Kavanaugh Open Thread: Feinstein Refuses to Give Ford’s Letter to Grassley
Posted by Mary Chastain Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 9:00am
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/...to-give-fords-letter-to-grassley/#more-260354
Grassley to Feinstein: “Instead, you chose to sit on the allegations until a politically opportune moment. I cannot overstate how disappointed I am in this decision.”
It still looks like Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford will not show up for a hearing set for Monday, which has caused some mayhem at Capitol Hill.
The decision to not show up has caused the teetering Republicans to push for a confirmation vote if nothing happens on Monday.
To make matters worse, Feinstein won’t give the Republicans the letter that contains the accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Does this mean that no one else has actually seen the letter? Just Feinstein? How does she expect Ford to get a proper hearing on Monday if everyone else lacks all the tools?
Grassley Sets Friday Deadline
Ford has until Friday to decide if she will testify on Monday in front of the committee. From Fox News:
Republicans Still Pushing for Ford to Testify
McCaskill Will Vote Against Kavanaugh
Vulnerable incumbent Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill announced she will vote against Kavanaugh when the vote hits the floor. From The New York Times:
The Kansas City Star had more:
Feinstein Holds Onto the Letter
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley blasted ranking member Dianne Feinstein because she will not give him Ford’s letter that sparked this circus. From Fox News:
Grassley said he needs the letter in order to have a proper hearing on Monday.
It looks like Feinstein cannot accept responsibility for the mayhem and keeps trying to deflect blame to the Republicans. She said:
Except THEY HAVE REACHED OUT TO HER. Numerous times! They are trying to do everything they can to hear from Ford and let her voice be heard whether it’s in the public or private.
Grassley brushed off Feinstein’s statement:
Posted by Mary Chastain Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 9:00am
https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/...to-give-fords-letter-to-grassley/#more-260354
Grassley to Feinstein: “Instead, you chose to sit on the allegations until a politically opportune moment. I cannot overstate how disappointed I am in this decision.”
It still looks like Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford will not show up for a hearing set for Monday, which has caused some mayhem at Capitol Hill.
The decision to not show up has caused the teetering Republicans to push for a confirmation vote if nothing happens on Monday.
To make matters worse, Feinstein won’t give the Republicans the letter that contains the accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Does this mean that no one else has actually seen the letter? Just Feinstein? How does she expect Ford to get a proper hearing on Monday if everyone else lacks all the tools?
Grassley Sets Friday Deadline
Ford has until Friday to decide if she will testify on Monday in front of the committee. From Fox News:
Grassley, in a letter to Ford’s attorneys on Wednesday, set a 10 a.m. Friday deadline to respond to the invitation “if she intends to testify on Monday.”
“You have stated repeatedly that Dr. Ford wants to tell her story,” Grassley wrote in the letter. “I sincerely hope that Dr. Ford will accept my invitation to do so, either privately or publicly, on Monday.”
It’s still not clear if Ford — who claims Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than 35 years ago while in high school — will ultimately accept the invitation to testify on Capitol Hill.
Republicans Still Pushing for Ford to Testify
Senator Bob Corker
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@SenBobCorker
After learning of the allegation, Chairman @ChuckGrassley took immediate action to ensure both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh have the opportunity to be heard, in public or private. Republicans extended a hand in good faith. If we don’t hear from both sides on Monday, let’s vote.
10:13 PM - Sep 18, 2018
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32.8K people are talking about this
Jeff Flake
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@JeffFlake
When Dr. Ford came forward, I said that her voice should be heard and asked the Judiciary Committee to delay its vote on Judge Kavanaugh. It did so. I now implore Dr. Ford to accept the invitation for Monday, in a public or private setting. The committee should hear her voice.
11:50 PM - Sep 18, 2018
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13.5K people are talking about this
Sen. Susan Collins
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@SenatorCollins
I hope that Dr. Ford will reconsider and testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. It is my understanding that the Committee has offered to hold either a public or a private session, whichever would make her more comfortable.
1:20 PM - Sep 19, 2018
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21.2K people are talking about this
McCaskill Will Vote Against Kavanaugh
Vulnerable incumbent Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill announced she will vote against Kavanaugh when the vote hits the floor. From The New York Times:
Ms. McCaskill said she was concerned about the accusation against the judge, but based her decision on campaign finance law. “He has revealed his bias against limits on campaign donations, which places him completely out of the mainstream of this nation,” she said in a statement.
The Kansas City Star had more:
“Going even further, Judge Kavanaugh will give free reign to anonymous donors and foreign governments through their citizens to spend money to interfere and influence our elections with so-called ‘issue ads.’ These ‘issue ads’ are now flooding the airways in this nation to directly influence election outcomes, drowning the concept of individuals having the strongest voice in our democracy.”
Feinstein Holds Onto the Letter
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley blasted ranking member Dianne Feinstein because she will not give him Ford’s letter that sparked this circus. From Fox News:
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Wednesday unloaded a torrent of criticism on Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her handling of the sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, telling the ranking Democrat on the committee, “I cannot overstate how disappointed I am.”
Saying Feinstein “chose to sit on the allegations until a politically opportune moment,” Grassley demanded she immediately turn over an unredacted copy of the letter from Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, that Feinstein received July 30.
Feinstein, D-Calif., shared the letter with federal authorities and other senators only last week, days before a key Judiciary Committee vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, after a leak about the letter was published in The Intercept. Republicans have accused Democrats of orchestrating that leak.
Grassley, R-Iowa, who called the document a “significant piece of evidence in Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process,” said that despite multiple requests, he still has access only to a redacted copy of the letter included in supplemental background materials provided by the FBI to a select group of senators.
Grassley said he needs the letter in order to have a proper hearing on Monday.
It looks like Feinstein cannot accept responsibility for the mayhem and keeps trying to deflect blame to the Republicans. She said:
Feinstein appeared to wash her hands of the process in a brief interview outside her Senate office with Fox News on Tuesday, saying, “I have no say, I’m the lead Democrat. … I think it’s really too bad that no one called her, or called her lawyer.”
She added: “This is a woman who has been profoundly impacted by this. Now, I can’t say everything’s truthful. I don’t know.”
Except THEY HAVE REACHED OUT TO HER. Numerous times! They are trying to do everything they can to hear from Ford and let her voice be heard whether it’s in the public or private.
Grassley brushed off Feinstein’s statement:
In his letter Wednesday, Grassley unequivocally dismissed Feinstein’s suggestions that her delays were motivated by a desire to protect Ford’s identity, and suggested that her actions had in fact compromised any legitimate desire to preserve her anonymity.
“These allegations could have been raised to me, or to Judge Kavanaugh, while protecting Dr. Ford’s anonymity,” Grassley said. “Had Dr. Ford not made her allegations public via The Washington Post over the weekend, I still would not know her identity.”
He continued: “These allegations could have been raised both within the last seven weeks and in a way that protected Dr. Ford’s anonymity. Instead, you chose to sit on the allegations until a politically opportune moment. I cannot overstate how disappointed I am in this decision.”