Charles Ludington, a college friend of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, released a statement that directly contradicted the testimony of the judge on this drinking in college. Ludington told The Washington Post that he gave a statement to the FBI that Kavanaugh was “belligerent and aggressive” as a drunk in college and once threw a beer in the face of someone who insulted him. He is the third college friend who described Kavanaugh as a belligerent drinker in college.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper that looks beyond this immediate controversy over the Kavanaugh nomination toward three basic reforms of the confirmation process. With the FBI investigation interviewing witnesses on the first two allegations of sexual assault, it is not clear what new information may surface at the end of the week. In the interim, it would be useful to discuss the now obvious failure of our confirmation process. I have been a long critic of the process, but the Kavanaugh confirmation process has magnified these flaws to a grotesque degree.
Notably, Kavanaugh now has been given the SNL treatment with a performance by Matt Damon that is that type of comical portrayal that hits hard in public controversy.
Here is the column:
The intolerance of art and free expression in many Islamic countries was particularly and painfully evident in the Maldives last week. A beautiful and powerful underwater sculpture by British artist Jason DeCaires Taylor was ordered destroyed by the government after objections by Islamic leaders for its depiction of human forms. Ironically, the art highlighted the dire risk of rising sea levels for the Maldives. Instead, its demise will forever symbolize the risk of rising intolerance of religious orthodoxy. For some tourists who flock to the Maldives, this outrageous attack on art just might be a deterrent to future vacation plans.
Continue reading “Maldives Destroys Famed Art Piece As UnIslamic”
Below is my Hill newspaper column on the unfolding controversy surrounding the allegations of sexual abuse brought against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. As we wait for the week long FBI investigation to be completed, the question remains the same: what is the standard that should apply to such cases once all of the evidence laid before the Senate? As the FBI prepares to submit new evidence, the Senate still must articulate a standard of review for that evidence.
Here is the column Continue reading “A Clear Preponderance: Fact-Finding By the Senate Requires A Standard Of Review”
We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here and here) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Much of this trend is tied to the expansion of hate speech and non-discrimination laws. The Europeans appear committed to this trend of curtailing free speech and subjecting speech to coercive definitions of what the majority deems acceptable. That commitment was made all the more evident, and chilling, by the decision of the European Court of Human Rights rejecting a German anti-abortion activist’s challenge to court orders enjoining him from referring to abortions as “aggravated murder” and comparing them with the Holocaust. So now the courts are enforcing speech controls over clearly religious and political viewpoints in Europe. Continue reading ““Necessary in a Democratic Society”: European Court Bars Pro-Life Advocate From Calling Abortion Murder”
Not long after President Donald Trump ordered a one-week investigation of the FBI into allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Maryland officials have announced that they will launch a criminal investigation into the attempted rape allegations of Christine Blasey Ford if she files a complaint. That would create the unprecedented situation of a nominee under criminal investigation as the Senate voted on confirmation.
Continue reading “Maryland Will Open Criminal Investigation Of Kavanaugh If Ford Files A Complaint”
As I discussed in yesterday’s earlier in a column, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., RI) going through the yearbook entries of Brett Kavanaugh was one of the most bizarre moments of confirmations in our history. Whitehouse was attempting to undermine Kavanaugh’s account of not being a black out drunk or participating in sexual exploits at parties with his friends. The hearing devolved into a discussed of the terms “boofing” and the “Devil’s Triangle.” The terms are widely defined on the internet to mean anal sex and a threesome (with one male and two females). Kavanaugh insisted that they meant farting and a drinking game. That led many to question his veracity (I am thankfully ignorant of either term but I have come to realize that my high school and college years were monastic in comparison to most everyone else). One person using a congressional computer however decided to try to add at least some support for Kavanaugh on the Internet by changing the definition on Wikipedia. He or she only succeeded in causing a row that highlighted the controversy over Kavanaugh’s answers.
Continue reading “Definition of “Devil’s Triangle” Changed On Wikipedia To Make Kavanaugh’s Answer”
Yesterday’s Kavanaugh hearing left many questions on both sides, including the ultimate question of the alleged attempted rape of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. However, for lawyers, one exchange sticks out from a professional standpoint. Ford was questioned why she delayed the hearing due to her alleged fear of flying and, more importantly, why she did not simply meet with committee staff in California. Ford admitted that, while she does not like to fly, she does in fact routinely fly around the world, including frequent trips to nearby Delaware. The most striking statement however was the suggestion that she was never told by counsel that she did not have to fly to Washington and the Committee was ready to fly to her — a prospect that she said she would have welcomed. That left a lingering question of whether her counsel did not tell her of a material offer or whether she misrepresented the reason for her delay in speaking to the Committee.
After yesterday’s Kavanaugh hearing, a number of Senators may know how Taiyo Masuda, 23, felt this week when a seal surfaced only to slap him in the face with a live octopus. Not one of the things one prepares for on a kayaking trip in New Zealand.
Continue reading “Octopunch: Seal Slaps Kayaker In The Face With An Octopus”
Japan’s space agency (Jaxa) has released incredible images from its robot rovers of the asteroid Ryugu. I know that I go all squealy over NASA and space pictures, but this is amazing. It is difficult to get one’s mind around the fact that we are looking at the surface of an asteroid that has been moving through space since before the advent of mankind.
In a new twist, Committee staff has reportedly interviewed two men who say that they were actually the two teens who may as assaulted Christine Blasey Ford in 1982 and not Judge Brett Kavanaugh. It is not clear what further information will be released on this latest disclosure but it raises an obviously serious matter for both sides. I remain leery of this lat minute leak and the lack of details — unfortunately a common element in this ongoing controversy.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) filed for an injunction in federal court to stop a final vote on Brett Kavanaugh. The filing claims that the Republican majority is obstructing his constitutional duty to give advise and consent on nominees. The filing is entirely and utterly meritless. It will be dismissed and is unlikely to receive a hearing on the claim.
The passage of a polygraph by Christine Blasey Ford has been a key factor for many in believing her story — a fact cited by various members of Congress. New details of the polygraph however have been released and some contradictions are being cited within Ford’s account. However, my main interest is the polygraph itself, which does not sound like any legitimate polygraph that I have encountered. I have handled a number of polygraph cases in my career and the description of these questions are nothing short of bizarre as a reliable test.
Continue reading “New Details Raise Serious Doubts Over The Credibility Of The Ford Polygraph”
The Senate Judiciary Committee has announced the identity of the lawyer who will conduct the primary questions of both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Rachel Mitchell, the sex crimes bureau chief for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Phoenix, is someone with considerable experience in not such sex crimes but delayed sex crime prosecutions. It is an unusual step for the Committee but not unprecedented. Congress will hire outside counsel or allow counsel to question witnesses on some occasions, particularly at fact-finding stages. I was hired a lead counsel to represent the United States House of Representatives in the successful challenge of the unilateral funding decisions of the Affordable Care Act by President Barack Obama. Continue reading “Arizona Sex Crimes Prosecutor Hired To Question Ford and Kavanaugh”
Today I have the honor of serving as the keynote address at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Brazosport College in Lake Jackson, Texas. I have previously spoken at the college which was selected as one of the top ten community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute. The Clute and Lake Jackson areas is also the location of the Ron Paul Institute.
The keynote is entitled “Unpacking the Supreme Court: History, Hierarchy and Headlines.” Continue reading “Turley To Speak At Brazosport 50th Anniversary Celebration”