Sunday, September 30, 2018

Thank you, Sheldon Whitehouse

Whitehouse uses Kavanaugh’s own calendars, yearbook and notes to catch him in lies in his denials of attempted rape
By Will Collette

I want to share two articles with you about the stand our Senator Sheldon Whitehouse took during the confirmation hearings on Trump’s pick for Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh had, until Friday, tried to play the role of chaste, respectful altar boy, a man of impeccable character unstained by any sordid past.

None of what Dr. Christine Ford said about him could possibly be true. And to “prove” it, Kavanaugh introduced his calendars for his high school years at Georgetown Prep.

Personally, I think that Kavanaugh’s production of his calendar notes is enough to show he is unfit for the Supreme Court because they do not, to paraphrase Princess Bride, say what he thinks they say. I ask you - would any competent lawyer do that?

That’s where Sen. Whitehouse came in. Using Kavanaugh’s own calendars and notes, Whitehouse took him apart, focusing in particular on phrases and notes Kavanaugh himself wrote.

Before we move on to the two articles, I just want to note how stressful all this must be to Charlestown’s resident curmudgeon Jim Mageau, who took to the Letters to the Editor page of the Westerly Sun on September 21 to blast Senator Whitehouse. 

Mageau charged Whitehouse with engaging in “political theatre” and using unproven charges like this to destroy the family and reputation of an outstanding jurist” and calls for Whitehouse to be disbarred.

Well, Jim, a lot has changed since September 21. I wonder if you will now write a letter to the editor with your apology.

Here are two articles.


Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse vows to complete Kavanaugh rape investigations: ‘Coverups never last’
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) delivered a powerful rebuke of his Republican colleagues for refusing to allow a law enforcement investigation of sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh — and he identified the possible date of the attack.

The Rhode Island Democrat said accuser Christine Blasey Ford provided credible testimony about her recollections of the assault, and he said the Supreme Court nominee’s testimony was unreliable.


Image result for devil’s triangle
“Kavanaugh dodged and dissembled, ranted and raved, filibustered — I did not find him credible,” Whitehouse said. “I don’t believe ‘boof’ is flatulence, I don’t believe the devil’s triangle is a drinking game, and I don’t believe calling yourself a girl’s alumnus is being her friend, and I think drinking until you ‘ralph’ or fall out of the bus or don’t remember the game or need to piece together your memory the next day is more consistent with Dr. Ford’s and others’ testimony than his own.”

“If Dr. Ford’s testimony is true, I hope we can all agree Kavanaugh has no business on the court, and I for one believed her,” he added.

He blasted the Republican majority for refusing to subpoena Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh friend who Ford placed in the room at the time.

“The greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth is cross-examination,” Whitehouse said. “Mark Judge is in hiding instead of under subpoena, and that greatest legal engine has been deliberately disabled in this matter.”

Whitehouse pointed to a calendar Kavanaugh kept as a teenager, which lists a party on July 1, 1982, that matches up with Ford’s testimony about who was present the night she was assaulted.

We know ‘Bart’ Kavanaugh was there because it’s his schedule, and here’s Judge, and here’s PJ, here are all those three named boys and others at a house together just as she said,” Whitehouse said. “She said Kavanaugh and Judge were drunk and that she had a beer. (The calendar shows) skis — (or) brewskis, beer. They were drinking, just as she said.”

“Now, I will concede that the two girls aren’t mentioned, but spot me this,” he added. “If you had just sexually assaulted one of the two girls, would you add the girls’ names to your calendar? I doubt it. This may, may be powerful corroborating evidence that the assault happened, that it happened that day, and that it happened in that place, but with no FBI investigation, we can’t tell.”

Whitehouse vowed to continue investigating Kavanaugh’s past — regardless of whether he’s ultimately confirmed.

“We have done a botch of the investigation, over time I expect the facts to come out,” he said. “They have a way of doing that. Coverups never last. The sand is running through Kavanaugh’s hourglass, and I pledge whatever I can do to make sure that the truth of his conduct is ultimately determined.”

By Bob Plain in Rhode Island’s Future


“I like beer,” said Supreme Court hopeful Brett Kavanaugh when Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse asked if his high school “ralph club” referred to alcohol-induced vomiting. “Do you like beer, Senator?” the potential justice then shot back at Whitehouse. “What do you like to drink?”

It wasn’t the only time Kavanaugh, visibly angry throughout the afternoon, would answer a question about his drinking habits with a question about a senator’s drinking habits. He apologized during the hearing for doing so to Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Not so to Rhode Island’s junior senator, who focused his five minutes of on examining some passages from Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook, which seemed to annoy the applicant.
“If you’re worried about my yearbook, have at it,” Kavanaugh told Whitehouse. “If you want to talk about flatulence on page 16 in a high school yearbook, I’m game.”
Only some doubt it was a reference to flatulence on page 16 of that high school yearbook, according to this Vox story.

Similarly with a question Whitehouse asked Kavanaugh about a reference to “devil’s triangle,” which Kavanaugh told Whitehouse was a drinking game though others think it’s a reference to sex between two men and a woman.

Whitehouse: “Devils triangle?”
Kavanaugh: “It’s a drinking game.”
Whitehouse: “How’s it played.”
Kavanaugh: “Three glasses in a triangle,”
Whitehouse: “And?”
Kavanaugh: “You ever played quarters?”
Whitehouse: “No.”
Kavanaugh: “Okay, it’s a quarters game.”

Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a reporter for several different news organizations both in Rhode Island and across the country.