Political Wire

Kavanaugh Accuser Faced Own Misconduct Charges

September 29, 2018 at 11:05 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Julie Swetnick, one of the women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, faced allegations of her own misconduct during a short stint at a Portland tech company 18 years ago,” the Oregonian reports.

LIn the suit, Webtrends alleged Swetnick claimed to have graduated from Johns Hopkins University but the company said it subsequently learned the school had no record of her attendance.”

“The suit also alleges Swetnick ‘engaged in unwelcome, sexually offensive conduct’ while at Webtrends and ‘made false and retaliatory allegations that other co-workers had engaged in inappropriate conduct toward her.’”

Trump Says He ‘Fell In Love’ with Kim Jong Un

September 29, 2018 at 10:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said that he and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “fell in love,” The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “I was really being tough and so was he. And we would go back and forth. And then we fell in love. No really. He wrote me beautiful letters. They were great letters. And then we fell in love.”

Trump Slams Democrats at Campaign Rally

September 29, 2018 at 10:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump trashed Democrats and the media at the campaign event, saying the Kavanaugh hearing at which both the nominee and Ford testified showed that the Democrats were full of “anger” and “mean,” “nasty” and “untruthful,” NBC News reports.

The president said they were on a “mission to resist, obstruct and destroy. You’ve seen that over the last four days.”

He added: “They don’t care who they hurt, who they have to run over in order to get power and control. That’s what they want — power and control — we’re not going to give it to them.”

He also called the Democratic Party the “party of crime.”

White House Limits Scope of Kavanaugh Investigation

September 29, 2018 at 5:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House is limiting the scope of the FBI’s investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh,” NBC News reports.

“While the FBI will examine the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the bureau has not been permitted to investigate the claims of Julie Swetnick, who has accused Kavanaugh of engaging in sexual misconduct at parties while he was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School in the 1980s… A White House official confirmed that Swetnick’s claims will not be pursued as part of the reopened background investigation into Kavanaugh.”

Warren Confirms She’s Mulling a Presidential Bid

September 29, 2018 at 5:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) made her most definitive indication to date that she is mulling a run for the White House in 2020, telling a town hall crowd Saturday that she will take a “hard look at running for president” after the Nov. 6 midterm elections, the Boston Globe reports.

“Until now, Warren has responded to questions about her presidential ambitions by insisting she is focused on winning her re-election in November. On Saturday, she linked her potential interest in the nation’s highest office to the damage she sees President Trump doing to the country and, more recently, how Republicans have handled the sexual assault accusations against US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.”

Laxalt Was Arrested for Assaulting Police Officer

September 29, 2018 at 5:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Nevada gubernatorial candidate Adam Laxalt (R) was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer in June 1996, according to police report summaries obtained by the Reno Gazette Journal.

Explained Laxalt: “When I was 17, I was at a friend’s house, when police suddenly started to enter and I reacted the wrong way—trying to keep them from coming in and asking for a warrant. Today, as a law enforcement officer, I understand they were just doing their jobs. If I could go back and knock some sense into that drunk teenager I would. As a result of this and other incidents with alcohol, I got sober at 18, found God, and put my life back on track.”

Yale Classmate Says Kavanaugh Lied at Hearing

September 29, 2018 at 4:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Liz Swisher, a former Yale classmate of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, told CNN that she believes he lied under oath when testifying about his drinking to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.

Said Swisher: “He drank heavily,” adding that he was a “sloppy drunk.”

She went on: “I don’t buy it. That’s not the Brett I knew, as soon as I met him in college. It’s not the Brett I saw during four years at Yale. And I don’t think many of his answers were credible. To lie under oath, to lie about that, then what else is true?”

Avenatti Client Not Yet Contacted By FBI

September 29, 2018 at 4:36 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing a third woman to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, said Saturday that he has “yet to hear from the FBI” — even after the agency reopened its investigation of the Supreme Court nominee, ABC News reports.

Avenatti, who represents Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick, said on Saturday that he was ready to disclose to the FBI “all information and witnesses in our possession.”

Sarah Palin’s Son Arrested for Domestic Violence

September 29, 2018 at 4:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sarah Palin’s oldest son has been arrested on new domestic violence charges in Alaska,” TMZ reports.

“Track Palin was busted Friday night after Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of a disturbance at his home in Wasilla. Cops say their investigation revealed he assaulted a female acquaintance at the residence, then took her phone away when she tried to call authorities.”

“Track allegedly resisted the troopers while being placed under arrest as well.”

Most Won’t Re-Elect Senators If They Vote for Kavanaugh

September 29, 2018 at 4:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Change Research poll finds 51% of Americans wouldn’t vote to re-elect their senators if they vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.

A new YouGov survey finds that Americans believe Christine Blasey Ford was telling the truth about Kavanaugh assaulting her by 41% to 30%, while they are split on Kavanaugh’s honesty, 35% to 38%.

However, among those who reported having personally watched at least some of the hearings, 52% to 36%, that they believed Ford, while they were split 44% to 46% on whether they believed Kavanaugh.

Senator Says Kavanaugh Accuser Has ‘False Memories’

September 29, 2018 at 4:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is dismissing the Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of Christine Blasey Ford about her alleged assault years ago by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, USA Today reports.

Asked what he believes motivated Ford to testify this week, Johnson responded: “Read about false memories. Read about people who have actually confessed to crimes and then later proven totally innocent, OK?”

FBI Reaches Out to Second Kavanaugh Accuser

September 29, 2018 at 1:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The has FBI reached out to Deborah Ramirez, a woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct while they were students at Yale University, the Washington Post reports.

“The FBI has begun contacting people as part of an additional background investigation of Kavanaugh.”

Ford’s Friend Does Not Deny Assault Claim

September 29, 2018 at 1:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“An attorney for Leland Keyser stated plainly in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that his client, a friend of Christine Blasey Ford, does not ‘refute’ Blasey’s sexual assault claim against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh,” the HuffPost reports.

Said attorney Howard Walsh: “Ms. Keyser does not refute Dr. Ford’s account, and she has already told the press that she believes Dr. Ford’s account.”

Walsh added that “the simple and unchangeable truth” is that his client is “unable to corroborate” Ford’s account because she does not remember it.

Pelosi Says Kavanaugh Was ‘Hysterical’ at Hearing

September 29, 2018 at 12:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh “hysterical” and said that he was temperamentally unfit to serve on the Supreme Court, CBS News reports.

Said Pelosi: “I couldn’t help but think that if a woman had ever performed that way, they would say ‘hysterical.'”

Pelosi also said that she believed Kavanaugh’s testimony proved that he could not serve on the Supreme Court, because it showed that he is biased against Democrats.

She added: “I will say this — if he is not telling the truth to Congress or to the FBI, then he’s not fit not only to be on the Supreme Court, but to be on the court he’s on right now.”

The Miscalculation Haunting Kavanaugh

September 29, 2018 at 11:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jim VandeHei: “Imagine if Brett Kavanaugh had offered his emotional, tearful, you-ruined-my-life opening speech to the Judiciary Committee — and then called for a quick FBI probe to clear his name and perhaps find the true assailant. He would have looked confident, humble, even a tad heroic, given the president who nominated him opposed the FBI probe.”

“Well, he and Republicans had an epic failure of imagination: Instead, they were forced reluctantly and publicly into what should have been a fairly easy-to-anticipate moderate compromise: agree to a vote after a quick FBI probe.”

“Instead of looking hungry for truth, Kavanaugh heads into the week looking fearful of findings.”

Quote of the Day

September 29, 2018 at 11:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Yes. I’m a conservative. He’s a conservative. I plan to support him unless they turn up something—and they might.”

— Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), telling The Atlantic that he still plans to vote for the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Bannon Predicts Three-Way Race In 2020

September 29, 2018 at 11:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon is predicting that the 2020 presidential race could become a three-way contest, The Hill reports.

Said Bannon: “You’re gonna have Trump on the right, a politician – maybe a Kamala Harris or somebody on the left – and I think you’ll have a Bloomberg or a Romney or somebody in the center. I think it will be a three-way race.”

Trump Kicks Off Rally Blitz

September 29, 2018 at 7:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump on Saturday kicks off a week of rallies in five friendly places around the country, seeking to shore up support ahead of congressional elections even as the fate of his pick to fill a Supreme Court vacancy remains unclear,” Reuters reports.

“Trump travels first to Wheeling, West Virginia on Saturday, where Republicans are trying to unseat Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, one of a handful of senators seen as key swing votes that will determine Kavanaugh’s appointment.”

“Trump will then hold evening rallies in Johnson City, Tennessee on Monday; Southaven, Mississippi on Tuesday; Rochester, Minnesota on Thursday; and Topeka, Kansas next Saturday.”

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