For the last couple of days, I’ve been defending Christine Blasey Ford. Her accusation was plausible, including the gap between the incident and the revelation to her therapist and husband decades later. She seemed like a woman who should be heard before Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation could continue.
After learning that she’s demanding a full FBI investigation of the incident before she’s willing to testify, I feel like I’ve been conned. America has been conned. Brett Kavanaugh is still in the process of being conned.
Nothing adds up anymore for several reasons. First, nobody would be so naive to think an incident at a party 36 or 37 years ago (she isn’t quite sure about the YEAR it allegedly occurred, let alone the date) in an unknown venue (she doesn’t recall where it took place) is something the FBI is capable of investigating. Before she’ll testify, she’s demanding the impossible.
Second, the Justice Department has already indicated it’s not their jurisdiction or responsibility to investigate this type of alleged crime. Twice. This isn’t a political refusal. It’s simply not what the FBI does. Again, before she’ll testify, she’s demanding the impossible.
Third, she and her lawyer have had ample time to make such a demand even if it’s impossible. They could have done it when she initially sent the letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein. They could have done it in the following month when she was preparing to come forward by taking a polygraph and getting her affairs in order, though she claims she had no intentions of going public until after it was leaked this month.
Fourth, and arguably most importantly, there’s nothing an FBI or any investigation can do to change her testimony before the Senate. It’s like someone saying they won’t go to the dentist until they get a full eye exam. She would be asked the same questions before an investigation that she would be asked after an investigation and unless she’s lying about the incident, the answers would be the same as well.
As details comes to light, it’s appearing more and more like a politically calculated smear campaign than a sincere fulfillment of civic duty. I gave her the benefit of the doubt despite the mounting evidence that she didn’t really deserve it, but now I’m having a hard time believing anything she’s said.
As I said yesterday, if she doesn’t testify soon it’s necessary for the Senate to move forward with the confirmation. An accusation made by someone unwilling to answer questions cannot be allowed to derail the system by which the Supreme Court or any appointed position is filled.
If Ford is unwilling to testify soon, they should proceed with confirmation
Now we come to the problem. Because Senator Dianne Feinstein waited so long, allegedly at Ford’s request and not because the timing was absolutely perfect for derailing Kavanaugh’s confirmation, we’re stuck with a very tight window. It’s unfortunate that Ford is now in a position to have six days to prepare for the brightest spotlight she could ever imagine. She’s going in knowing her testimony could have an effect on the abortion industry, gun owner rights, presidential privileges, and a judge’s lifetime worth of issues important to millions of Americans.
That’s if she testifies. If she doesn’t testify, the confirmation must proceed. Something as important as a Supreme Court justice’s seat cannot be held up over an uncorroborated accusation. Ford may be credible. Her story may be true. But if our government processes are proven to be so fragile that an accusation is enough to fundamentally shift the balance of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, then we’re in much bigger trouble than most people know.
Despite my previous defenses of Christine Blasey Ford, I now have to reverse myself and call it how I see it. She’s part of a political hit. Democrats want Kavanaugh to divide by zero before getting confirmed. Their tactics are truly deplorable.
