Just FYI everyone - Maryland has no statute of limitations on felony sexual assault.
The alleged victim is calling for more investigation and the alleged witness/accomplice is the only one saying he will not testify.
Anyone involved can be subpoenaed, either by the fbi or by the senate committee.
Get him under oath, and if he thinks he wasn’t there or doesn’t remember because he was as in a drunken haze, if they can find someone to say differently, then what? Prosecute him? God forbid I had to swear to anything from my teenage years over 36 years ago. Most of it is very hazy, especially those times that involved alcohol.
And the FBI has announced there is no basis to further investigate, in its professional opinion. The FBI investigation in the prior case of relatively fresh workplace harassment allegations against a nominee by a former EEOC employee was completed, start to finished report, in less than 72 hours. Other than the two parties involved, and in this case an alleged witness, there isn’t much to do that would be helpful. The Maryland DA could always open an investigation if he chooses.
Say what? Doesn’t the FBI need to go to a federal judge and show some indication that a federal crime may have been committed before a federal judge will issue the subpoena?
Anyone heard from the Maryland AG?
I am a practicing attorney for over 30 years and have appeared in federal courts. I have zero recollection of ever having heard of Brett Kavanaugh before he was nominated for SCOTUS. Now, perhaps, his accuser might have heard of his federal court nomination somehow or perhaps she was not involved in law or politics at the time and, it seems that she lived in a different part of the country, so his nomination might not have been something that registered with her. Even if it did, she may not have come forward because many people don’t view federal judgeships with the same importance as a SCOTUS slot or maybe her kids were young and she didn’t want to get involved and go through it then. Many people not in the legal fields don’t even realize federal judges also get life tenure.
I take no position on whether or not this a hoax. As someone who experienced a similar assault in HS and chose never to speak about it IRL, I completely understand Ms. Ford choosing to remain silent. If my assailant was to come into the public eye, even now, I would be really hard pressed to come forward for any reason.
This alleged conduct does not rise to a felony, especially considering that the alleged participants were 17 and 15. This appears to be the relevant statute (under (b)(1)): https://codes.findlaw.com/md/criminal-law/md-code-crim-law-sect-3-308.html
I seriously doubt the statute was any harsher 36 years ago.
I am of course happy to be corrected here by someone who knows or practices law in Maryland.
An attorney quoted in the WaPo agrees with you satchel:
I am no legal expert at all. She is certainly entitled to have the justice system work through her allegation - but to demand an FBI investigation is not her right, regardless of whom she is accusing. She deserves to be heard and to get justice if there was a crime, as does every victim of every crime - no more and no less than every other victim.
It is muddying the waters to talk about whether he could be prosecuted or not. The FBI did his background check. They missed something. They should go back and follow up. I’d do it if I were hiring someone and something came up after I’d gotten initial background check material, but then heard a story that concerned me about the person’s character.
I think she misunderstands the role of the FBI here at this moment. Her lawyer should be helping her more to understand the position she is in. I really think she never understood from the get-go how it works…but then most citizens probably don’t understand or she thinks someone can swoop in and change the trajectory. It is just so sad for her.
@busdriver11 Ah–it would have been helpful if she had written that she had received psychological counseling/therapy later in life, for the sake of clarity. But who knows–perhaps if I were in her position I would have phrased it the same way. It does kind of come across as an anticipation of the inevitable “Did you get medical treatment following the incident?” question, and could appear a little disingenuous.
So I guess what I’m watching for in all of this is evidence of honesty on both sides. I have no clue what the “truth” here may be.
“And the FBI has announced there is no basis to further investigate, in its professional opinion”
Is there a source for this? I haven’t found one. If it comes through a politician or pundit it doesn’t count as an FBI statement.
Nope. Not part of the background check process to go back that far. Not part of the process to evaluate the veracity of interviewees. Also note that such background interviews are not under oath. A background check is not like a criminal investigation.
Intparent, the FBI didn’t miss anything. The scope of the background check is suitability for office with a specific focus on current fitness, based upon events of the last 7 to 10 years (similar to the standard in TS/SCI background investigations. Misdemeanors from 30 years ago aren’t included, for anyone.
You want a lifetime appointment, expect your behavior for your entire life to date to be inspected. And here is the thing. I don’t necessarily think this is a disqualifying thing for him IF he owns up to possible bad behavior and shows some evidence of remorse. It is the “deny, deny, deny” thing that every one of these men does that is just infuriating.
She herself says she was drunk at the time of the alleged incident. To even entertain her recollections of what happened to her when she was in a drunken state would have been a tough sell even 10 years after the incident. Today? She should be laughed off the stage.
Seriously, although I understand the enormous hurdles to proving libel and slander of a public figure like Kavanaugh, in an ideal world she would be sued civilly for defamation.
Sorry, that is not the current law or process.
Actually, I don’t have a problem with asking for lifetime checks on lifetime appointees, but I note that we have never done so before, that the process would take an unbelievable amount of time, and that potential nominees may be dissuaded from serving if there were to be such a procedure going forward. But it would certainly be interesting.
I want to state this upfront so there is no misunderstanding. I think sex offenders should be punished severely, strung up by their nuts or have them cut off.
The only evidence in this situation is her word. Her word to the therapist many years later. Her word to her husband. There is nothing, nothing other than her word. If there were an FBI investigation, the first thing they would investigate is her credibility. That’s all they have to go on.
Further, yesterday morning her attorney went on the morning talk shows and said that Ford was willing to testify before the Senate committee. By evening that had changed. If she wants to get her story out, she needs to stop being used by partisans and tell her story.
As it is now, the public mood is changing and Kavanaugh is becoming a more sympathetic figure in the public eye. The whole scheme has backfired. Where does he go to get his reputation back?