Brett Kavanaugh is a Supreme Court Justice. During his confirmation hearing, news of an attempted rape allegation was leaked to the media and became a significant part of his confirmation hearing. Like Clarence Thomas before him, he indulged in an angry rant that shut off further inquiry into the allegation.
Christine Blasey Ford testified at the hearing and so did Kavanaugh. He produced his calendar from back in high school to provide himself an alibi, though it substantiated her timeline more effectively than his. Other women came forward alleging sexual assaults but they were not called as witnesses and their allegations were not investigated. The FBI did not do an investigation of her allegation, though they claimed to have done so at the time. Tips about Kavanaugh’s past were not forwarded for investigation but instead sent to the White House.
Blasey Ford had plenty of corroboration from telling other people after therapy brought out her assault.
According to Ford’s testimony, she had never told anyone of her sexual assault in detail. That changed in 2012, when she and her husband were redoing their home and she insisted on having a second front door — a second way out of the house. Her husband couldn’t understand; the request seemed ridiculous. Why does a house need two ways out?
During a session with their couples therapist, Ford explained, it all spilled out. She had been assaulted as a teenager. She was pushed into a room and nearly raped. Her attacker, whom she recalled then and now as Kavanaugh, clapped his hand across her mouth when she screamed, pushing down so tightly she couldn’t breathe, so tightly she thought he might kill her by accident.
Kavanaugh was confirmed by the slimmest margin in nearly 150 years. He wrote the controversial opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Blasey Ford continues to get death threats to this day.
In 2023, the documentary film Justice revealed that a man who lived in Kavanaugh’s dorm witnessed Kavanaugh sexually assaulting a woman who was drunk. He also corroborated Ramirez’ story of being raped by Kavanaugh in college. Stier called the FBI and they ignored his call.
His ranting testimony and contempt for Klobuchar, in particular, inspired this project.
VOX: The Ford-Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Hearings explained
- VOX: The Ford-Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Hearings explained
- The Guardian: Christine Blasey Ford makes rare publilc remarks, a year after her ordeal
- Newsweek: Christine Blasey Ford death threats resurface amid Kavanaugh protests
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: FBI Director confirms sent tips from Kavanaugh tip line to the White House without investigation
- The Daily Beast: New Brett Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Allegations Revealed in Secret Sundance Doc
06 Oct 2018