With the latest developments in the Supreme Court confirmation process of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Senate leaders called for a public hearing next Monday. At the time of this posting, accuser Christine Blasey Ford has not accepted the Senate’s invitation; hence, the hearing may not happen.
But assuming it does, according to Senate rules, the question-asking of those testifying before a committee can be assigned to any individual. Recognizing that unpretentious, respectful, truth-seeking questions are most necessary, the Intramuralist has been assigned to the task before us. Under oath, I’d sincerely like to ask the following…
To the accuser…
- Is this true?
- Is any part of this exaggerated?
- Why do you remember specifically what happened but do not remember where you where, when you were there, and why you were there?
- Why did you edit your social media accounts to remove previously posted progressive ties?
To the accused…
- Is this true?
- Is there any angle or aspect which is partially true?
- How well have you known your accuser?
- Did any of your friends have a relationship with her?
- How have you grown or changed emotionally and spiritually since high school?
To the Senate Judiciary Committee…
- Who leaked this story?
- Why?
- Sen. Feinstein, why did you wait 7 weeks before sharing this information?
- Why didn’t you ask Kavanaugh about it in committee or in a private, closed door session?
- Did you intentionally withhold this information for political reasons?
- Sen. Grassley, why did you immediately suggest the vote would go on as planned and not take time to listen to the accuser?
- Do you not believe that every accuser has a right to be heard?
- Are you intentionally rushing hearings for political reasons?
- Democrats, since many of you admitted you would not vote to confirm Kavanaugh even before meeting him and hearing his testimony, how much of this is:
- an attempt to delay in hopes of getting closer or past the midterm elections, hoping to fan the flames of the #MeToo movement? Or…
- an attempt to damage Kavanaugh’s credibility as a future justice?
- Republicans, since many of you admitted you would vote to confirm Kavanaugh even before meeting him and hearing his testimony, how many of you are actually willing to sincerely listen to the accuser and consider her account as potentially true?
- To all of you, what other motives are in play?
- Do you recognize that your lack of objectivity is making many of us wish to support none of you?
- And do you realize that your behavior is prompting many of us to lose respect for our government?
And to those of us watching…
- Why do we allow our partisan leanings to sway our perception of truth?
- Are tribal lines more important than truth?
- Where have we not believed the accuser because we liked the person she accused?
- Why do we respond differently to whether the accused is Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Keith Ellison or Kavanaugh?
And more…
- In the #MeToo movement, should the accuser always be believed?
- On whom rests the burden of proof?
- Do we recognize that for the accuser who is telling the truth, it takes tremendous courage to speak up even after many years?
- Is it possible that Ford is telling the truth, but got the person wrong?
- Could Ford and Kavanaugh both be telling what they believe to be true?
- Does evidence matter?
- Do witnesses matter?
- Does a non-criminal scenario this old matter?
- And can we admit that the only two people in the entire world who have some semblance of the truth are Christine Ford and Brett Kavanaugh? … and that none of us… none of the rest of us… can specifically discern what happened?
We weren’t there.
(I’m not the question-asker either.)
Respectfully…
AR