The credibility of the leftist professor who accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape took another hit on Tuesday, and not just because she demanded a pointless FBI probe before she would testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Mark Judge, a classmate of Kavanaugh’s who disputes the claim that he attended the party nearly four decades ago, said he cannot imagine the Supreme Court nominee doing what Christine Blasey Ford accused him of doing.
Meanwhile, President Trump told reporters that the accusation against Kavanaugh and the attendant publicity are unfair, and committee Republicans want to vote if Ford doesn’t show for Monday’s hearing on the matter.
I Wasn’t There
P.J. Smyth, a friend of Kavanaugh’s who supported Kavanaugh in writing before Ford leveled her ancient claim, wrote to the Judiciary Committee to say he is not the man described as “P.J.” who supposedly attended the party.
Like Kavanaugh, CNN reported, Smyth firmly stated he was not at the party where, Ford claims, a “stumbling drunk” Kavanaugh tried to rape her before the “stumbling drunk” friend, Mark Judge, interrupted the crime.
“I understand that I have been identified by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford as the person she remembers as ‘PJ’ who supposedly was present at the party she described in her statements to the Washington Post,” Smyth wrote in the letter sent through his attorney. “I am issuing this statement today to make it clear to all involved that I have no knowledge of the party in question; nor do I have any knowledge of the allegations of improper conduct she has leveled against Brett Kavanaugh.”
After that, Smyth, like Judge, said he had never witnessed any such behavior from Kavanaugh.
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“Personally speaking, I have known Brett Kavanaugh since high school and I know him to be a person of great integrity, a great friend, and I have never witnessed any improper conduct by Brett Kavanaugh towards women,” he wrote. “To safeguard my own privacy and anonymity, I respectfully request that the Committee accept this statement in response to any inquiry the Committee may have.”
According to CNN, “though Smyth states Ford has named him in connection with the party, she did not publicly identify him when she provided her account of what happened to the Washington Post earlier this week. Ford did not immediately respond to a request for comment through her attorneys, nor did the White House.”
Trump: It’s Unfair
As committee members try to sort out what will happen on Monday if Ford fails to testify under oath about her claim, President Trump weighed in a short conversation with reporters.
“Really, they’re hurting somebody’s life,” he said. “Justice Kavanaugh has been treated very, very tough, and his family. I think it’s a very unfair thing what’s going on.”
Trump continued, as the New York Times reported, “Look, if she shows up and makes a credible showing, that will be very interesting and we’ll have to make a decision. But I can only say this: He is such an outstanding man. Very hard for me to imagine that anything happened.”
The question is whether Ford will show, given her sudden interest in dragging the FBI into the matter.
Judiciary Chairman Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has said he will not delay a vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation if Ford fails to testify because whatever the FBI finds won’t alter what Ford tells the committee. Grassley said the “invitation for Monday still stands,” the Washington Post reported. “Where I’m focused right now,” Grassley told reporters, “is doing everything we can to make Dr. Ford comfortable with coming before our committee.”
Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee wants to move ahead: “Republicans extended a hand in good faith. If we don’t hear from both sides on Monday, let’s vote.” Corker, the Post noted, had said the Senate should wait until Ford testified.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the committee should forget the FBI and vote “as soon as possible.”
Never-Trump Senator Jeff Flake, the Arizona Republican, said Ford needs to talk to the committee. “I now implore Dr. Ford to accept the invitation for Monday, in a public or private setting,” he said. “The committee should hear her voice.”
Whether Ford testifies, her claims cannot be proven. Or disproven.
Photo: Gage Skidmore via flickr
