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Kavanaugh sworn in

NBC News raises eyebrows by sitting on info that contradicted Michael Avenatti client's gang rape claim

NBC News is under fire for sitting on information that would have cast serious doubt on wild claims abut now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh just when the unsubstantiated allegations were rocking the judge's confirmation to the high court.

...

“Reached by phone independently from Avenatti on Oct. 3, the woman said she only ‘skimmed’ the declaration. After reviewing the statement, she wrote in a text on Oct. 4 to NBC News: ‘It is incorrect that I saw Brett spike the punch. I didn't see anyone spike the punch...I was very clear with Michael Avenatti from day one,’” NBC News reporters Kate Snow and Anna Schecter wrote on Thursday.

"I would not ever allow anyone to be abusive in my presence. Male or female,” the woman told NBC when pressed about Avenatti and his client’s claims, according to NBC’s report.

NBC’s latest story also noted that Avenatti attempted to “thwart the reporting process” and the woman changed her mind several times before eventually texting the network a final time.

“I will definitely talk to you again and no longer Avenatti. I do not like that he twisted my words,” she wrote.

NBC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

...

“That last text was sent on October 5. Kavanaugh wasn’t confirmed until a very close vote on October 6. NBC News published the story on October 25,” Blitzer wrote. “This, of course, draws suspicion because if NBC had information that showed that allegations against Brett Kavanaugh may not be accurate, that would be pretty important.”

Blitzer continued: “If I had a bombshell story in my pocket at the time it was most relevant, I wouldn’t wait until weeks after the moment passed.”

As Blitzer’s headline points out, this isn’t the first time NBC News has raised eyebrows with its handling of sexual misconduct-related news. The Peacock Network famously refused to air Ronan Farrow’s reporting on now-disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, didn’t air a 1999 interview with Bill Clinton rape accuser Juanita Broaddrick until after he was acquitted and the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women was leaked from within NBC News to the Washington Post
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MSM happy to run the hate campaign, just not be fair about it. :\
 
This is a weak 'article', and you'll see why, but the point stands - none of the accusations have been proven, and most have fallen apart...where is the MSM and Dems since he was sworn in? Where is ANY of this?

Another Kavanaugh accuser admits to fabricating rape story

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Mr. Grassley said Ms. Munro-Leighton is a left-wing activist who hijacked another “Jane Doe” anonymous report about a backseat rape and claimed it as her own story, calling it a “vicious assault.”

“I am Jane Doe from Oceanside CA — Kavanaugh raped me,” Ms. Munro-Leighton wrote in an Oct. 3 email claiming to have been a victim of the judge.

Mr. Grassley’s investigators tried to reach her for a month but were unsuccessful until this week, when they spoke to her by phone and she confessed that she was not the original Jane Doe, and “did that as a way to grab attention.”

She admitted to the false allegation, and said she has actually never met Justice Kavanaugh.

“I was angry, and I sent it out,” she told investigators.

“In short, during the committee’s time-sensitive investigation of allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, Ms. Munro-Leighton submitted a fabricated allegation, which diverted committee resources,” Mr. Grassley wrote. “When questioned by Committee investigators she admitted it was false, a ‘ploy,’ and a ‘tactic.’ She was opposed to Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation.”

...


Mr. Grassley has previously asked the FBI to probe Julie Swetnick and her lawyer, anti-Trump crusader Michael Avenatti, for lying to Congress and obstructing. Ms. Swetnick had originally claimed to have been the victim of gang rapes involving Justice Kavanaugh during high school parties, saying she saw him and a friend spike punch to leave girls unable to resist. She later changed her story to say she saw Justice Kavanaugh and his friend near a punch bowl, and could not identify them as having actually been part of any rape.

None of the witnesses she told NBC could corroborate her story were able to do so.

Indeed, NBC found one woman who despite a sworn statement backing up Ms. Swetnick, told the network Mr. Avenatti was twisting her words.

Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation process was delayed while the committee investigated a number of sexual assault and harassment claims, none of which have been corroborated by any public evidence to date.
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Captain.Heroin said:
Isn't the point moot now since he's been sworn in?
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It's not moot. Not at all. Anyone saying it is, is admitting it was a political tantrum by the Democrats rather than an honest effort to ensure we had a quality person on the SCOTUS.

For Kavanaugh specifically, Dems will likely continue to seek his removal - and nutjobs may take decisions in their own hands, as CDugg's link points out. All those crazies being driven to fury by Trump Dems and MSM ... shame any man has to live in such fear for trying to do his civic duty to his country. But seriously, does anyone think the Democrats are going to give this up? If they do, it proves it was never about Kavanaugh the judge or the man, but more about keeping Trump's authority in check and they missed. They have to continue pushing at every possible pressure point to keep Trump in check - they can't afford to let this go. They just took their eye off the ball with regard to him now that he is in - they can work to get him off the bench at any point in the future, right now the focus is on midterms because without this they won't have the votes to remove Kavanaugh.

And for me, the main reason I keep bumping this thread, is the unfairness of what Kavanaugh was put thru, and the lack of repercussions to those who did this to him. Still nothing of substance beyond 'accusations', many of which fell apart. I hate the new reality that anyone can be put through those accusations without facts and reason. It's been a farce, an extremely unfair one. For that, I'm not letting it go.
 
TheLoveBandit said:
Classy. And people wonder why violence is increasing in America...at the same time public opinion shifts from what is reasonable discourse and civil debate over to this kinda crap being not only acceptable, but encouraged. Don't you think your attitude is part of the problem?
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Nope.

I wouldn’t feel safe if I was a politician with the types of beliefs I hold.

It’s probably a common sense decision any of us would make.
 
TheLoveBandit said:
That's fine. We can all have our opinions. Respect remains mutual. I would be curious, however, to hear your take if you were inclined to share.
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I mostly disagree with the point that so many men are making that 'any and all men should fear their career be ruined by some phantom woman from their past' type deal. The fact of the matter is, many of us have these women in our past, someone we might have gone a little too far with (particularly as teens because our frontal lobes aren't done developing). But most of us aren't trying to become court justices, let alone supreme court. A judge has to be impartial and above pettiness, and Kavanuagh has exposed himself as impartial, petty, and above all else, partisan in the one part of our government that's supposed to remain unbiased and adhere strictly to the law above all else. He has proven not only that his character is poor, and that he is unapologetic for his potential crimes, but also that he will rule based upon his biases and religious beliefs rather than the rule of law.

I don't remember where I was going with this. The point is, I have ghosts in my closet. You probably do too. And I doubt that any of them will come back to bite us in the slightest because we're never gonna try and force our brand of bias upon the American people and plaster ourselves all over their TV sets. So this, "Men should be afraid for their well-being everywhere," shtick is just utter BS and Trump's way of trying to scare white men into staying in line with his particular brand of oppressive destruction.
 
i find the idea that men are being falsely accused of rape all the time - as a smear - to be extremely disingenuous.

i think kavanaugh looked incredibly guilty in those hearings - and that dr ford appeared to be a very reliable witness.

the only obviously false sexual assault smear story recently was the one that came up about meuller last week.
and that has been referred to the FBI for investigation, as it should be.


And for me, the main reason I keep bumping this thread, is the unfairness of what Kavanaugh was put thru, and the lack of repercussions to those who did this to him. Still nothing of substance beyond 'accusations', many of which fell apart. I hate the new reality that anyone can be put through those accusations without facts and reason. It's been a farce, an extremely unfair one. For that, I'm not letting it go.
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what on earth are you talking about?

what "new reality"? people have always been open to accusations, for all sorts of things. always.
the only thing that has changed recently is a strong push to support and enable women to speak up against powerful men who sexually assaulted or harassed them.
i don't think that's a bad thing - and i think it is worth noting that #metoo was very much a reaction to an alleged rapist (who has been recorded boasting about sexual assault) being elected president.
it has been a very important way for people to empower themselves against a government that is quite literally run by creepy old men.

what sort of "evidence" do you think people get convicted of sex crimes on? most of the time it is one person's word against another.
for a huge list of reasons, it is traumatic to report a rape.
extremely invasive, extremely traumatic - and i can assure you, for many people, the process of reporting rape or sexual assault is often more difficult and traumatising than the assault itself.
...and then there is the court case and cross-examination if it ever goes to trial. for many, many of us, going through all of that is way more than we can face.

that is why most rapes and sexual assaults aren't reported - that is why it is considered so incredibly ignorant and disrespectful to demean and dismiss rape survivors in the way trump and others did to dr ford.

her testimony is evidence. i'm not sure what "repercussions to those who did this to him" you are expecting - but that whole comment seems to be predicated on this idea that kavanaugh came out of this smelling like roses.
he didn't. he wasn't exonerated - and to many people he looks as tainted as donald "grab em by the pussy" trump.

here's my understanding in a nutshell; the republicans' dirty tricks prevented obama from installing his supreme court pick, and now trump comes along with his own history of alleged rapes (numerous - including his ex-wife, under oath), sexual assaults, sexual harassment and obvious misogyny.

part of trump's agenda is to turn back women's rights - including the right to choose.

in selecting kavanaugh, he was attempting to select a judge who would support his agenda. fair assessment - right?

now - imagine you where a woman who was sexually assaulted by this guy 30-some years ago. would you speak up? report it? seek to find out if he had done similar things to other people?

i think that it is a total mischaracterisation to call this a political smear.
i have noticed that people supporting trump and the republicans seem to instinctively claim to be 'victims' on almost every topic these days, and this seems no different.

have you ever been close to anyone that has been raped?

i have. many, many people - including a very good friend who was raped 2 weeks ago. i even know who did it.
but she's not going to report it. most people don't.
sexual assault is an extremely confusing and difficult thing to go through, which is something that many people cannot appreciate - but if you are one of the fortunate people who have not had the experience of being sexually assaulted, you should
a) be grateful for that and b) listen closely to those who have.

the victims here are not the rich men in positions of power who might be held accountable for their actions from years and years ago - but as TLB has shown, those claims will be dismissed by a lot of people anyway.
those people will say "there's no evidence!" (even when there is - like...in this case) and then they'll say "we need serious repercussions for people who dare question the integrity of people who raped them!"

the white male victims of all of this still have the privilege their wealth and power affords them - and, of course - the knowledge that any chance of conviction is greatly reduced by the time that will of elapsed since the offence, and the lack of DNA evidence and such, if this is a "historical" accusation.

the victims here are those that have been sexually abused.
i think the continued pretence of this idea that kavanaugh was falsely accused is pretty ugly.
i watched and read a lot of the coverage around those hearings and i saw absolutely no reason whatsoever to believe him, rather than dr ford. she seemed like a very sincere witness, and he seemed to be perjuring himself and being evasive and defensive.

there are lots of examples and stats and articles i could include to support these points, but here are just a couple;

Why most rape victims never acknowledge what happened
Not only is there no link between how quickly someone reports an assault and how genuine this allegation is, but a number of social and psychological factors keep assault survivors from processing their experiences immediately.
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basically - sexual assault can be such a confusing and disorienting experience, that people often don't even realise "i was sexually assaulted" for a long time after the assault. this is probably something a lot of people find difficult to believe, but it is absolutely true.

and another article -

Harvey Weinstein is the exception: Most accused of rape aren't charged


the people who are accused of sex crimes are still very much in privileged positions, both legally and socially.

i know someone who has been falsely accused of rape, and it made his life very difficult for several years.
i also know people who have been raped and never had the confidence, the strength, the support from friends and family - or whatever - to report it.
i also know people who have reported sexual abuse who have been through all of the invasive police questioning, had their bodies and sexual organs photographed by medical examiners for police records, been swabbed, blood tested etc etc etc - who have then been told that their is not enough evidence to press charges.

do i feel sorry for judge kavanaugh? no i do not.

i would suggest that men who have questionable sexual histories - by which i mean guys who have an issue with consent (which is not most of us - most men don't have a problem restraining themselves from raping people) - should probably opt for careers which will keep them out of the public eye...and also, y'know - away from children and other vulnerable people.

i do not think there is some kind of trend towards people falsely accusing public figures of sex crimes. i think the biggest problem is that very very few rapes actually result in convictions. #metoo is taking steps to resolve that - but even still, far too many men get away with sex crimes.

Less than 1% of rapes lead to felony convictions. At least 89% of victims face emotional and physical consequences.

i think the idea that men are being treated unfairly in all this is absolutely ludicrous.
TLB said:
Classy. And people wonder why violence is increasing in America...at the same time public opinion shifts from what is reasonable discourse and civil debate over to this kinda crap being not only acceptable, but encouraged. Don't you think your attitude is part of the problem?
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at what point did "reasonable discourse and civil debate" include demanding repercussions for people who report sexual assaults which do not result in convictions?

with all due respect, i don't think "violence is increasing in america" because people are disgusted in their government, and they express that by demonstrating, protesting and speaking up.

that article "Kavanaugh to skip traditional walk down Supreme Court steps due to security concerns" isn't talking about the prospect of fighting, or bombings (these would be anti-trump activists, who are statistically far less likely to engage in acts of terrorism than pro-trump activists)
people using their rights - their freedom of speech and freedom of assembly - to make political statements in a peaceful manner is a pretty fundamentally accepted in democratic nations.

maybe what's really happening here is that the US government's no longer having much tolerance for its citizens expressing dissent?
 
Dude he got the job, what do you want for him a military parade?

No one like me is jumping up and down trying to get him off the court. He got there legitimately. Waters wants us to yell at the McConnells' and Sanders' of the world while they eat at higher-end restaurants, or to march in the streets to abolish ICE.

No one is trying to jeopardize Kavanaugh's seat now that he already has it, primarily because the vast majority of democrats believe in democracy, unlike Trump who wants to repeal the 14th amendment. :|

Still proud to be a libertarian but as time goes on I see who stands for democracy and who is just itching to get back to national socialism, a totalitarian state where no one can be questioned or maligned, where all state media only says nice things about Dear Leader (i.e. DPRK), etc. :\
 
Top post, sj. I knew that most rapes go unreported/unconvicted (a female friend of mine many years ago was raped and reported it and got invasively swabbed and such... she knew who it was, too. The cops told her they probably wouldn't be able to do anything and the guy never got in trouble... blew my mind), but I didn't realize the numbers were THAT low.
 
Shadowmeister said:
Top post, sj. I knew that most rapes go unreported/unconvicted (a female friend of mine many years ago was raped and reported it and got invasively swabbed and such... she knew who it was, too. The cops told her they probably wouldn't be able to do anything and the guy never got in trouble... blew my mind), but I didn't realize the numbers were THAT low.
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They found 11000 abandoned rape kits in Detroit a few years ago. They were kits that were started and then disposed of without follow through. They went back to the 1980's. The prosecutor, Kym Worthy, has spent the last 9 years following through with the kits and I believe they finished the last 600 this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUjrtRQ64ek
 
TheLoveBandit said:
And for me, the main reason I keep bumping this thread, is the unfairness of what Kavanaugh was put thru, and the lack of repercussions to those who did this to him. Still nothing of substance beyond 'accusations', many of which fell apart. I hate the new reality that anyone can be put through those accusations without facts and reason. It's been a farce, an extremely unfair one. For that, I'm not letting it go.
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I haven't continued following this story, so I don't know for sure- but it seems that there is a lot of discussion about the democrats inventing these accusations to try and discredit a politically difficult (for them) appointment. Can you see that the republicans had exactly the same (but opposite!) motives for claiming the accusations were baseless? Neither side were wholly invested in the truth for truth's sake- it was all political expediency.

That Kavanagh was appointed does not mean he isn't guilty. It is more likely that he was appointed because that benefits the republican party immensely from this side of the narrative.

Normally, these sort of accusations stick and can utterly capsize a career. I guess another way they can pan out- if you have the support of the ruling party and the President- is that you get to acquire the immense power that Kavangh now has. Far from discrediting the guy, he's got a lifetime appointment in spite of it. Its hard to have sympathy for a guy who has gotten everything he wanted. :\
 
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