This hearing was a disgrace
PARTISAN grandstanding during the Brett Kavanaugh hearing reduced sexual assault allegations to a political football. What happened to investigating the facts, asks Victoria Hannaford.
THE testimonies from the US Senate Judiciary Committee during the Supreme Court Confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh were certainly one way to stir consciousness in the early hours of this morning.
Because it’s a rude awakening to see an allegation of a sexual assault become a political football.
In the past week, the impending testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Judge Kavanaugh of sexual assault in 1982 when they were both teenagers, was heralded through the liberal use of #believewomen on social media.
It’s unfortunate, because the hashtag lacks some nuance it would probably benefit from; it doesn’t plead for blind belief that ignores facts, just a reversal from the default cultural position of launching discrediting slurs at women who come forward with allegations of sexual assault, which are often underpinned by an assumption they have some kind of agenda, apart from seeking justice for a criminal act.
And that’s not what I saw as Dr Blasey Ford’s appearance before the committee unfolded in real time early this morning. But it seemed like the view of the allegations from the Senators in the room depended on their political allegiances.
In the main, Republicans saw a plot to oust Judge Kavanaugh, who is US President Donald Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court (many pointed out that they believed the allegation of sexual assault, just not that Judge Kavanaugh was the perpetrator), and Democrats saw an allegation from a woman with “nothing to gain” by going public with a traumatic experience. The grandstanding on both sides was uncomfortable to watch. In some low moments, it was appalling.
The hearing should have been focused on facts, and credibility. Instead it was reduced to becoming the latest battle in the culture wars.
Dr Blasey Ford’s testimony, which alleged that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party in 1982, appeared credible. Although there were gaps in her recall of events surrounding the party, she delivered her version of events in a factual manner, particularly when it came to the details of the alleged sexual assault.
“Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes,” she said, while struggling to contain her emotions.
“He had a hard time because he was so drunk, and because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit under my clothes. I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me.”
She admitted to being “terrified” at the prospect of being before the committee, but believed it was her “civic duty” to give testimony, and to do her best to be factual about the sexual assault that she alleges happened in 1982 “because the committee members will be judging my credibility”.
Kavanaugh, on the other hand, did not acquit himself as well.
His at-times-emotional opening statement was reasonable in parts: he called the way the allegations have been handled a “circus”, he emphatically denied the sexual assault took place and declared his innocence, as is his right — but it was undermined with conspiracy theories.
“This has destroyed my family and my good name … This … has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit … Revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”
And the Supreme Court nominee was a terrible witness for his own credibility, barking belligerent yet vague answers at pertinent questions. He also responded with his own sarcastic queries about Senators’ drinking habits as they attempt to extract facts from his testimony, specifically as to whether his recollections about alleged events could have been affected by excessive drinking.
“Do you like beer, Senator, or not?” he said to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who was asking him about his drinking habits and whether a reference to the “Ralph Club” in Kavanaugh’s high school yearbook was in relation to vomiting after excessive alcohol consumption.
When Senator Amy Klobuchar questioned whether he had ever drunk so much he couldn’t remember what happened the next day, Kavanaugh came back with “I don’t know, have you?” — although he did later apologise to her for asking that question.
But it was one Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham, who laid bare the narrative that was going to dominate this hearing — at least on his side of the political fence.
“I cannot imagine what you and your family have gone through,” he said to Judge Kavanaugh. “ … I hope the American people can see through this sham … She’s as much of a victim as you are … This is not a job interview. This is hell. This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap.
“ … To my Republican colleagues, if you vote no, you’re legitimising the most despicable thing I have seen in my time in politics … I hope you’re on the Supreme Court, that’s exactly where you should be. And I hope that the American people will see through this charade. And I wish you well. And I intend to vote for you and I hope everybody who’s fair-minded will.”
Rather than putting an end to the matter, Senator Graham’s outrage only serves to raise two questions.
Firstly: Why are allegations of sexual assault now the latest cultural war battleground?
Facts, and credibility are what should be on the stand with any allegation of criminality. If it was a non-sexual crime in question, it’s hard to imagine the same kind of partisan divide in responses.
And the second question, the most important: If this isn’t the right way to deal with allegations of sexual assault, what is?
It’s time to come up with an answer, and stop stooping to evaluating testimony on partisan grounds.
Because I’m sure Dr Blasey Ford and Judge Kavanaugh would both say there’s got to be a better way than this.
Victoria Hannaford is a writer and producer for RendezView.
Originally published as This hearing was a disgrace