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Is Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse right to request AG investigate 2018 FBI review of Kavanaugh?

WRITTEN BY
03/20/21
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Fact Box

  • Sheldon Whitehouse has served as the Senator for Rhode Island since 2007. On March 11, 2021, he issued a letter to Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland (sworn in the same day) to investigate what he believes is a “politically-constrained and perhaps fake FBI investigation into alleged misconduct by now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.” 
  • Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Trump in July 2018 and was later confirmed on October 6, 2018 after a long and tumultuous slate of hearings.
  • Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate 2018 confirmation was delayed due to several sexual misconduct allegations. The first came from Christine Blasey Ford, who recounted a party in 1982 when they both were teens. The second came from Yale acquaintance, Deborah Ramirez. The third came from Julie Swetnick. Swetnick did an NBC interview in which the several witnesses she named did not corroborate her affidavit testimony. Kavanaugh denied all accusations made against him.
  • In September 2018, in response to the Kavanaugh hearings, Biden, and other political pundits, called to believe women are telling the truth when coming forward with sexual allegations. 
  • On March 25, 2020, Tara Reade came forward amidst Joe Biden’s presidential campaign with sexual assault allegations.

Stephanie (No)

It is time to end the abuse, interrogation, and 'witch hunt' regarding the accusations directed towards Justice Kavanaugh. For Senator Whitehouse to bring the issue into the spotlight again is unacceptable.

The initial argument itself was difficult to watch, considering that Christine Blasey Ford had no concrete or provable evidence against him. It also was during a trying period in which Democrats and Republicans were fighting for various political seats. Ford's accusations were undeniably 'convenient' in the midst of it, as is Whitehouse's recent claim that the outcome of Kavanaugh's trial was somehow 'fake' amidst the recent allegations toward Gov. Cuomo.

One area in which both sides can agree is that, without exception, there is no justification for sexual assault ever. However, it is important to consider that if Kavanaugh and Ford had indeed met or associated with one another in school, that associated behavior within such an environment may have been another instance of adolescents making poor decisions. If such occurred, it would still be incredibly wrong; however, there was no evidence to suggest that foul play took place.

One of Kavanaugh's accusers later came forward, admitting she had produced a completely fabricated story against him. This perhaps explains what some had suspected, that Kavanaugh opponents were attempting to discredit his reputation for political motivations, realizing the power he would have as a Supreme Court Justice.

However, neither the American people nor its politicians need not dwell on the issue any longer and should move forward. Most importantly, the US Supreme Court confirmed Justice Kavanaugh into its being, despite Democrats aiming to disgrace him. That should be enough.


Tyler (Yes)

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is well within his right to demand that the Kavanaugh investigation be revisited. The so-called investigation has drawn a great deal of skepticism since it took place in 2018. Kavanaugh's relationship with former President Donald Trump caused many to believe that his case was never seriously evaluated. 

There are concerns about the validity of the FBI's background check due to the fact that they never interviewed the alleged victim, Christine Blasey Ford. Ford alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party while the two were high schoolers in Maryland. The FBI claimed they didn't need any more information from Ford since she already made her allegation clear. This has led to some thinking the FBI purposely chose not to interview Ford to avoid hearing information that could damage Kavanaugh's career.

Whitehouse also explained that the FBI did not allow any witnesses to share their accounts of the events they claimed had transpired. Two other victims have also come forward, revealing that they were raped by Kavanaugh and a group of his friends in the 1980s. Multiple former classmates of his disputed his claims of having never been so intoxicated that he had limited control of his actions. FBI Director Christopher Way lacked transparency in the investigation and refused to answer questions when asked about the case. The background check investigation was originally opened on September 28th, yet it only lasted until October 6th. Brett Kavanaugh's case certainly needs to be revisited by the new administration.

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