The confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, while expected to be narrow, was not much in doubt until a little over a week ago, when an allegation of sexual assault surfaced. In the allegation, university professor Christine Blasey Ford alleged that Kavanaugh had groped her and attempted to rape her at a party back in high school. While Kavanaugh had “unequivocally” denied the charge and Ford’s recollection of some of the details of the event were vague, distrust of the nominee’s moral character grew steadily, especially after another allegation surfaced soon after. In that second charge, a woman alleged that Kavanaugh had displayed his private parts to her during a party at Yale, where both attended college. A third woman, a client of Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represented pornographic actress Stormy Daniels in her case against Trump, alleged that Kavanaugh had helped orchestrate gang rapes of women during high school and drugged women to make them more susceptible. None of these allegations have been corroborated by other witnesses at this time, though new evidence can come to light any time to help prove either side.
Kavanaugh’s nomination was reported out of the Judiciary Committee of an 11-10 party line vote Friday, one day after both Kavanaugh and Ford gave their testimony to the committee. However, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who voted for Kavanaugh in the committee vote, said he would not vote for Kavanaugh unless a new FBI probe was launched to investigate Ford’s claims. With the GOP majority in the Senate only 51-49, Flake’s vote is crucial for the nomination’s success. President Trump has since ordered the probe, which is expected to take around one week to complete.
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