Democrats are determined to sink Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court even if Christine Blasey Ford’s original accusation unravels — as it is beginning to do, with all four named witnesses thus far contradicting her story.
But the left is not above dirty tricks — such as failing to mention the accusation against Kavanaugh until after the confirmation hearings — and there are several more Democrats could pull that might have the potential to block Kavanaugh regardless.
1. Create additional accusations. Even assuming that Dr. Ford’s story is true, one of the problems that Democrats have faced is that Kavanaugh has shown no similar pattern of behavior. But if one or more new accusers emerged, that could create new suspicions that would at least delay his confirmation. The accusations would not need to be true; they would just need to cast the judge in a negative light. (Sunday night’s “dildo” story, apparently in the works from the New Yorker, is a perfect example.)
2. Instigate a local prosecution. If state or county prosectors were to announce that they were investigating Kavanaugh for attempted rape, which has no statue of limitations in Maryland, that could end his confirmation. If that sounds far-fetched, State Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery) has already tried it, urging Gov. Larry Hogan to order an investigation by state police. He refused, but prosectors in the office of the Montgomery County state’s attorney — a Democrat — are noncommittal.
3. Block the hearing. Ford’s claims could look less credible by Thursday. Kavanaugh reportedly produced calendars from 1982 on Sunday showing he was out of town for much of the period in question. If so, Democrats might not want Ford to testify — but might want to delay a committee vote. They praised the protesters who interrupted Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing earlier this month; they could arrange massive protests during or before the hearing to disrupt it and delay the process.
4. Organize a Bar protest. The left-leaning American Bar Association (ABA) gave Kavanaugh a unanimous “well-qualified” rating before his confirmation hearings. But Democrats could organize left-leaning lawyers to pressure the ABA to revise that conclusion, or to issue a statement of protest. Alternatively, they could organize a “lawyers’ protest” of their own, stating that they will refuse to argue cases before the Supreme Court so long as Kavanaugh is seated without a full FBI investigation.
5. Character assassination. If Ford’s story falls apart, the campaign against Kavanaugh will go down as one of the worst smear campaigns in American history. But Democrats have time to make it even worse. They can ratchet up the pressure on the judge and his family to the point where he concludes it is simply not worth the effort. Already, the Washington Post is reporting that Kavanaugh refused to answer some personal questions in mock hearings — hinting, perhaps, at worse to come.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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