Written by Madalyn Chapman
That is the question all of America has been weighing in on since July 9, when President Trump announced that Judge Brett Kavanaugh was his pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. This raised concerns among Democrats, and some Republicans, as this would shift the Supreme Court to the right. What has been arguably the biggest story of the past week is Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and her allegations of physical and sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh. Dr. Ford sent letters to Rep. Anna Eshoo and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, her congressional representatives, detailing her concerns about Judge Kavanaugh’s possible nomination. After his nomination was secured, she turned her concerns to his subsequent confirmation.
After the letter made it into the news circuits, Kavanaugh issued a statement denying all allegations made by Dr. Ford. On Sept. 19, Dr. Ford agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. This is the body that would vote on whether or not to recommend Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. Before Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh’s testimonies occurred, two more women came forward with allegations of sexual assault. Judge Kavanaugh denied all of these allegations as well.
Dr. Ford delivered an emotional testimony on Sept. 27, detailing the alleged sexual assault.
“I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified,” said Dr. Ford in her opening statement. “I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school.”
She went on to finish her opening statement and then sat through four hours of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which she stated she was “100 percent” certain that Judge Kavanaugh was the one who assaulted her in high school. Dr. Ford was praised for her bravery by politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony followed Dr. Ford’s. His opening statement was delivered with barely-concealed rage as he described the effects Dr. Ford’s allegations have had on him and his family.
“My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed,” said Kavanaugh. “This confirmation process has become a national disgrace…you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy.”
Judge Kavanaugh offered calendars from the summer of 1982, when the alleged assault took place, stating that the gathering Dr. Ford described was nowhere on those calendars.
On Sept. 28, after a delay, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to take Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote to the Senate floor; one week was allowed for an FBI investigation. The findings of this investigation were released yesterday to senators who were on the fence about the vote, and many of these senators have already made their decision. The final vote to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is expected to take place on Saturday, Oct. 6.
