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Chairman Grassley Slams Door on Further Delay Tactics in Kavanaugh Brawl
Chairman Grassley followed up his scorching letter to the Democrats, with a letter to Ranking Member Senator Feinstein, setting 10 AM, September 21, as the deadline for Dr. Ford to agree to be interviewed or testify on Monday. He was very flexible in how and where the appearance would take place. He was completely firm on not letting the process drag on any longer.
The letter setting the witness response deadline was published with another scathing press release, denouncing Feinstein’s continued concealment of the original, unredacted, letter that made the sexual assault allegations: “Ranking Member Refuses to Disclose Secret Allegations Even After Dr. Ford Goes Public.”
Senator Grassley hammered the point home on Twitter:
Learned Dr Ford’s identity from WaPo on Sunday Confidentiality no longer relevant As cmte investigators gather facts senators deserve opportunity 2read UNREDACTED letter given 2 Sen Feinstein on July 30 Havnt seen unredactd ltr myself! It’s not secret Release letter Sen Feinstein
— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) September 19, 2018
Here is the signed letter in PDF, and what follows is the text, copied directly from the press release, above. I bolded passages highlighting the information withholding issue and italicized passages addressing the deadline issue.
September 19, 2018
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Ranking Member, United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Feinstein:
I am writing to request that you provide me a copy of the letter dated July 30, 2018, that you received from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford containing allegations of sexual assault against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. My staff has made repeated requests for this document—which has become a significant piece of evidence in Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process—but your staff has so far refused to provide a copy of the letter. You are able to share this unredacted copy with all the members of your caucus and their staff, as well as anyone else you choose. The only version we have of this letter is a redacted version contained in the supplemental FBI background investigation file that only senators and a handful of very select staff are authorized to read.
Sexual assault allegations deserve serious attention, and those who make such allegations must be heard. They should not be deployed strategically for political gain. You received this letter approximately seven weeks ago. But the contents of the letter were leaked only last week when it appeared the Senate was about to confirm Judge Kavanaugh. There were numerous opportunities to raise the serious allegations made in the letter during the course of this nomination process. They could have been raised in your closed-door meeting with Judge Kavanaugh on August 20. Sixty-four other senators also met with Judge Kavanaugh prior to his confirmation hearing. These senators could have asked Judge Kavanaugh about these allegations if you had shared the letter.
Your staff could have raised these allegations during routine background investigation phone calls in late-August. Questions about these allegations could have been asked of Judge Kavanaugh during his more than 32 hours of testimony before the Committee over the course of three days. You could have asked him about these allegations during the closed session of his confirmation hearing, where sensitive material can be discussed. But you did not attend the closed session. Finally, these allegations could have been addressed in one of the nearly 1,300 written questions issued to him after the hearing—more written questions to any Supreme Court nominee than all prior Supreme Court nominees combined.
You have said that you didn’t raise Dr. Ford’s allegations previously because you wanted to protect Dr. Ford’s anonymity. But these allegations could have been raised to me, or to Judge Kavanaugh, while protecting Dr. Ford’s anonymity. Indeed, the only version of her letter that I have is the redacted version from the FBI, which protected Dr. Ford’s anonymity. Had Dr. Ford not made her allegations public via the Washington Post over the weekend, I still would not know her identity. The fact is that 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. It has caused me to have to reopen the hearings for the fifth day of testimony, when we easily could have—and should have—raised these issues before or during the first four days of the hearing.
As you know, the Senate Judiciary Committee has extended invitations to Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh to testify on Monday, September 24. They have until this Friday at 10:00 a.m. to let us know whether they are coming. Dr. Ford has asked for the opportunity to be heard in a hearing, and I believe she should have that opportunity. I recognize that testifying publicly about sexual assault allegations may be difficult for Dr. Ford, so I have offered her the opportunity to testify in any of four possible venues: (1) a public hearing; (2) a private hearing; (3) a public staff interview; or (4) a private staff interview. I am even willing to have my staff travel to Dr. Ford in California—or anywhere else—to obtain her testimony.
As you know, the Majority staff spoke with Judge Kavanaugh as part of the background investigation. Judge Kavanaugh immediately agreed to cooperate with Senate investigators. He sat for a transcribed interview on Monday. He understood that he was under penalty of felony, if he was not truthful. He fully, candidly, and unequivocally answered all questions. We have no reason to doubt the truthfulness of Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony. Judge Kavanaugh volunteered to come back to a public hearing.
As is standard practice, we invited the Minority staff to participate and ask Judge Kavanaugh its own questions, but the Minority staff declined. The Majority staff has also sought to set up interviews with Dr. Ford, Mark Judge, and two other alleged witnesses. The Minority staff is welcome to participate in the investigative process as well, but it has thus far declined.
In order to prepare for Monday’s hearing, and any discussions with Dr. Ford that occur before then, I must review the unredacted letter that Dr. Ford sent to you, dated July 30, 2018. I ask that you send me a copy of the original, unredacted letter immediately.
Senator Grassley is comfortable sending this letter, because he has all the Republicans behind him. See the four who have been the biggest concern throughout the confirmation process:
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.
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) September 19, 2018
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.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) September 19, 2018
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.
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 19, 2018
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) September 17, 2018
Paul Mirengoff of Power Line sums it up:
Published in LawI’m told that when Senate Republicans met this week, the entire caucus supported the view that Ford needed to testify on Monday and that, if she didn’t, the process should move forward without her. I’m told that the entire caucus was angry with Feinstein over what it views as a stunt. Skepticism of Ford’s claim was widespread. This didn’t mean she shouldn’t be heard. However, it did mean that if she wants to be heard, she should be heard promptly
And I think it means that if Ford is a no-show on Monday, Kavanaugh will be confirmed more or less on schedule, barring any major surprises.
I wish he could be that clear and effective in the hearings.
Different gifts. And yes.
Do you remember his staffer sitting behind him during the hearing who kept supplying him with details, and corrections? Maybe he wrote it.
Almost certainly, in his boss’s voice. Senators don’t draft such correspondence, any more than GOs. Woe unto the staffer who does not attend to their boss’s voice in writing, if the boss deserves the title. The first draft I ever wrote for my first 2-star boss got thrown back across the table at me. Never happened again.
Corker, Collins, Flake, and Murkowski standing strong? Wonders will never cease! (Maybe Feinstein‘s behavior was just too outrageous.)
But we aren’t out of the woods yet …
Absolutely positively.
Believe it or not I also wrote much correspondence of all types for GO/FOs.
I’m a big believer in the linkage between authority and responsibility. If that guy is doing the job, he should be the Senator.
I used to write for a Mofo.
same – same
Perhaps he’ll run. He assists on a fraction on one of Grassley’s jobs, I’d guess. And if he didn’t prep the boss better for that circus, he ain’t all that.
You can only do so much with the raw material.
I wouldn’t bet the farm on that. Grassley has never impressed me with his brilliance. Some top members of the Ruling Class just have too much ego to learn from a sharp underling.
And then there are the climbers who don’t have their boss’s best interest in mind. If dude did the intel prep and tried to advise, rehearse, then shame on Grassley. 85 years old now, term up in 2022 (89). He has boatloads of institutional knowledge, hence the passages about 1991.
What’s a MOFO?
The level of deceit and dishonesty by Sen Feinstein in this affair is undeniable. After this debacle is over, she should be censored by the Senate.
It is not a military acronym. The MO part stands for mother. I’ll give you three guesses on what the FO means.
I am appalled. My sources tell me that Feinstein is sitting on new information that the accuser now recalls that the groping actually took place at a UVA frat party attended by the Duke lacrosse team and Justice Clarence Thomas sometime between 1982 and last April.
I just heard the pivot from Chuck Todd on Tony Kornheiser’s podcast: That to get rid of this asterisk, Kavanaugh should be demanding an investigation into his own actions
I’m not going to tune into Kornheiser for talk about judges, unless we are talking Olympic events pretending to be sports, boxing, or MMA.
No one would say “brilliance” I agree. But quite some time ago, I cannot remember when or how, I decided to admire him. I still do. I think he has been a force for good in the Senate.
No judge talk, Todd’s on there to pick football games and got that for a question
that said Chris Cillizza co-hosted today…so…it was dreadful (and they did talk a bit and Cillizza of course cheerleaded for Dems)
An alert blogger captured Ford’s prep school’s yearbooks before they took them off the net:
https://cultofthe1st.blogspot.com/2018/09/why-christine-blasey-fords-high-school_19.html?m=1
Sounds like quite the party culture there in the ’80s, and maybe no wonder she can’t remember much…
Paul Mirengoff asks: “What is Dianne Feinstein Hiding?”
Meanwhile, the case for mistaken identity is growing:
But then the particular case offered was withdrawn, with apologies, by Ed Whelan.
Now Ford is negotiating conditions under which she will appear next week. We shall see if Mitch McConnell and the gang let Grassley snatch midterm defeat from the jaws of defeat, or if the Chairman takes good advice and controls the game, refusing to rig it for the Democrats.
Ed Whelan…you’re not helping
Hugh Hewitt interviewed Congresswomen Martha McSally, Republican candidate for the open Senate seat from Arizona. I think she nails it.
If the NYT is right, Chairman Grassley is taking the nudge from Senator Collins, and will hire (female) outside counsel to question Ford and Kavanaugh.
That’s an interesting point about behavior patterns. I wonder if there is such a pattern of Ford’s making unsubstantiated accusations about people in the past. I wonder if anyone has looked into that.
and now Ford won’t take questions from outside counsel, only the Senators, only if she gets to go second, only if….
this is a farce to give them talking points about how “uncaring” the GOP is when they’ve done everything possible to service her