memeorandum: Kavanaugh questioned about Rhode Island sexual assault allegation (Jordain Carney/The Hill)

11:30 AM ET, September 27, 2018

Top Items:

Senate probing new allegation of misconduct against Kavanaugh — Supreme Court Nominee has been asked privately about an accusation of physical assault, sources tell NBC News. — WASHINGTON —The Senate Judiciary Committee is inquiring about at least one additional allegation of misconduct …

RealClearInvestigations:

Suppressed Blasey Ford Yearbooks Reveal Fast Times at Holton-Arms — Democrats plan at Thursday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to use the high school yearbooks of embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, which they say imply he and his prep school pals regularly got drunk …

Discussion: National Review, Vox, Conservative News Today, Real Clear Politics, The Right Scoop and Fox News

Deirdre M. Bowen / USA Today:

I'm from Kavanaugh's elitist world. I know how prep-school privilege buries secrets. — Students attending Washington-area prep schools are groomed to be society's leaders. But a blemishless record speaks more to secrecy than integrity. — CONNECT — The whores on the hill.

Discussion: Washington Post, ABC News, Bustle, The Hill, HuffPost and The Federalist

Zoe Tillman / BuzzFeed News:

Two Men Told Senate Staffers They Had “The Encounter” With Christine Blasey Ford, Not Brett Kavanaugh — WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee staff interviewed two men who said they believed that they, and not US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, had “the encounter” …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Breitbart, USA Today, The Week, Bustle, AOL, Politico, Front Page Magazine, Washington Post, The Atlantic and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Politico:

Ex-boyfriend filed restraining order against third Kavanaugh accuser — Julie Swetnick, the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a friend of attending house parties where women — including herself — were sexually assaulted, had a restraining order filed against her years later in Miami by her former boyfriend.

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic:

The Fear Driving Conservative Support for Kavanaugh — It's remarkable: The more women accuse of Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, the more committed to his confirmation conservatives become. On Monday, after Deborah Ramirez became the second woman to accuse Kavanaugh of wrongdoing …

Discussion: Vox, USA Today, No More Mister Nice Blog, HuffPost, The American Conservative and Bustle

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

This Revolution, Too, Will Eat Its Children — What this frenzied national inquest means for our civic culture. — It wasn't long ago that Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court hinged, as it must, on his qualifications as a judge. Then, necessarily, it became a question of his fitness as a man.

Discussion: Roll Call, Bustle, Washington Post and Splinter

CNN:

Collins privately raises concerns about new allegations, lack of subpoena for Kavanaugh friend — (CNN)Sen. Susan Collins, who could determine whether Brett Kavanaugh gets a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court, raised serious concerns at a private meeting about the newest allegations …

Discussion: Washington Post, NY State of Politics, Liberty Unyielding, Vox, FOX 61, KTLA, Talking Points Memo, FOX31 Denver, KTVQ-TV, WPIX 11 New York, Bustle and Right Wing Watch

Jill Abramson / New York Times:

This Hearing Is Stacked Against Christine Blasey Ford — It is almost unthinkable that there will be a second Supreme Court justice taking his seat under suspicions of perjury and sexual misconduct. — Ms. Abramson is a former executive editor of The Times and author, with Jane Mayer …

Discussion: The American Spectator, Townhall, The Federalist and Breitbart

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Kavanaugh questioned about Rhode Island sexual assault allegation — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was questioned during a phone call with Judiciary Committee staff about an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in Rhode Island in the mid-1980s.

Discussion: RedState, The Daily Caller, Daily Wire and twitchy.com

Christina Cauterucci / Slate:

Toxic Bro Culture Finally Found a News Peg — It never should have needed one. — This Daily Show Picture of Mitch McConnell “Pulling a Mrs. Doubtfire” at the Kavanaugh Hearings Might Be the Only Good Thing to Come From This Mess, So Enjoy It — In the weeks since Christine Blasey …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Vox, New York Times and AUL

Jonathan Swan / Axios:

Kavanaugh “hopping mad” ahead of hearing — Brett Kavanaugh is hopping mad about the late wave of allegations against him and will be charged up for this morning's hearing. — The big picture: Team Kavanaugh sources last night ranged from nervous and unsure to modestly confident.

Discussion: Associated Press and LifeZette

NPR:

READ: Christine Blasey Ford's Opening Statement For Senate Hearing — Christine Blasey Ford has accused Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school in the early 1980s. On Thursday the psychology professor is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Discussion: Shareblue Media, Raw Story, Althouse, POLITICUSUSA, Tennessee Star and 89.3 KPCC

Todd S. Purdum / The Atlantic:

President Trump's Surreal News Conference Didn't Do Kavanaugh Any Favors — In more than 80 surreal minutes of what seemed less like a news conference than a public free-association session on a therapist's couch, the president of the United States dismissed accusations of sexual misconduct …

Discussion: Bloomberg and New York Times

David Rutz / Washington Free Beacon:
Tapper: There Is No Corroborating Evidence for Any of the Charges Against Kavanaugh

Discussion: The Daily Caller, New York Post and Townhall

YouTube:
EXCLUSIVE: Julie Swetnick Meets With John Heilemann | THE CIRCUS | SHOWTIME

Discussion: Bloomberg, Washington Post, AOL and Axios

Scott Wong / The Hill:
First Republican calls for FBI to investigate Kavanaugh

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, The Week, LifeZette, Breitbart and Mediaite

Ashley Parker / Washington Post:
‘Give it to me’: Trump lets loose with 81 minutes of bluster, falsehoods and insults

Discussion: Shakesville, KTVQ-TV, TheBlaze, CNN, Hot Air, Mediaite, Liberty Unyielding, Common Dreams and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »

Naomi Lim / Washington Examiner:
Bill Clinton accuser to make Capitol Hill appearance in support of Kavanaugh

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Mark Judge's former girlfriend is ready to talk to FBI and Judiciary Committee, her lawyer says

Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Third Kavanaugh accuser gives first TV interview

Discussion: Bustle and Joe.My.God.

Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Where things stand on Kavanaugh

Discussion: Hit & Run, NPR and Washington Post

Mairead McArdle / National Review:
Judiciary Committee Talking to Two Men Who Think They Assaulted Ford

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY, CNBC, Conservative News Today and CANNONFIRE

Joe Tacopino / New York Post:
Two men tell Senate that they, not Kavanaugh, assaulted Ford

Discussion: JONATHAN TURLEY and Shot in the Dark

Eli Watkins / CNN:
Kavanaugh denies two additional accusations to Senate Judiciary Committee

Discussion: Townhall, Breitbart, POLITICUSUSA, Law & Crime, The Week, twitchy.com, USA Today, Jezebel and New York Times

Lukas Mikelionis / Fox News:
Ginsburg cheers on #MeToo movement in advance of Kavanaugh-Ford hearing

Discussion: Reuters, Patterico's Pontifications, Daily Wire and IJR

Politico:
GOP anger over Kavanaugh allegations boils ahead of hearing

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mashable and The Week

Becket Adams / Washington Examiner:
No Standards: NBC News' latest charge shows that the media will report any allegation against Kavanaugh, however thin

Discussion: National Review, ThinkProgress, Breitbart and Roll Call

Kendall Karson / ABC News:
1st Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford ‘ready to tell her truth’ to senators, longtime friend says

Discussion: Politico, Daily Wire and Townhall

Stephen Collinson / CNN:
A day that will resonate in history

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CBS Baltimore and TheBlaze

The Daily Beast: ‘Disaster’: Trumpworld Starting to Sweat Over Brett Kavanaugh's Mounting Sexual Assault Allegations

Sohrab Ahmari / New York Post:
Third Kavanaugh accuser's accusations riddled with holes

Discussion: IJR, Joe.My.God., Conservative News Today and Fox News

New York Times: Read Christine Blasey Ford's Prepared Statement

Michael E. Miller / Washington Post:
Who is Julie Swetnick, the third Kavanaugh accuser?

Discussion: Politico, Townhall and Daily Wire

Emily Jane Fox / Vanity Fair:
“I Was Ashamed”: After Ford's Accusation, a Generation of Holton-Arms Alumnae Wrestle with Their Own Truths—Together

Discussion: Vox, Breitbart, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Taylor Marsh, New York Times, POLITICUSUSA, HuffPost, Hot Air, ThinkProgress, Bustle, BloombergQuint, France 24, WPIX 11 New York, Splinter and National Review

Michael Lewis / The Guardian:

'This guy doesn't know anything': the inside story of Trump's shambolic transition team — Chris Christie noticed a piece in the New York Times - that's how it all started. The New Jersey governor had dropped out of the presidential race in February 2016 and thrown what support he had behind Donald Trump.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, emptywheel, AOL and Raw Story

Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:

Trump claims he rejected a meeting with Trudeau over NAFTA — but Canada says it never asked to meet — President Donald Trump says he declined a one-on-one meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the United Nations General Assembly. — President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday …

Discussion: New York Times, CNN, HuffPost and Washington Post

Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Fact check: 8 things Trump got wrong at his news conference

Discussion: Politico, Hullabaloo, POLITICUSUSA and Washington Post

New York Times:

Sessions Aide, a Trump Loyalist, Is Seen as Ascendant Amid Rosenstein Chaos — WASHINGTON — Convinced that the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, was ready to resign after the revelation that he suggested President Trump was unfit for the job, senior White House aides got to work last weekend installing a replacement.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Raw Story, NPR, BuzzFeed News, AOL, Vox and Just Security

Politico:
‘Can you do this?’: Russia probe conflicts rampant among Rosenstein replacements

Discussion: Lawfare, New York Times and ABC News

Rachel La Corte / National Journal:

Massive House Map Continues to Grow — Recent polling and new TV ad reservations suggest an expanding battlefield with 40 days until the midterms. — Ally Mutnick — Democrats are finding compelling evidence that a new set of Republican-held seats are becoming increasingly competitive, stretching an already expansive map.