News.com.auUniversity professor Christine Blasey Ford came forward and testified against Kavanaugh for raping her in 1982.
Clinton and Blasey Ford or not?
Claim: Photographs show Dr. Christine Blasey Ford with George Soros, Harvey Weinstein and Bill Clinton.
Origin
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford publicly alleged on 16 September 2018 that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party when both of them were high schoolers in 1982, she has been the target of a relentless campaign to try to discredit her and cast aspersions on her motivation for coming forward.
Protesters voice their opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and their support for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, during a demonstration on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 20, 2018.REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
One of the most common smears directed at women to discredit them personally in such situations is try to paint them as “loose” and promiscuous. One of the most common ways to discredit them politically is to attempt to link them to the bogeyman of the right, billionaire hedge fund manager and Open Society Foundations founder George Soros.
CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD DONATES GOFUNDME MONEY TO SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS ‘Although coming forward was terrifying, and caused disruption to our lives, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to fulfil my civic duty’
Predictably, someone dug up and circulated a photograph claimed to be a picture of Christine Blasey Ford posing with George Soros and suggesting some form of relationship between the two:
However, the pictured woman is not Dr. Ford, but rather Lyudmyla Kozlovska, a Ukrainian human rights activist seen below with her husband Bartosz Kramek at an anti-government protest in Warsaw in 2017:
Another pair of photographs were claimed to show Dr. Ford posing with former film producer Harvey Weinstein (against whom multiple allegations of sexual harassment have also been made) and former president Bill Clinton:
Donald Trump apologizes to Brett Kavanaugh at swearing-in ceremony over ‘campaign of lies’
Mr Kavanaugh is sworn in by retired Justice Anthony Kennedy in front of his wife Ashley, daughters Liza and Margaret and Mr Trump in the East Room of the White House (Picture: Getty)
“On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavanaugh family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure,” Mr Trump said.
With all the sitting justices in attendance, along with Mr Kavanaugh’s family and top administration officials, Mr Trump said Mr Kavanaugh had been the victim of a “campaign of political and personal destruction based on lies and deception”.
Donald Trump has stood by Brett Kavanaugh during a contentious confirmation process (Picture: Getty)
But, he told the new justice, “You, sir, under historic scrutiny, were proven innocent.”
Mr Kavanaugh officially became a member of the high court on Saturday and has already been at work preparing for his first day on the bench on Tuesday.
In his own remarks, Mr Kavanaugh, who has faced criticism that he appeared too politicised in his Senate testimony, tried to assure the American public that he would approach the job fairly.
He said the high court “is not a partisan or political institution” and assured he took the job with “no bitterness”.
“The Senate confirmation process was contentious and emotional. That process is over. My focus now is to be the best justice I can be,” he said.
It was the end of a deeply contentious nomination process that sparked mass protests, an FBI investigation and it comes less than a month before pivotal midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress.
Ceremonial swearing-ins are unusual for new justices. Only Samuel Alito and Stephen Breyer participated in White House events after they had been sworn in and begun work as justices, according to the court’s records on the current crop of justices.
Mr Kavanaugh and his law clerks already have been at the Supreme Court preparing for his first day on the bench on Tuesday, when the justices will hear arguments in two cases about longer prison terms for repeat offenders.
The new justice’s four clerks all are women, the first time that has happened.
The clerks are Kim Jackson, who previously worked for Mr Kavanaugh on the federal appeals court in Washington, Shannon Grammel, Megan Lacy and Sara Nommensen.
The latter three all worked for other Republican-nominated judges. Ms Lacy had been working at the White House in support of Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter Lynzy Lab Stewart took to social media to share a song titled “A Scary Time” that appears to be written in response to Trump’s assertion. To the tune of a melody plucked out on her ukelele, Lynzy sings about the ways in which the world has always been a dangerous place for a woman, calling out the inherent privilege for men in a patriarchal system.
Lynzy Lab’s song isn’t just a rant about Trump’s statement about male privilege, however; it’s also her call to action for her viewers to take initiative when it comes to political power by voting, something she urges fans to do at the end of the video.
Was Robert De Niro Kavanaugh joke after SCOTUS confirmation a cheap shot
THROWIN’ SHADETMZ.com
|AIWA! NO!|Robert De Niro got back into his political comedy shtick again this weekend, making a sorry joke about Brett Kavanaugh hours after he was confirmed to the Supreme Court.
De Niro was receiving the Brass Ring Award Saturday evening at the Children’s Diabetes Foundation’s Carousel of Hope event in L.A., when, for whatever reason, he decided to wade into politics with a quip about the newly appointed Justice Kavanaugh. It mostly landed flat.
Seemingly out of nowhere, he goes … “Now, one reminder. The drinks, wine and beer are flowing. But, be careful — if you have too much, you may end up on the Supreme Court.”
Besides the fact that he butchered the delivery of the line — stumbling over his words — it’s clear he chose the wrong topic to bring up at a ceremony for the Children’s Diabetes Foundation. The reactions to his joke were mixed, some nervously laughing … others booing.
Robbie Fox
@RobbieBarstool
Robert De Niro’s hatred for Trump is one of the funniest things in the world
(Shoutout Australia for not censoring curse words on television)
It’s definitely not the first time De Niro has used his platform in such a public setting to bash the Trump administration. He got bleeped saying “F*** Trump” at the Tony Awards earlier this year, and seems to take every opportunity he can to slam the President.
President Donald Trump’s controversial nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, has been sworn in following weeks of rancorous debate. The Senate earlier backed his nomination by 50 votes to 48. Mr Kavanaugh had been embroiled in a bitter battle to stave off claims of sexual assault, which he denies
Brett Kavanaugh, surrounded by his family, was administered the judicial oath by outgoing justice Anthony Kennedy
WASHINGTON — |AIWA! NO!|Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as the 114th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, after a wrenching debate over sexual misconduct and judicial temperament that shattered the Senate, captivated the nation and ushered in an acrimonious new level of polarization — now encroaching on the court that the 53-year-old judge may well swing rightward for decades to come.
Even as Kavanaugh took his oath of office Saturday evening in a quiet private ceremony, not long after the narrowest Senate confirmation in nearly a century and a half, protesters chanted outside the court building across the street from the Capitol.
The climactic 50-48 roll call capped a fight that seized the national conversation after claims emerged that he had sexually assaulted women three decades ago — allegations he emphatically denied. Those accusations transformed the clash from a routine struggle over judicial ideology into an angry jumble of questions about victims’ rights, the presumption of innocence and personal attacks on nominees.
His confirmation provides a defining accomplishment for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, which found a unifying force in the cause of putting a new conservative majority on the court. Before the sexual accusations grabbed the Senate’s and the nation’s attention, Democrats had argued that Kavanaugh’s rulings and writings as an appeals court judge raised serious concerns about his views on abortion rights and a president’s right to bat away legal probes.
Trump, flying to Kansas for a political rally, flashed a thumbs-up gesture when the tally was announced and praised Kavanaugh for being “able to withstand this horrible, horrible attack by the Democrats.” He later telephoned his congratulations to the new justice, then at the rally returned to his own attack on the Democrats as “an angry left-wing mob.”
Like Trump, senators at the Capitol predicted voters would react strongly by defeating the other party’s candidates in next month’s congressional elections.
“It’s turned our base on fire,” declared Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. But Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York forecast gains for his party instead: “Change must come from where change in America always begins: the ballot box.”
The justices themselves made a quiet show of solidarity. Kavanaugh was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts and the man he’s replacing, retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, as fellow Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan looked on — two conservatives and two liberals.
Still, Kagan noted the night before that Kennedy has been “a person who found the center” and “it’s not so clear we’ll have that” now.
Noisy to the end, the Senate battle featured a call of the roll that was interrupted several times by protesters shouting in the spectators’ gallery before Capitol Police removed them. Vice President Mike Pence presided, his potential tie-breaking vote unnecessary.
Trump has now put his stamp on the court with his second justice in as many years. Yet Kavanaugh is joining under a cloud. Accusations from several women remain under scrutiny, and House Democrats have pledged further investigation if they win the majority in November. Outside groups are culling an unusually long paper trail from his previous government and political work, with the National Archives and Records Administration expected to release a cache of millions of documents later this month.
Kavanaugh, a father of two, strenuously denied the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford, who says he sexually assaulted her when they were teens. An appellate court judge on the District of Columbia circuit for the past 12 years, he pushed for the Senate vote as hard as Republican leaders — not just to reach this capstone of his legal career, but in fighting to clear his name.
After Ford’s allegations, Democrats and their allies became engaged as seldom before, though there were obvious echoes of Thomas’ combative confirmation over the sexual harassment accusations of Anita Hill, who worked for him at two federal agencies. Protesters began swarming Capitol Hill, creating a tense, confrontational atmosphere that put Capitol Police on edge.
As exhausted senators prepared for Saturday’s vote, some were flanked by security guards. Hangers and worse have been delivered to their offices, a Roe v. Wade reference.
Some 164 people were arrested, most for demonstrating on the Capitol steps, 14 for disrupting the Senate’s roll call vote.
McConnell told The Associated Press in an interview that the “mob” of opposition — confronting senators in the hallways and at their homes — united his narrowly divided GOP majority as Kavanaugh’s confirmation teetered and will give momentum to his party this fall.
Beyond the sexual misconduct allegations, Democrats raised questions about Kavanaugh’s temperament and impartiality after he delivered defiant, emotional testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee where he denounced their party.
Schumer said Kavanaugh’s “partisan screed” showed not only a temperament unfitting for the high court but a lack of objectivity that should make him ineligible to serve. At one point in the hearing, Kavanaugh blamed a Clinton-revenge conspiracy for the accusations against him.
The fight ended up less about judicial views than the sexual assault accusations that riveted the nation and are certain to continue a national debate and #MeToo reckoning that is yet to be resolved.
Republicans argued that a supplemental FBI investigation instigated by wavering GOP senators and ordered by the White House turned up no corroborating witnesses to the claims and that Kavanaugh had sterling credentials for the court. Democrats dismissed the truncated report as insufficient.
In the end, all but one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, lined up behind the judge. She said on the Senate floor late Friday that Kavanaugh is “a good man” but his “appearance of impropriety has become unavoidable.”
In a twist, Murkowski voted “present” Saturday as a courtesy to Republican Kavanaugh supporter Steve Daines, who was to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding in Montana. That balanced out the absence without affecting the outcome, and gave Kavanaugh the same two-vote margin he’d have received had both lawmakers voted.
It was the closest roll call to confirm a justice since 1881, when Stanley Matthews was approved 24-23, according to Senate records.
As the Senate tried to recover from its charged atmosphere, Murkowski’s move offered a moment of civility. “I do hope that it reminds us that we can take very small steps to be gracious with one another and maybe those small gracious steps can lead to more,” she said.
Republicans control the Senate by a meager 51-49 margin, and announcements of support Friday from Republicans Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine, along with Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia, locked in the needed votes.
Manchin was the only Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh’s confirmation. He expressed empathy for sexual assault victims, but said that after factoring in the FBI report, “I have found Judge Kavanaugh to be a qualified jurist who will follow the Constitution.”
A procedural vote Friday made Saturday’s confirmation a foregone conclusion. White House Counsel Don McGahn, who helped salvage Kavanaugh’s nomination as it teetered, sat in the front row of the visitors’ gallery for the vote with deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah.
Senators on both sides know they have work to do to put the chamber back together again after a ferocious debate that saw them arguing over the sordid details of high school drinking games, sexual allegations and cryptic yearbook entries.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said, “The Senate has been an embarrassment. We have a lot of work to do.”
