9/27/2023 0 Comments Brett kavanaugh skull and bones![]() ![]() But Merrick also said in the affidavit and in a later interview that he has never doubted Ford’s truthfulness.Įxperts on memory and sex crimes say that Ford’s spotty recollections of the alleged assault are in line with those of a typical victim: clear on the basic elements of the violation and its perpetrator (especially given that, in this case, that person was alleged to be an acquaintance), and hazy on ancillary elements like the exact location and the transportation that got her there and back. Her former boyfriend Brian Merrick said in a sworn affidavit to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he hadn’t known of her fear of flying or of tight spaces when they dated in the 1990s, raising questions for Republicans about the anxiety issues Ford has attributed in part to the alleged assault. Last August, she passed a polygraph test focused on her Kavanaugh memories. We have seen no evidence of Ford fabricating stories, either recently or historically. Her credibility is affirmed in other ways, too. But it does mean that she has a baseline level of credibility as an accuser. None of that means that Ford was, in fact, assaulted by Kavanaugh. They were often seen together at parties, and their tendency to drink beer, sometimes to excess, was well known. Judge and Kavanaugh, whom Ford recalled being together in the room where she was allegedly assaulted, were close friends. Her good friend Leland Keyser dated Mark Judge. Unproven as it is, we found that the account of Christine Blasey Ford-to use Martha’s phrase-“rings true.” Ford’s social circle overlapped with that of Kavanaugh as a high-school student. We come to this complicated, seemingly contradictory, and perhaps unsatisfying conclusion based on the facts as we found them. ![]() Ultimately, we combined our notebooks with our common sense and came to believe an utterly human narrative: that Ford and Ramirez were mistreated by Kavanaugh when he was a teenager, and that Kavanaugh over the next 35 years became a better person. As reporters, we uncovered nothing to suggest that Kavanaugh has mistreated women in the years since. As mothers of sons, we had to imagine what it would be like if the men we loved were wrongly charged with these offenses.Īs people, our gut reaction was that the allegations of Ford and Ramirez from the past rang true. We had to offer Kavanaugh the benefit of the doubt, venturing to empathize with his suffering if he were falsely accused.Īs mothers of daughters, we were prone to believe and support the women who spoke up. As reporters, we had a responsibility to test those predilections. Without corroboration, the claims of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez would be hard to accept.Īs women, we could not help but be moved by the accounts of Ford and Ramirez, and understand why they made such a lasting impact. But as reporters, we need evidence we rely on the facts. ![]() Many happen without witnesses, and many victims avoid reporting them out of shame or fear. In reviewing our findings, we looked at them in two ways: through the prism of reporting and through the lens of common sense.Īs women, we know that many sexual assaults aren’t corroborated. We watched Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings multiple times. We studied maps of Montgomery Country, Maryland, as well as housing-renovation plans and court records. We reviewed hours of television interviews, along with reams of newspaper, magazine, and digital coverage. We conducted hundreds of interviews with principal players in Kavanaugh’s education, career, and confirmation. They also made a strong impression on us, as we embarked on our 10-month investigation of the Supreme Court justice. Those words made a strong impression on her young son, Brett. Years ago, when she was practicing her closing arguments at the family dinner table, Martha Kavanaugh often returned to her signature line as a state prosecutor.
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