have centrist dems started saying okay things about him yet?

7/10/2018 8:08:05 AM

Quote :

"Source familiar tells NBC that Justice Kennedy had been in negotiations with the Trump team for months over Kennedy’s replacement. Once Kennedy received assurances that it would be Kavanaugh (his former law clerk) Kennedy felt comfortable retiring - @LACaldwellDC & @frankthorp"

Um... that’s not how it works.

(need to see if this reporting is confirmed)

[Edited on July 10, 2018 at 8:09 AM. Reason : ^ so far the people that matter (senators) haven’t. That won’t hold though.]

7/10/2018 8:08:20 AM

^I'm sure this type of underhanded methodology has been done before. The reporting is better, or I guess more interested in investigating this type of thing.

You don't think the Democrats are in talks with RBG to hold on as long as possible?

It certainly isn't right, and I hope that we can do something to prevent a sitting Justice from picking his/her replacement, but I doubt this is anything new.

7/10/2018 8:32:19 AM

I like to think RBG realizes this without needing to have it explained to her by Dems. In fact - giving her vocal disavowing of Trump - I could see her excoriating any politician that tried to coach her about that.

Plus there's a huge difference in between your scenario and a sitting SCOTUS judge potentially dictating his own successor.

7/10/2018 9:04:10 AM

the conservative justices do this shit all the time. They flat out don't give a shit about ethics or optics and no one holds them accountable:

Gorsuch having dinner with lawmakers to discuss "issues"
https://thinkprogress.org/gorsuch-alexander-dinner-meeting-632ecbc0748e/

Going to fundraisers for groups that are directly tied to cases that have come before the court
https://thinkprogress.org/group-requests-doj-to-investigate-scalia-and-thomas-involvement-with-koch-corporate-fundraisers-599866acfb63/

Straight forgetting to disclose the 100s of thousands of dollars Heritage is paying his wife
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/22/nation/la-na-thomas-disclosure-20110122

Etc etc etc (and this is just from 2 mins of googling)

7/10/2018 9:30:11 AM

https://www.npr.org/2018/07/09/626164904/who-is-brett-kavanaugh-president-trumps-pick-for-the-supreme-court

7/10/2018 9:53:06 AM

Quote :

"I like to think RBG realizes this without needing to have it explained to her by Dems. In fact - giving her vocal disavowing of Trump - I could see her excoriating any politician that tried to coach her about that. Plus there's a huge difference in between your scenario and a sitting SCOTUS judge potentially dictating his own successor."

all of this

anyways

now these assholes aren’t denying that a deal was in place

7/10/2018 10:35:56 AM

This is really just a sleazy way of going about getting a Supreme Court judge. I don't like it. And, even though I'm a (bad) conservative, I don't want a conservative majority on the SCOTUS.

7/10/2018 12:10:09 PM

Quote :

"have centrist dems started saying okay things about him yet?"

https://politicalwire.com/2018/07/11/manchin-sounds-like-a-yes/

Quote :

"Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who is up for re-election this year, told Talkline radio that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh “has all the right qualities” of a Justice and that he will defer to his constituents when casting his vote. Said Manchin: “I think he seems to be a very fine person of high moral standards. A family person who’s very involved in his community. Has all the right qualities. He’s well-educated. And with that, you know, we have to just look at making sure that the rule of law and the Constitution is going to be followed.”"

7/12/2018 12:33:58 PM

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/08/636299187/on-appeals-court-kavanaugh-helped-to-loosen-political-money-laws

8/8/2018 12:14:33 PM

This Kavanaugh process (less than 24 hours to review documents, small percentage of overall documents, commitee confidentially applied to a huge portion of the documents actually produced, President is a criminal, etc) is so fucked up that, when the public does finally get to see those documents (FOIA, leaks, other legal means), Kavanaugh will be perpetually tainted along with all the GOP members of the judicial cmte.

Thats my hope anyway.

Anyways, everyone should probably call thom thillis tomorrow and ask him about his quote that he could:

Review 40,000 documents in hours if theyre electronic

9/4/2018 4:40:31 PM

Q: "Is a sitting President required to comply with a subpoena?"

Kavanaugh: "as a matter of the canons of judicial independence, I can't give you an answer on that hypothetical question."




Motherfucker, what did you just say???????? Kavanaugh sounds like just the influence our Justice system needs to really clarify things.

9/5/2018 12:17:35 PM

Quote :

"Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) grilled Kavanaugh on what he knew about the Republican staff members who hacked into Democrats’ computers to monitor strategy memos in 2002 and 2003. The hack became public in 2004, and included Leahy’s files. Implicated in the scandal was Manny Miranda, an aide to then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Miranda resigned under pressure from Democrats. Leahy surfaced emails involving Kavanaugh and Miranda, asking why Kavanaugh did not question how Miranda was able to send him “very private” emails from Democrats. The senator suggested the emails may contradict a prior statement from Kavanaugh in which he denied any prior knowledge of the hack, and argued that more documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the Bush White House should be released to the committee."

Good chance Kavanaugh is openly lying about not knowing anything about this email hack from way back in 2002.

The GOP has been brandishing stolen documents, as needed, for decades now, and of course lying about it along the way. The ends always justify the means to them.

9/5/2018 1:00:55 PM

Here is a way better explainer of the above:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/09/kavanaugh-confirmation-hearings-patrick-leahy-points-to-email-that-suggests-judge-lied-to-senate.html

I’m not saying this will keep Kavanaugh from being seated because perjury, for the cause, is more a feature than a bug to the GOP, but kavanaugh is gonna be carrying a lot of baggage and the fact that Leahy can’t just drop the receipts for everyone just adds to the taint. I’m really interested how he tries to sidestep this issue today, now that he’s been able to go back and review emails and see how guilty he is.

I’d go full-court press on this issue today. Showing Kavanaugh has lied in the senate multiple times is the ONLY thing I’m seeing that might sway some of GOP to vote against him.

[Edited on September 6, 2018 at 6:13 AM. Reason : Also, this is light years more important than that anonymous official’s letter. Thats a distraction ]

9/6/2018 6:12:32 AM

also this shit could be even more damning than lite perjury:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/05/kavanaugh-mueller-probe-hearings-809115

If Kavanaugh has been discussing the Mueller investigation with a law firm that is actually working on the case He'll have to recuse.............well, in an ideal world where ethics still govern our justice system.


I may not always agree on policy with Kamala Harris, but damn I admire the way she destroys people while questioning them in hearings.

[Edited on September 6, 2018 at 8:16 AM. Reason : .]

9/6/2018 8:06:37 AM

I mean Manchin and Heitkamp are on record AFTER yesterday they have seen nothing that should disqualify Kavanaugh.

He could show up today wearing a white hooded robe and chanting “Trump For King” and he’d get confirmed. Nothing matters at all to McConnell, Ryan or the congressional GOP.

9/6/2018 8:31:14 AM

You’re probably right. Fuck conservadems. I’m still hoping over here though.

At a minimum, They are delegitimizing him. We really need some fireworks today.

9/6/2018 9:02:13 AM

https://twitter.com/charlie_savage/status/1037696284784779264?s=21

Hopefully when Susan Collins votes for him and Roe is eventually overturned or undercut she finally is seen as the fraud she is.

9/6/2018 9:38:53 AM

kamala harris' asking him directly if he has discussed mueller or his investigation with anyone from kasowitz benson torres is pretty huge if she is asking because she knows he has. he looked pretty flustered by the question.

the, "i think you're thinking of someone and you don't want to tell us" comment is spot on. with whom has he discussed the mueller investigation and why doesn't he want to say who it was?

https://youtu.be/Tsm1GPnlqmU

[Edited on September 6, 2018 at 9:45 AM. Reason : .]

9/6/2018 9:40:55 AM

FUCK YES!!!!

Cory Booker says he is gonna release emails that are currently considered cmte confidential. Technically he could be ousted from the Senate for that. Its gonna be a throwdown today!!! This is what we needed. Burn this fucker to the ground.

[Edited on September 6, 2018 at 9:55 AM. Reason : Grassley et al are so on defense, they know they are cheating the rules.]

9/6/2018 9:54:50 AM

I mean, they were all leaked to the NYT overnight anyway already. Surely by a Democrat on the committee.

McConnell warned Trump this would happen with Kavanaugh fwiw. He knew they’d have to really carry water. It won’t matter as he’ll get confirmed and it won’t matter for the 2018 Senate elections (because of the map) but some Republican senators will be signing their de facto resignations in 2020 and 2022 by voting for him.

[Edited on September 6, 2018 at 10:05 AM. Reason : Read the twitter link I posted for NYT ]

9/6/2018 10:00:07 AM

Orly?

9/6/2018 10:03:06 AM

Holy shit, all the dems just dared the GOP to expel them from the Senate!!!

Cory Booker to John Cornyn: “Bring it.”

9/6/2018 10:29:18 AM

^link?

9/6/2018 10:36:19 AM

Just streaming the Cspan vid. There was like an hour of back and forth related to the document procedures. Several Dems said they were gonna release docs, Cornyn read the rule about ouster from the senate for breaking confidentiality rules, Booker into his mic: “Bring it, Bring it.”

9/6/2018 10:40:52 AM

i haven't been watching but found this tweet thread:
https://twitter.com/Hegemommy/status/1037703287363911681

Quote :

"Lee jumps in to say the document Booker was leaking has now been approved and says he wants to work with the Dems to make documents public GOP is rattled"

9/6/2018 11:01:14 AM

Dusty Ol’ Leahy has Kavanaugh cornered. Kavanaugh used stolen emails in 2002-2003 to escort GWB judicial nominees through the process. His only defense is “I didn’t know where the emails came from.”

9/6/2018 11:37:14 AM

Perjury only matters about blowjobs guys.

9/6/2018 1:07:45 PM

Quote :

"Subject: spying I have a friend who is a mole for us on the left..."

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmbUqdOWsAAjeJS.jpg

9/6/2018 2:34:13 PM

i like the email that shows he knew about large-scale warrantless spying way earlier than what he said under oath (i think he said he learned about when the NYT article came out)

9/6/2018 2:44:46 PM

In all seriousness, is there any relevant historical comparison of a SCOTUS nominee blatantly lying under oath? Like, he shouldn’t even be allowed to sit on the district court anymore let alone be confirmed to the highest court in the land.

9/6/2018 3:10:55 PM

perpetuating the birth control is abortion inducing drugs BS, Roe is going to be eroded away

9/6/2018 3:43:15 PM

Kamala Harris doesn’t strike me as a bullshitter.

So where the fuck is her questioning going? The implications are enormous. If Kavanaugh had some kind of *scandolous meeting*?????

Spill the damn beans already.

9/6/2018 8:11:50 PM

Can someone explain to me why Republicans and conservative Democrats should feel obligated to vote for Brett Kavanaugh, since Donald Trump’s next Supreme Court nominee is just as likely to check all of the conservative boxes without carrying so much baggage?

9/6/2018 10:01:31 PM

Because last time with Bork, they got Kennedy instead. Maybe they don't want a repeat of that?

9/6/2018 10:18:33 PM

Five Times Brett Kavanaugh Appears to Have Lied to Congress While Under Oath
Pesky documents keep surfacing to contradict the nominee’s claims about his past.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/09/five-times-brett-kavanaugh-appears-to-have-lied-to-congress-while-under-oath/

Brett Kavanaugh Perjured Himself. He Should Be Impeached From The D.C. Circuit Soon.
Are Republicans really going to confirm a judge who will need to be impeached?
https://abovethelaw.com/2018/09/brett-kavanaugh-perjured-himself-impeachment/

'Kavanaugh Committed Perjury': New Documents Appear to Show Trump Supreme Court Pick Lied Under Oath Multiple Times
"Maybe there's a reason Senate Republicans tried to keep Kavanaugh's emails secret?"
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/09/06/kavanaugh-committed-perjury-new-documents-appear-show-trump-supreme-court-pick-lied

9/7/2018 8:53:43 AM

^Good thread responding to the ATL article, which explains why BK did not commit perjury.

https://twitter.com/DavidLat/status/1037818136349814784

9/7/2018 9:22:42 AM

also yesterday - Corey Booker pointed out that Kavanaugh's name wasn't on Trump's list of potential nominees until after the Mueller probe begin. Then Kavanaugh said he would not recuse himself if an issue related to the Mueller probe reached the SCOTUS (recuse himself in light of the conversations he's had with people who may or may not work for the law firm of Trump's attorney).

tl;dr
This is about protecting Trump, that's why republicans are pushing Kavanaugh through instead of another conservative nominee without the baggage

9/7/2018 9:35:39 AM

That's quite a cynical conspiracy theory you got there.

9/7/2018 11:33:30 AM

why else are they trying to cram him through?

9/7/2018 11:40:03 AM

Seems pretty plausible to me. Tell me why it isn't.

9/7/2018 11:40:17 AM

Because he is a well qualified and knowledgeable nominee?

9/7/2018 11:46:52 AM

^^^ the obvious answer is they think they could lose the Senate. There is a reason McConnell warned against Kavanaugh and its because he didn’t think he’d be confirmed as easily as the others.

It’s also obvious Trump picked him for his own self-interest but the GOP railroading him through is solely because they aren’t 100% sure they’ll hold the Senate (though it still seems likely).

^ with lots of baggage that should be transparently looked at fully. Again, McConnell and GOP leadership flat out said this

[Edited on September 7, 2018 at 11:49 AM. Reason : X]

9/7/2018 11:48:55 AM

Quote :

"Because he is a well qualified and knowledgeable nominee?"

the people already on the list weren't qualified or knowledgeable?

9/7/2018 11:50:36 AM

Quote :

"the obvious answer is they think they could lose the Senate. "

This is much more plausible. And correct.

Quote :

"the people already on the list weren't qualified or knowledgeable?"

Yes?

[Edited on September 7, 2018 at 11:54 AM. Reason : 1]

9/7/2018 11:51:27 AM

they picked kavanaugh over the other potential nominees because they could lose the senate? no, that doesn't answer the question.

[Edited on September 7, 2018 at 11:53 AM. Reason : ac]

9/7/2018 11:53:02 AM

To clarify, Trump picked Kavanaugh because of his views on executive power and the fact he is on record saying a sitting president shouldn’t deal with ANY legal issues.

The GOP would have been fine with any of the Federalist Society dinosaurs but now that Trump picked Kavanaugh they HAVE to railroad him through for fear of not holding the Senate and being stock with a far more moderate nominee.

9/7/2018 11:55:40 AM

^^So you are indicating that Trump nominated BK because of some backroom agreement that BK wont convict him if charged in the Mueller investigation.

Do you not see the ridiculous conspiracy theory here.

[Edited on September 7, 2018 at 11:57 AM. Reason : 1]

9/7/2018 11:56:02 AM

Kavanaughs views on this aren’t exactly secret. I mean why would Trump need assurances? It’s all out there..

9/7/2018 11:57:14 AM

and kavanaugh has talked to someone about the case, we just don't know if they were part of trump's lawyer's lawfirm because kavanaugh wasn't given a roster of everyone who worked there

9/7/2018 12:19:30 PM