In the Brett Kavanaugh Case There Can Be Only One Satisfactory Solution: Follow Through on the Tips
Leads turned over to Trump’s White House should not be simply forgotten
So, the FBI has finally confirmed what many of us who paid attention during Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings — and particularly to accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s compelling, credible testimony of sexual assault perpetrated by Kavanaugh — knew all along: the FBI inquiry requested at the time by senators into potential wrongdoing on the part of Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee was purposefully mishandled so as to more easily install Kavanaugh on the high court.
It’s just recently been revealed that at the time of the FBI inquiry into Kavanaugh’s background in 2018, the agency collected some 4,500 tips which were passed on to the White House counsel’s office — and then nothing.
Apparently, in their zeal to get another nominee on the Supreme Court, the Trump White House cast those thousands of tips aside, failed to follow up and simply pushed on with the nomination, which ultimately won confirmation on the narrow vote of 50–48.
Taking shortcuts with an inquiry requested by the Senate is just one more example of malfeasance and corruption on the part of the deeply corrupt Trump administration — and no one should be surprised.
However, the existence of those discarded tips cannot be ignored. Nor is it enough to say, simply, “We need to get to the bottom of this so we can do better next time.”
No.
The existence of those tips casts a new shadow on the behavior of someone currently sitting in a lifetime appointment on the highest court in the land.
Brett Kavanaugh cannot be above the law.
Yes, senators will properly continue seeking information in order to hold to account anyone in the Trump administration guilty of wrongdoing for casting aside those thousands of tips as though they didn’t matter. That’s both to be expected and right.
But someone — perhaps a team at the FBI — ought to be given custody of those 4,500 tips and the authority to open a fresh investigation to run down all of those leads.
So, sure, those leads may ultimately come to nothing. Perhaps, ultimately, they’ll even prove exculpatory in some way for Kavanaugh.
But it’s also possible that those tips either confirm past allegations of sexual assault, or reveal new episodes of wrongdoing.
And, yes, anything beyond statutes of limitations can’t be charged.
However, a fresh investigation could at least expose Kavanaugh to criminal charges of perjury if it’s proven he lied under oath during his contentious confirmation hearings.
Also, the tips could lead to previously unknown wrongdoing on the part of Kavanaugh which may still fall within statutes of limitations. If so, Justice Kavanaugh ought to be impeached and charged criminally for those.
Justice demands no less.
