone found out. What scumbags they all are." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I'd also like to know how thorough a background check the FBI did on Kavanaugh. I've been cold-called by FBI agents who were doing routine checks on my neighbors who were applying for much, much less important federal jobs, and probably you have, too. Is Kavanaugh's background file full of allegations of sexual violence & binge-drinking? What about the files the FBI compiled on him for earlier jobs? Is it possible the FBI never found anything on him? Did the FBI accidentally forget to ask friends & neighbors what they had observed? Did the Bush & Trump administrations pressure the FBI to do only cursory background checks? And/or did the friends & neighbors circle the wagons & lie to the FBI? If reporters could turn up this info in a few weeks, why couldn't the FBI? Or did it?

... Julie Davis of the New York Times: "As the risk that Judge Kavanaugh's nomination could collapse has mounted -- a new allegation of sexual misconduct published by The New Yorker on Sunday night raised fresh questions about whether he could survive -- Mr. Trump has been forced into the role of spectator. The president was briefed on the allegation on Sunday, according to people in contact with him, and was remaining firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh, who is also scheduled to testify before the committee and who has vehemently denied the allegations. But one of the people said the president argued that the new charge showed why the White House should have fought back against Dr. Blasey from the beginning." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In other words, those wimpy Republicans who wouldn't do more than try to rush Kavanaugh's confirmation despite allegations of a violent sexual assault, should have done much more (and they did indeed do plenty) to trash the (alleged) victim. Not a one of them thought it would be a good idea to seek the truth of the allegations or request more research on Kavanaugh's substance abuse. Just put the fucker on the Supreme Court for life so I Trump can have a "win" and women will die. ...

... Jonathan Swan & Mike Allen of Axios: "Brett Kavanaugh's allies plan to aggressively contest what they call the 'foggy memories' of his accusers -- an approach that's likely to lead to nasty confrontations at Thursday's showdown hearing on his confirmation to the Supreme Court.... The plan is to fight back right away, and to emphasize denials and hazy recollections. And the mission is to portray the debate as cheap-shot politics orchestrated by liberals and abetted by the media." ...

... Jonathan Chait: "Brett Kavanaugh's primary and most plausible defense against the charge that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford was that Brett Kavanaugh would never do such a thing.... A new revelation by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow of the New Yorker explodes that defense.... Mayer and Farrow further subvert Kavanaugh's generalized defense, by quoting classmates skeptical of the testimonials that were procured on his behalf.... It seems highly unlikely, though not impossible, that he will ever be confirmed.... President Trump ... has defaulted to his initial instinct to discount the attacks and press forward. [Heidi Przybyla of] NBC News reports that Trump had two conversations about the allegation on Sunday and expressed no change in position on his judicial nominee. Maggie Haberman [of the NYT] likewise reports that Trump is sticking with Kavanaugh (for now), and sees the new allegations as reason to believe his allies should have fought harder to discredit the previous ones. Trump and his allies ... fear and resent the power of allegations of sexual assault to threaten men in power.... Kavanaugh is massive liability now for a party that is already heavily identified with the grossest and most predatory aspects of male sexual entitlement. Keeping Kavanaugh at this point would be an act of sheer madness." ...

... ** Kate Feldman of the New York Daily News: "Lawyer Michael Avenatti told the Senate Judiciary Committee late Sunday that he has multiple witnesses who can say Brett Kavanaugh participated in gang rapes of drunken women during high school. 'We are aware of significant evidence of multiple house parties in the Washington, D.C. area during the early 1980s during which Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge and others would participate in the targeting of women with alcohol/drugs in order to allow a "train" of men to subsequently gang rape them,' Avenatti said in an email to Mike Davis, chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee." Read on. Avenatti suggested lines of questioning of Kavanaugh. ...

     ... Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "Avenatti told Politico he represents a group of individuals who can corroborate allegations involving Kavanaugh and his longtime friend [Mark Judge] in the 1980s. Avenatti said he'd describe just one of the individuals as a victim. 'She will testify,' he said. 'But before she does, she will likely appear on camera for an interview.'... 'I represent multiple clients, they are witnesses. I'm representing multiple individuals that have knowledge of this, there's no other attorneys involved,' Avenatti told Politico. Asked if the witnesses attended Georgetown Prep's sister school, he said they went beyond that. 'They went to schools in the same general areas. These house parties were widely attended.' Avenatti said his new claims are 'not out of character from what Dr. Ford said.'" ...

... Josh Marshall: "... all hell has broken loose over the last hour or so in the already chaotic and ugly Kavanaugh confirmation process.... Avenatti is usually able to back up his claims. Or, perhaps better to say, when he has something, he usually does ... have something.... Finally a short time ago, Senator Feinstein sent a letter to Senator Grassley asking for an immediate postponement of all Kavanaugh proceedings." ...

... Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers has committed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, her lawyers said on Sunday. The lawyers said some details -- including whether an outside lawyer will question her -- still needed to be resolved, but that those issues would not impede holding a hearing. The agreement, reached after an hourlong negotiating session Sunday morning between the lawyers and committee aides, is the latest step in a halting process toward a potentially explosive hearing that will pit the woman, Christine Blasey Ford, against Judge Kavanaugh.... On Saturday, the two sides reached a tentative agreement for Dr. Ford to appear on Thursday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... The story has been updated, with Nicholas Fandos added to the byline. "... not long after the agreement was reached, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee's top Democrat, wrote to Mr. Grassley requesting 'an immediate postponement of any further proceedings related to the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh,' citing a second accusation of misconduct that surfaced against him on Sunday and asking that the allegation be referred to the F.B.I." ...

... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has calendars from the summer of 1982 that he plans to hand over to the Senate Judiciary Committee that do not show a party consistent with the description of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, according to someone working for his confirmation.... The calendar pages from June, July and August 1982, which were examined by The New York Times, show that Judge Kavanaugh was out of town much of the summer at the beach or away with his parents. When he was at home, the calendars list his basketball games, movie outings, football workouts and college interviews. A few parties are mentioned but include names of friends other than those identified by Dr. Blasey." Mrs. McC: A "party" of five people, with one of them wearing a bathing suit under her clothes, sounds like an impromptu get-together, possibly after another event. One might enter it in a diary after-the-fact but, since it sounds unplanned, it wouldn't go into a calendar that served as a date reminder. ...

... Naomi Lim of the Washington Examiner: "Democrats are poised to ask questions about the drinking culture of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's high school when the judge faces the Senate Judiciary Committee following a sexual misconduct allegation. 'We want to hear -- I would be wanting to hear what kind of environment it was in high school,' Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said Sunday during an interview with CNN's 'State of the Union.'" Mrs. McC: Actually, I'd like to know if Kavanaugh is still a heavy drinker. It sounds as if his binge-drinking went on during his college years, and since then he has held a number of high-stress jobs. In addition, his gambling habit suggests he has an addictive personality. Let's hear about his drug usage, too. It seems likely that a heavy drinker of Kavanaugh's age would have used other stimulants & downers. ...

... Lindsey Graham Is a Sexist Ignoramus. Ian Kullgren of Politico: "Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday the testimony of Brett Kavanaugh's accuser won't change his mind, no matter what she says. 'You can't bring it in a criminal court, you would never sue civilly, you couldn't even get a warrant,' Graham said on 'Fox News Sunday' with Chris Wallace. 'What am I supposed to do? Go ahead and ruin this guy's life based on an accusation? I don't know when it happened, I don't know where it happened, and everybody named in regard to being there said it didn't happen.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Update. Mrs. McCrabbie: Graham is on the Judiciary Committee. So he knew about Deborah Ramirez's allegation when he told Wallace that Ford's testimony wouldn't change his mind. We can assume then that he's also okay with Brett's (allegedly) flashing his cock right up in a young woman's face. But, please, let's not ruin Brett's life. ...

     ... Update Update. My supposition that Graham already knew about Ramirez's allegation might be incorrect -- well, at least as long as you believe Chuck Grassley & Mitch McConnell. Emily Birnbaum of the Hill: "A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley> (R-Iowa) on Sunday night said the panel will 'attempt to evaluate' new allegations of sexual assault regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The spokesperson in a statement slammed Democrats for 'withholding information' regarding the allegations.... GOP staffers knew that the Ramirez accusations were forthcoming as they pushed to move the nomination process ahead last week, according to the New Yorker. Grassley denied this, saying the committee's staff was not aware until Sunday.... A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also denied the claim." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: No, the others did not say it didn't happen. They said they don't remember one of the social events they attended 36 years ago. I don't remember any of the social events I attended 36 years ago, and if Kavanaugh was attacking a young woman nearby at the time, I'm unaware of it. AND not getting a Supreme Court job doesn't "ruin this guy's life." Millions & millions of happy Americans don't sit on the Supreme Court -- including you, Lindsey -- and their lives aren't "ruined." BTW, how come you weren't all upset when you "ruined" Merrick Garland's life? PLUS ...,

... This Is Not a Trial, Lindsey, and You Know It. Caprice Roberts, in a Washington Post op-ed: "All week, as members of both parties jousted over Christine Blasey Ford's allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school, we've heard calls that Kavanaugh is entitled to due process, with some suggesting that airing Ford's claims in a Senate hearing is potentially unjust.... Unlike for a jury, there's no requirement for unanimity, and the Constitution doesn't set a standard of proof by which senators must offer their advice and consent.... Kavanaugh's public hearings, then, and any inquiry now into the accusations against him, are less like a trial and more like a high-stakes job interview -- and this job comes with life tenure.... Because guilt or innocence isn't the issue, but instead fitness for the Supreme Court, the burden of proof isn't, and shouldn't be, on Ford, the accuser; it remains on Kavanaugh." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: One of the things you have to weigh, Lindsey, is which witness will be more credible. Since you already know Kavanaugh has lied to Senate Judiciary Committees under oath, it would be fair to assume he'll lie again this week. Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. More on Lindsey Graham below. ...

... Phil Mattingly & Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "After ... Donald Trump tweeted criticism of the woman who came forward accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the President on Friday to say his tweets did not help, two people familiar with the call confirmed to CNN."(Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "Ed Whelan, the conservative judicial activist who was criticized last week for a series of tweets asserting that Christine Blasey Ford had confused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh with one of his high-school classmates, has been placed on leave by a [conservative] ethics-oriented nonprofit he led for years.... Whelan's decision to step aside from his leadership at the Ethics and Public Policy Center came as Republicans, including some who had begun touting his theory earlier this week, distanced themselves from him. But Democrats on the Judiciary Committee still want to know where Whelan, who cited facts that demonstrated knowledge of Kavanaugh's social circle in 1982, got his information." Mrs. McC: Besides that, Whelan knew that Blasey Ford was Kavanaugh's accuser before the Washington Post released her name to the public. ...

... Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Republican Party's fight to save President Trump's embattled Supreme Court nominee amid allegations of sexual assault has surfaced deep anxieties over the hypermasculine mind-set that has come to define the GOP in the nation's roiling gender debate. The images are striking: The specter of Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- all 11 of them men -- questioning U.S. Appeals Court Judge Brett A. Kavanaugh's female accuser. A senior GOP aide working on the confirmation resigning amid his own sexual harassment allegations. A viral photo of 'women for Kavanaugh' featuring more men than women. A South Carolina Republican congressman making a crude joke about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg being groped by Abraham Lincoln. And then there is the party's id, Trump, who as a candidate denied more than a dozen accusations of sexual assault and harassment and sought to silence and retaliate against his accusers -- and who as president has defended one accused man after another.... Trump risks solidifying the Republican Party as the party of men." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Uh, make that the party of white men.

Trump Scheduled to Do More Damage to World Peace. Jonathan Lemire & Zeke Miller of the AP: "... Donald Trump is poised to redouble his commitment to 'America First' on the most global of stages this week. In the sequel to his stormy U.N. debut, Trump will stress his dedication to the primacy of U.S. interests while competing with Western allies for an advantage on trade and shining a spotlight on the threat that he says Iran poses to the Middle East and beyond.... Trump's address to the General Assembly comes Tuesday, and on Wednesday he will for the first time chair the Security Council, with the stated topic of non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The subject initially was to have been Iran, but that could have allowed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to attend, creating a potentially awkward situation for the U.S. leader." ...

... Mark Landler & David Sanger of the New York Times: "For Mr. Trump's advisers, the biggest risk at the United Nations General Assembly this year is the reverse of what it was last year: not that he will be dangerously undiplomatic, but that he will be overly enthusiastic about engagement with wily adversaries." Read on; the bit about the Iran tweet is classic. Mrs. McC: If there were no consequences, the White House high jinks would make a hilarious, if unbelievable, sitcom. As it is, it's more an endless nightmare in which a King Kong monster is plowing a path of destruction, & you cannot escape even as you lob obstacle after obstacle in his way. ...

... Nahal Toosi of Politico: "... Donald Trump is risking a potential war with Iran unless he engages the Islamist-led country using diplomacy, not just pressure tactics, dozens of prominent U.S. foreign policy, intelligence and national security figures argue in a new public statement. The statement, released by a group calling itself the National Coalition to Prevent an Iranian Nuclear Weapon, comes as Trump prepares to speak at the annual United Nations General Assembly. Iran is expected to be a hot topic during this week's U.N. gathering of world leaders, many of whom are upset that Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal.... Among the signatories: former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who served Republican and Democratic presidents; former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who served in the Democratic administration of Bill Clinton; and former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who served the GOP White House of George W. Bush."

Samuel Chamberlain of Fox "News": "President Trump appeared to blame Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the latest controversy surrounding Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Sunday, saying that Sessions had 'hired' Rosenstein to be his second-in-command. 'He was hired by Jeff Sessions,' Trump said in an interview with 'The Geraldo Show' on WTAM radio. 'I was not involved in that process because, you know, they go out and get their own deputies and the people that work in the department.'"

Sarah Fitzpatrick, et al., of NBC News: "The British-born music publicist who helped arrange that infamous meeting between senior Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Democrats now believes the meeting could have been a set-up by Russian intelligence, he told NBC News in an exclusive television interview. 'I'm willing to believe that I don't know who wanted this meeting," Rob Goldstone told NBC's Cynthia McFadden in a wide-ranging interview, in which he also discussed Trump's behavior in Moscow during the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.... Goldstone says he was asked to set up the meeting -- and relay the offer of incriminating information about Clinton -- by Emin Agalarov, on behalf of his father Aras Agalarov, one of Russia's wealthiest developers.... Goldstone believes it wasn't his email that secured the meeting, but a series of calls afterward between Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov." ...

... Jane Mayer: "Donald Trump ... has been unwavering on one point: that Russia played no role in putting him in the Oval Office.... Ordinarily, Congress would aggressively examine an electoral controversy of this magnitude, but the official investigations in the House and the Senate, led by Republicans, have been too stymied by partisanship to address the ultimate question of whether Trump's victory was legitimate.... But a new book ... by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor of communications at the University of Pennsylvania..., offers a forensic analysis of the available evidence and concludes that Russia very likely delivered Trump's victory.... When I met recently with Jamieson...., she expressed confidence that unbiased readers would accept her conclusion that it is not just plausible that Russia changed the outcome of the 2016 election -- it is 'likely that it did.'" Read on. The bit about a Russian intelligence ploy which head-faked Jim Comey is interesting.

Tom Hamburger of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday he believes 'a bureaucratic coup' led by enemies of President Trump is taking place at the Justice Department, and the senator asked that a new special counsel be appointed to investigate. Graham, a veteran member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the comments on 'Fox News Sunday' in response to questions about a report that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein suggested secretly recording Trump and possibly using the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Graham said he didn't favor firing Rosenstein, who has denied the report and said he never advocated for removal of the president.... Instead, the senator from South Carolina pointed his finger at others in the department who he said have 'tried to destroy this president.' He specifically referred to former FBI officials Andrew McCabe, Lisa Page and Peter Strzok." Mrs. McC: Graham is such a sad little suck-up.

Election 2018. Virginia. Michael Tackett of the New York Times: "Representative Scott Taylor, Republican of Virginia, has enjoyed a rapid political rise anchored in his valorous background as a member of the Navy SEALs, a credential with great resonance in a district that includes the world's largest naval station and one of the highest concentrations of voters connected to the military.... But now ... his campaign is facing accusations that it was part of an improper effort to help an independent candidate get on the ballot and siphon voters from his Democratic challenger. The allegations, which included using the names of dead people or voters who did not live in the district on signature petitions, were serious enough to warrant the appointment of a special prosecutor, and the independent candidate, Shaun Brown, was stricken from the ballot by the Virginia Supreme Court. Mr. Taylor's race is emblematic of an emerging problem for Republicans...: A seat once considered relatively safe is now imperiled because of scandal, expanding an already broad field of Democratic opportunity. Mr. Taylor's reputation has taken a hit, pulling a congressman who won election by 23 percentage points two years ago into a race now considered a tossup by independent analysts.

Buh-Bye. Opheli Lawler of New York: "Jason Miller, a pro-Donald Trump contributor at CNN, is leaving his job. The announcement comes after Splinter published a report detailing an allegation that Miller drugged a former mistress with an abortion pill, to terminate her pregnancy. Court documents for the custody battle between Miller and A.J. Delgado, another former Trump staffer, show that Miller also allegedly had an affair with a woman he met at an Orlando, Fl., strip club in 2012. Miller and Delgado had an affair during the 2016 presidential campaign, during which time Delgado became pregnant with their son, William. When this woman told Miller that she was pregnant, he allegedly gave her an abortion pill without her knowledge.... The pill allegedly caused her pregnancy to be terminated, and nearly fatal health complications that sent her to the emergency room.... After Splinter's story was published, Miller posted several statements to Twitter, including that he would be leaving CNN.... He called into question Delgado&'s mental stability, referred to Splinter as a 'gossip blog' and said that he would be bringing legal action against Delgado, Splinter, and anyone else spreading 'these lies.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Delgado may or may not be making false claims, but I don't see any liability for Splinter which merely published sensational accusations that appeared in a court filing.

Six-Billion-Dollar Man. Kate Gibson of CBS News: "The heat Nike has taken over its controversial advertising campaign featuring former NFL start Colin Kaepernick seems to have had another effect: burnishing the iconic brand's appeal to investors. Nike shares have surged 36 percent on the year, making the company the top performer on the Dow's index of 30 blue-chip stocks. The run-up includes a nearly 5 percent increase since Nike's Labor Day announcement that Kaepernick would be featured in its campaign, adding nearly $6 billion to the company's market value. The stock continues to hover near an all-time high, which it reached in mid-September only weeks after some Nike customers publicly burned their shoes to express their displeasure at the new ad. In afternoon trading Nike shares were up slightly to $85.67." Mrs. McC: Capitalism actually is pretty awesome when a company profits by defying Donald Trump's racism.

Beyond the Beltway

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. ABC News Houston: "A woman in North Carolina was arrested after trying to save pets during Hurricane Florence. With severe flooding on the way, Tammie Hedges said she took in more than two dozen pets when their owners evacuated. She runs an animal rescue ... but had not yet finished building her shelter. She said she took the animals in anyways so they'd have a dry place to stay.... Animal services has since taken the pets and are now trying to find their owners." Many of these animals were left chained in flood zones & would have drowned. Mrs. McC: She should have got an award, not a criminal summons. PETA, get this woman an attorney.