Ford said that one summer in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and a friend — both “stumbling drunk,” Ford alleges — corralled her into a bedroom during a gathering of teenagers at a house in Montgomery County.
While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” said Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Ford said she was able to escape when Kavanaugh’s friend and classmate at Georgetown Preparatory School, Mark Judge, jumped on top of them, sending all three tumbling. She said she ran from the room, briefly locked herself in a bathroom and then fled the house.
I agree her accusation sounds like attempted rape or sexual assault. What it actually happened is unknown and why it needs to be investigated. A person memory is often faulty, there is also a small chance she is outright lying.
If, apparently, a single alleged assault at a single party decades ago is to be frowned upon, then no man is safe, right?
What’s next? You can’t harass a colleague and serve on the Supreme Court? You can’t pick up high schoolers outside custody hearings and serve in the Senate? You can’t have a meat locker full of female femurs and expect to breeze through your confirmation as interior secretary?
How are we going to fill our offices if this is the new rule? I bet you will say I cannot shout at women as they pass on the street before dragging them to a concrete bunker and then still expect to become governor! What next? I’m supposed to make sure everyone I have sex with is willing?
I’d been considering responding to Tom, who didn’t think that something done in your teen years should define your entire life by asking him what about how it defined her life.
That Malcolm Nance quote is golden. When I was a Navy Officer, I had a promising E-4 working for me who was sent to work in the wardroom (officer’s mess… which is the dining room for the officers) for a couple of months. (It is typical for junior enlisted to have to spend a couple of months “mess cranking”.) At one point, on a dare, he peed into one of the drains in the floor of the kitchen. Stupid, yes, and unsanitary, but hardly high crime. One of the guys who dared him, of course immediately reported him and as a result, he lost his A school (targeted trade school for advancing in a certain job within the military), was busted a rank, and lost half of his pay for a month. He had great potential, could have had and wanted a Navy career. But, the loss of his A school and rank were career ending. It would have set him back at least 5 years because of in-rate competition, and the discrepancy between time-in-rate and rank would have hindered his advancement for his whole career. He left the military at the next opportunity. I was so mad after the NJP hearing that I could hardly speak.
I had another hot-shot E-5 who popped positive on a random urinalysis for pot. He insisted he’d never used it (we’d been underway for nearly 2 months) and fought it to a judicial proceeding, but got processed out. Total waste. He was chief (E-7) material easy–whip smart and good at his job.
Well, the other thing is that AFAIK he never had to take responsibility for his alleged action(s), and thus may not be deserving of a second chance yet (as he hasn’t made up for the first one).
Yeah, he still hasn’t and continues to deny it took place. Some are making the excuse that he might not remember because he was black out drunk, but still should own up to it, and apologize.
It is also possible that she has him confused with someone with similar sounding name. I don’t know how many times I’ve been a party I got a persons name completely wrong.
I don’t think most individuals are going to forget the face of the man who tried to rape her. I know eye witness testimony is iffy, but I think that would probably stick with you for a long time. I wonder what happened to the second guy, the lookout.
He has been denying it happened like his pal. He is a writer among other things, and wrote a book that covered some of those years and how they used to get drunk.
I know this is perhaps too fine a point for some, but saying the guy is a rapist is an unnecessary amount of hyperbole.
I think that what i really hate about this kind of thing is that i feel obligated to say things like that, because it’s reality but I don’t really like being in the position of defending his actions, which I find bad on their own (lack of) merit.
But it’s like… People can’t seem to help themselves, and just feel like they need to crank it up to eleven and say the guy did some reprehensible act that even the accuser isn’t suggesting.
And now comes the ridicule trying to say that I’m defending attempted rape, but fuck it
Your position would have a lot more credit if you didn’t spend part of yesterday trying to claim if he did something in his teens it shouldn’t matter. Are you saying if he had raped her suddenly you changed your mind and you would hold him accountable today?
Well at least you’re not treating me like a second class citizen today and trying to bark orders. You still can’t seem to answer basic questions though…
About two-three years ago, some good friends of mine, doctor was accused of sexual abusing 16 or 17 year old teen. It lead the local TV news and the paper had several articles. The woman making the accusation came forward she sound super credible and the doctor looked like a dirty old men.
I was shocked when my friends said no way it happened (the both went to him as did their children, and maybe even their infant grandchildren. ) They continued to go to him during the investigation.
I didn’t think about again until the #MeToo movement and asked whatever happened a few months ago. Turns out the police did a investigation and found absolutely no substance to the woman accusation, they all but declared the man innocent. I asked was there any no TV news reported him being cleared, “no there was not.” I guess there was page 3 story in the local news section of the paper. But news of this false report, I guess wasn’t considered news.
The judge could be lying through his teeth, but so could Professor Ford, or she could simply mistaken as to who attacked her. Evidently, she had never met Brett before that night.
I guess 200 hundred woman who went to school with Professor Ford have signed a letter saying they believe her. I’m looking forward to seeing all of your posts, questioning how quickly this could have happened. Asking who was behind it etc.
