[Source: mashable.com]
As the senate hearings went on for the Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, news emerged of an allegation by a woman who claimed that she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh in 1982 when they were both in high school. The woman’s identity was revealed to be Christine Blasey Ford, an American professor of Psychology at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at Stanford University School of Medicine. On Thursday, September 27, she testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Ford testified about the sexual assault that she experienced from Kavanaugh. She stated that at a small gathering in 1982 where she and Kavanaugh were present, she was pushed into a bedroom where an inebriated Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge locked the door behind them. Kavanaugh then got on top of her and tried to take her clothes off. Judge was standing by them watching it all unfold until he jumped on top of them which allowed Ford to escape the room.
When Senator Patrick Leahy asked her what her strongest memory of the incident was she said, “Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two and they’re having fun at my expense.” Another factor of why Ford may be credible is how she has been trying to raise the alarm about her assault since early July as she stated in her testimony. She wanted her story to be known just in case he was actually chosen as the nominee.
[Source: www.newyorker.com]
A few hours after Dr. Ford’s testimony, Judge Kavanaugh gave his testimony about the allegations before the Committee. He has strongly denied all the allegations including the ones made by two other women. In his opening statement he stated, “This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.” The fact is that Dr. Ford would have to wait to know who the Supreme Court nominee pick is in order to make up a false allegation. When asked if he would personally ask for an FBI investigation he has said that he will support whatever the committee decides to do.
An FBI investigation was opened for a week into current allegations of sexual assault. Many Americans hoped that this case will not be a repeat of the 1991 case where Judge Clarence Thomas was confirmed even though a woman named Anita Hill testified before the Committee about sexual harassment allegations against Thomas. This led many people to question how the Senate handled the situation.
Emory University student Justin Kim has stated, “I believe that the sexual allegations brought forth by Dr. Ford and others should lead the Senate into reconsidering the nomination of Kavanaugh. The reactions by both Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley show the repeated GOP effort to push Kavanaugh through the nomination process.”
Additionally, he stated, “I found Lindsey Graham to be extremely hypocritical. He says that the allegations and efforts by the Democrats are a political effort to prevent the Republicans from placing a conservative judge on the Supreme Court. What happened to Merrick Garland? It is a shame to see politics interfering with a genuine testimony by Dr. Ford who bravely came forward to testify.” Lastly he stated, “I hope that the Republican senators will ignore party lines and make the right decision and be on the right side of history.”
With all investigations complete and Kavanaugh sworn in as a new Justice of the Supreme Court, one can only wonder what major changes will occur in America. Despite this major decision, many are still highly against his appointment, while others are simply overjoyed. It is yet unknown how Kavanaugh’s appointment will impact the United States.
Jennie Kim, Grade 11
Immaculate Heart High School
