In July 2018, President Donald Trump announced U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be his U.S. Supreme Court pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Despite some opposition from Democratic leaders, it appeared that Judge Kavanaugh's nomination would be confirmed. Then in September 2018, Senator Diane Feinstein revealed she had received a letter from a woman who claimed that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while in high school. The accuser turned out to be Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

In her letter, Dr. Ford stated that while in high school she attended a small gathering which included Judge Kavanaugh. While going up the stairs to use the bathroom, she claims that Judge Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge corralled her into a bedroom. Judge Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her while Judge watched. At one point, Judge jumped on top of them causing all three of them to tumble. This allowed her to run from the bedroom and lock herself in a nearby bathroom. When she heard Judge Kavanaugh and Mark Judge leave the bedroom and go downstairs, she then fled the house.

Judge Kavanaugh has denied he sexually assaulted Dr. Ford. The allegations led the Senate Judiciary Committee to have a hearing on September 27, 2018. Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh were given the opportunity to testify under oath as to what happened or did not happen. Dr. Ford testified in the morning with Judge Kavanaugh testifying in the afternoon. Here are some excerpts from their testimony.

During her opening statement, Dr. Ford said,

"When I got to the top of the stairs, I was pushed from behind into a bedroom. I couldn't see who pushed me. Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. There was music already playing in the bedroom. It was turned up louder by either Brett or Mark once we were in the room."

"During this assault, Mark came over and jumped on the bed twice while Brett was on top of me. Then, the last time he did this, we toppled over and Brett was no longer on top of me."

In describing this sexual assault, twice Dr. Ford used the pronoun "we." Everyone knows this pronoun indicates plurality, but this pronoun also indicates there was a partnership. It doesn't mean that two people are best friends, but it does mean there was a collaboration. In the statement, "We went to the baseball game" the pronoun "we" indicates that at least two people willing went to the baseball game. However, in the statement, "I went to the baseball game with Jim" the pronoun "we" is missing. There is no partnership. The subject may have gone to the game with Jim but he might not have wanted to go. Perhaps he was coaxed into going to the game. Maybe he doesn't like baseball. There is a reason why he did not use the pronoun "we."

In a sexual assault case, we do not expect the victim to partner up with her attacker. Most victims will not use the pronoun "we." Instead of saying, "We went into the house and he raped me" most victims will say something like, "He forced me into the house and raped me." Dr. Ford could have avoided using the pronoun "we" by saying, "It was turned up louder by either Brett or Mark once I was pushed into the bedroom." In the second example, she could have said, "The last time he did this, the pile toppled over and Brett was no longer on top of me." In both these statements, there is no partnership.

On August 7, 2018, Dr. Ford wrote a statement about what happened to her. This was in conjunction with taking a polygraph on that same date. In her statement, she wrote,

"Mark jumped on top of us 2 or 3 times."

Just like the pronoun "we," the pronoun "us" also indicates a partnership. Dr. Ford could have written, "Mark jumped on top of Brett who was on top of me." That statement doesn't show any collaboration.

After giving her opening statement, senators on the judicial committee were then given five minutes each to questioned Dr. Ford.

Senator Feinstein: "Is there any other way this has affected your life?"
Dr. Ford: "The primary impact was in the initial four years after the event."

Dr. Ford claims she was sexually assaulted. Most of the time she used the word "assault" to describe what happened to her. Here she describes it as an "event." She used softer tone language which seems odd. Several other times she will refer to the incident as an "event" and not as an assault.

There was talk about the things Dr. Ford did not remember about the night of the gathering. This included how she got home after leaving the house. This prompted Senator Klobuchar to ask the following.

Senator Klobuchar: "Can you tell us what you don't forget about that night?"
Dr. Ford: "The stairwell, the living room, the bedroom, the bed on the right side of the room. As you walk into the room there was a bed to the right. Um, the bathroom in close proximity, the laughter, the uproarious laughter and the multiple attempts to escape and the final ability to do so."

We know Dr. Ford isn't telling the senator everything she doesn't forget or does remember. It appears she is telling the senator the things that left a lasting impression on her. Notice what she doesn't say. She fails to mention Judge Kavanaugh placing his hand over her mouth so she couldn't yell for help. In her opening statement, she said, "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." She doesn't mention that she thought Judge Kavanaugh was going to accidentally kill her. She doesn't talk about Judge Kavanaugh groping her.

Later that day, Judge Kavanaugh took the stand and gave his opening statement. Here are some excerpts.

"I've never sexually assaulted anyone. Not in high school. Not in college. Not ever."

"I am innocent of this charge."

"I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against me by Dr. Ford. I never had any sexual or physical encounter of any kind with Dr. Ford. I never attended a gathering like the one Dr. Ford describes in her allegation. I've never sexually assaulted Dr. Ford or anyone."

Several times, Judge Kavanaugh used the word "never." The word "never" when used in a denial often weakens the denial. This is because the word "never" means "not ever." When a person uses the word "never," he is talking about his entire lifetime. "I've not ever sexually assaulted anyone." Judge Kavanaugh wasn't being asked about his lifetime. He was being asked if he sexually assaulted Dr. Ford. Even when he used her name, "I've never sexually assaulted Dr. Ford" he still isn't being specific. He is still talking about his lifetime and not the specific incident in question. Saying, "I didn't sexually assault Dr. Ford" focuses on the incident at hand.

Saying, "I am innocent" is not the same thing as saying, "I didn't do it." Everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

I am finding more and more that when a person uses the word "categorically" in his denial, he is guilty of something. We must keep in mind this is a word attorneys also like to use in regards to their clients. Since Judge Kavanaugh was previously an attorney and still might be, that may be why he used the word "categorically."

The word "deny" can mean "to refuse to accept." Sometimes when a person uses the word "deny" he is refusing to accept the fact he did commit the act. Again, the best denial is to say, "I didn't do it" or in this case, "I didn't sexually assault Dr. Ford." Later on, when he is questioned by Senator Booker, Judge Kavanaugh will say, "I did not do this."

Dr. Ford claims that Mark Judge was in the bedroom with Judge Kavanaugh during the assault. Judge has given a written statement stating he does not remember the incident and that he has never seen Judge Kavanaugh act in such a manner. The Democrats on the committee would like to question Mark Judge. Senator Leahy asked Judge Kavanaugh about this.

Senator Leahy: "Would you want him (Mark Judge) called as a witness?"
Judge Kavanaugh: "Senator, this allegation came into the committee."
Senator Leahy: "No. I'm just asking the question would you want him to be hear as a witness?"
Judge Kavanaugh: "He's already provided sworn testimony to the committee. This allegation has been hidden by the committee."
The senator then interrupts Judge Kavanaugh by correctly stating, "Never answered the question."

When people do not answer the specific question, they absolutely are withholding information. Judge Kavanaugh will later state that Mark Judge is a recovering alcoholic and has some other physical issues. Forcing him to testify may be too much of a strain on him. If that is the case, then Judge Kavanaugh should have answered the question by saying something like, "No, because it would be too stressful for him." Instead, Judge Kavanaugh chose not to answer the specific question which is something he did quite often.

Senator Leahy: "He (Mark Judge) authored a book titled Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk. He references a Bart O'Kavanaugh vomiting in someone's car during Beach Week and passing out. Is that you he's talking about?"
Judge Kavanaugh: "Senator, Mark Judge was."
Senator Leahy: "Is that you he was talking about?"
Judge Kavanaugh: "I will explain if you let me..."

Judge Kavanaugh goes on to explain that he believes Judge wrote a fictional book and used some names from high school or variations of those names in his book. That may be true but Judge Kavanaugh never answered the specific question, "Is that you he is talking about?" He could have answered, "No, he is not talking about me because I didn't do that. He wrote a fictional book and used a variation of my name." However, if that would be a lie then Judge Kavanaugh wouldn't say that because he does not want to lie under oath.

Senator Durbin alluded that Judge Kavanaugh should want the FBI to investigate Dr. Ford's allegation. If Judge Kavanaugh did nothing wrong, the investigation would clear him. Judge Kavanaugh responded to this with the following.

Judge Kavanaugh: "I'd welcome whatever the committee wants to do because I'm telling the truth."
Senator Durbin: "I want to know what you want to do."
Judge Kavanaugh: "I'm telling the truth."
Senator Durbin: "I want to know what you want to do judge."
Judge Kavanaugh: "I'm innocent. I'm innocent of this charge."
Senator Durbin: "Then you're prepared for an FBI investigation."
Judge Kavanaugh: "They don't reach conclusions. You reached the conclusion senator."

Senator Durbin wants to know if Judge Kavanaugh wants the FBI to investigate the allegations. Judge Kavanaugh does not answer that specific question.

Senator Durbin: "Judge Kavanaugh will you support an FBI investigation right now?"
Judge Kavanaugh: "I will do whatever the committee wants."
Senator Durbin: "Personally, do you think that's the best thing for us?"
Judge Kavanaugh: (Five seconds of silence.)
Senator Durbin: "You won't answer?"
Judge Kavanaugh: "Look Senator, I've, I, I've said I wanted a hearing..."

Again, Judge Kavanaugh does not answer the specific question. When Senator Durbin pins him down by saying "Personally" Judge Kavanaugh doesn't say anything. This prompts the senator to ask "You won't answer?"

Several times throughout the hearing, Judge Kavanaugh said he would "do whatever the committee wants." He is implying he would consent to an FBI investigation. However, he knows the committee cannot summon the FBI to start an investigation. Only the President can do that. We see further evidence of this tactic when he was questioned by Senator Harris.

Senator Harris: "Are you willing to ask the White House to authorize the FBI to investigate the claims that have been made against you?"
Judge Kavanaugh: "I will do whatever the committee wants."

Three more times Senator Harris asked Judge Kavanaugh if he would ask the White House to authorize an FBI investigation. Three more times he did not answer the specific question. This caused Senator Harris to say, "I'm going to take that as a 'No' and we can move on."

Conclusion

Dr. Ford's use of the pronoun "we" indicates she is making up the story of being sexually assaulted by Judge Kavanaugh. I have seen a lot of statements made by sexual assault victims and the pronoun "we" does not show up in their statements. The victim is not going to partner up with her attacker. This would explain why she did not mention Judge Kavanaugh lying on top of her, groping her and placing his hand over her mouth when she was asked what she didn't forget. Over the years Dr. Ford has confided to people that she was sexually assaulted. Therefore, it would appear that she is mistaken as to whom her attacker was even though she said she was 100% certain it was Judge Kavanaugh.

Judge Kavanaugh also showed signs of being deceptive. His use of the word "never" weakened his denials. That doesn't mean he is lying but the best denial is to deny the act by saying, "I didn't do it." At one point he did say, "I did not do this." The biggest problem with his answers is the numerous times he did not answer the specific question. We saw this when he was asked if he wanted the FBI to investigate the allegations, and when he was asked if he wanted Mark Judge to testify. It is very clear that Judge Kavanaugh does not want an FBI investigation or for Mark Judge to testify. Why is this? I don't believe it is because he is guilty of a sexual assault. I believe it is because additional questions would be asked. Questions like, "Have you ever seen Brett Kavanaugh intoxicated and passed out?" "Have you ever seen Brett Kavanaugh throw up in someone's car?" "Have you ever seen Brett Kavanaugh drunk and belligerent?" Everyone has some skeletons in their closet.

Update

On September 28, 2018, President Trump ordered the FBI to investigate Judge Kavanaugh. However, the scope of the investigation was limited to the sexual assault allegations. Why did the President limit the investigation? Just like with Judge Kavanaugh, the President doesn't want people coming forward saying they remember Brett Kavanaugh being so drunk that he blacked out. If they do make those allegations, the FBI is not going to interview them because that would be outside the scope of their investigation. After conducting their investigation, the FBI found no credible evidence that Judge Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Ford.

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