New SCOTUS Judge

[Bob001]

I need to ask a question about SCOTUS appointees?

I am hearing about how this is a "lifetime" appointment, which to me seems that once Kavanaugh is confirmed, even if the Democrats win both houses in November, there is nothing they can do about him (that's why GOP are hell bent on getting him appointed now, because they are certain it won't happen after November.

My question is, can he be impeached and removed from the SCOTUS bench?
.....

He can be impeached and removed (two steps). That's as difficult and almost as rare for a federal judge, let alone a Supreme Court justice, as for a President.

Only 15 federal judges have ever been impeached and only eight have ever been convicted and removed.....

https://constitutionallawreporter.com/article-03-section-01/impeachment-of-federal-judges/

 

[Bob001]

An account of how Kavanaugh got where he is:

....People like Brett Kavanaugh, who as legal commentator Jonathan Turley informed us in The Hill “has long been viewed as someone actively groomed for the court by supporters in the Federalist Society and conservative legal circles.” But Turley didn’t stop there. “Short of being raised hydroponically in the basement of the Federalist Society, he could not be more carefully constructed as a nominee in waiting,” Turley continued. “He has, literally, spent decades being developed within conservative circles for this moment.”

https://www.salon.com/2018/09/22/grooming-brett-kavanaugh/

 

[Meadmaker]

I need to ask a question about SCOTUS appointees?

I am hearing about how this is a "lifetime" appointment, which to me seems that once Kavanaugh is confirmed, even if the Democrats win both houses in November, there is nothing they can do about him (that's why GOP are hell bent on getting him appointed now, because they are certain it won't happen after November).

My question is, can he be impeached and removed from the SCOTUS bench?

Theoretically. Yes. But 2/3 of the Senate would have to vote to convict. If you get a real crime, they might do that. Realistically, it won't happen. See below for crime discussion.

It seems to me that there are two possible avenues

1. He has lied to congress, at least three times that I can see

a. When he testified in 2004 that he had nothing to do with the 2003 nomination of William Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, when documentary evidence seems to show that he did,

b. When he testified before two confirmation hearings in 2004 and 2006 that he had no knowledge of the emails stolen from Orin Hatch by Manuel Miranda, when as it turned out, he absolutely did know about them.

c. When he testified in confirmation hearings in 2006 that he had no knowledge of and had nothing to do with writing the rules for the use of tortures at GITMO during his time at Dubya's WH, when it seems he was very much involved.

Dems and supporters pin a lot of hopes on this stuff but, realistically, most people look at it and yawn. It all hinges on such deep questions as exactly what "involved" means.

Most people reading what he did just would not be outraged. Most people reading about this wouldn't say, "Anyone who did that ought to be in jail."

If he gets confirmed by the majority of the Senate, it's a safe bet he won't be subsequently convicted by 2/3 of the Senate for any of this.

2. What if Christine Blasey Ford decides to make a formal complaint of attempted rape against Kavanaugh. There is no SoL on attempted rape in Maryland so the Police would be required to investigate.

There's insufficient evidence of attempted rape. No prosecutor would touch the case. Even if you believe every single statement made by Ms. Ford, you would conclude that you had enough evidence to prove he was copping a feel. That's misdemeanor sexual assault, and there is a statute of limitations on misdemeanor sexual assault.


So, once he gets confirmed, he's there for life unless something very, very, odd happens. The issue at hand today is not so much whether he has committed some sort of crime, but rather his integrity. Does he stretch the truth when it's convenient to do so? That doesn't fit very well with his avowed judicial temperament. He says he'll stick to the law as written, and not impose his own views on it, but if he lies about lots of other things, why would we believe him about his respect for the law?


However, once he gets in, that sort of integrity issue won't be judged an impeachable offense. If he gets in, he'll stay in.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

Blasey Ford's Female Classmate, Her Last Named Witness, Doesn't Recall Ever Attending Party With Kavanaugh

Christine Blasey Ford has claimed that four other people attended a small gathering at which she was allegedly assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh. Three of those people, PJ Smyth, Mark Judge, and Kavanaugh, have already denied any recollection of attending such a party.

On Saturday night, Leland Ingham Keyser, a classmate of Ford's at the all-girls school Holton-Arms and her final named witness, denied any recollection of attending a party with Brett Kavanaugh.

"Simply put, Ms. Keyser does not know Mr. Kavanaugh and she has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present, with, or without, Dr. Ford," lawyer Howard J. Walsh said in a statement sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

https://www.weeklystandard.com/john...ss-denies-ever-attending-party-with-Kavanaugh (Sept 22, 2018)

Will Christine Ford make good on her promise to leave the U.S. after Kavanaugh is confirmed? Don't get your hopes up. Liberals promise everything and deliver nothing.

 

[Lambchops]

Will Christine Ford make good on her promise to leave the U.S. after Kavanaugh is confirmed? Don't get your hopes up. Liberals promise everything and deliver nothing.

"But there’s also that ambiguous middle ground, where the woman seems interested and indicates, whether verbally or not, that the man needs to prove himself to her. And if that man is any kind of man, he’ll allow himself to feel the awesome power, the wonderful beauty, of uncontrollable male passion."

-Kavanaugh's bestest pal EVAR, Mark Judge, saying that date-rape is really awesome.

I guess you would just love your daughter ending up at a party with one of these guys, right?

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

"Remember that this president is an unindicted co-conspirator in a felony criminal investigation and should not have the ability to appoint someone to a lifetime position on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh's hearing should be delayed until the investigation is resolved."
-- Kamala Harris (Sept 1, 2018)

"I objected to moving forward with the Kavanaugh hearing because this process has not been transparent or fair. These hearings should be delayed now."
-- Kamala Harris (Sept 4, 2018)

"Christine Blasey Ford courageously stepped forward to tell her story — it is a credible and serious allegation. A vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination must be delayed until there is a thorough investigation."
-- Kamala Harris (Sept 16, 2018)

And yet Republicans insist on pushing forwards, despite being okay with the vote on a Democratic nominee being delayed for 400 days. It's almost as if, for them, partisanship is more important than fairness and the rule of law.

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Do you retract your stupid "fairness" argument?

I retract that I thought Republicans would ever be interested in fairness, yes.

You railroaded Franken over unproven allegations[...]

I think you've mistaken me for someone else.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Perhaps I should have said a BINO.

That would also be racist, yes. Please stop.

 

[Dr. Keith]

Probably the best solution would have been to reject the entire thing out hand.

"If the allegations were so important to Senator Feinstein, she should have brought it up in July. If these allegations were so important to Ms. Ford, she should have come before the committee in July. The vote to confirm will proceed as scheduled."

The importance of the allegations are not to those two ladies, they are important to us. I don't want an investigation to satisfy Feinstein or Ford. I want an investigation to make sure we know who we are putting on the court.

I assume someone else has pointed out the other issues with that stance.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Oh for pity's sake, give it a rest. I take you all are annoyed that 'old white men' can be used with a derogatory meaning? It that the problem?

I forgot, all people matter, all police matter, who else? Is there or is there not a problem with all those faces of old white men running the country? Gee, one face is black, that makes it different.

No, Thomas is just like the rest of them. Look how they are treating Ford. Look how they treated Hill. Look how those ******** make sure rich white men stay in control, and in control of women and women's bodies.

Is that the problem you don't get by my post?

The problem, as has already been explained to you, is that you're proscribing a "correct" way for black people to behave, and then claiming that someone who doesn't live up to your conception of what being black is is therefore not black, or is somehow secretly white. Please try to understand what is being said to you, rather than flailing around defensively.

 

[thaiboxerken]

The Republicans don't care about these allegations other than they are politically damaging. I expect they will confirm Brett anyway and hope that it doesn't hurt them too much politically. Also, they have many voter suppression tactics in play that political damage will already be minimized at the voting booth.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Yes, if he confesses, or this actual evidence, sure. A chant from 2011 and his membership in the mid to late 80's proves what? Also, membership is a college frat impacts his high school activities how?

I don't know what really happened these decades ago. Nobody does. This is my general problem. Baseless accusations that go back multiple decades are impossible to prove. Memories are malleable. She may believe them, but that doesn't make them true. And your attempts to force a narrative, by playing fast and loose with time, doesn't help the matter either. T&C had a horrible chant two decades after he left. Tieing him to that group, decades after he left is dishonest. He didn't make that chant, join in the chant, because the chant did not exist when he was there.

How far back are we allowed to go to disqualify people? How far back can we go to determine the horribleness of a person based on groups of people they choose to associate with?

Woosh!

 

[Stacyhs]

Will Christine Ford make good on her promise to leave the U.S. after Kavanaugh is confirmed? Don't get your hopes up. Liberals promise everything and deliver nothing.

She said she had no recollection of a party that happened 36 years ago. Why should she if nothing of importance happened to her? I went to a lot of parties at that age and couldn't tell you a thing about the vast majority of them, including what guys were there.

If Ford were making this all up, why request anonymity and then later come forward to face threats to her and her family's safety, disruption of her work, and attacks on her character? Why take a polygraph test (and pass it) and also request the FBI investigate it?

As for your last sentence, if liberals deliver nothing, then what have Trump and his cabinet been so busy overturning or trying to overturn? Republican policies?

 

[Fudbucker]

Oh heaven forbid I have a bias against the old white men that run this country. They aren't women and never have been. They aren't blacks or other minorities, look at the disgusting backlash against Obama and he did a great job as POTUS.

How would you describe them as a group? Leave the white elephant in the room out?

And people like Obama and Corey Booker are not like them, Thomas is. Bernie Sanders is not like them. Regardless, they comprise an undeniably stereotypical group.

There's a great scene in "Lincoln" where Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) explains how the moral compass of white people had ossified. The same can be said of a lot of old white people right now. Not all of them, but a hell of a lot of them.

My parents were lovey-dovey hippies, but now they watch Tucker Carlson every night. The changing demographics of the country scare the hell out of them. It's a mindset I never expected of them and one I can't fathom.

 

[Fudbucker]

My late mother always said that women were their own worst enemies. In many ways, she was right.

I saw one female Trump/Kavanaugh supporter being interviewed. When asked if she believed B-Ford, she said "no". Then she lightly touched the woman sitting next to her on the upper arm/shoulder and said (and I'm paraphrasing since I don't have the video to review) "All he did was just touch her a little bit. No big deal." I was gobsmacked.

My mom's favorite saying: men are slime, and women are stupid.

 

[Belz...]

But I have always wondered a bit about the logic of Welch's words. When someone has shown no particular inclination toward decency during a decades long political career, why would there be any reason to expect a sudden change?

Joe McCarthy wasn't going to be having any epiphanies of decency, he'd been doing just fine with the shtick he'd been using.

I think the line was directed at the audience, not McCarthy.

 

[Belz...]

Oh heaven forbid I have a bias against the old white men that run this country.

Hey, I don't mind that you wear your racism and sexism proudly. I'm just asking you not to deny it.

They aren't women and never have been. They aren't blacks or other minorities

Irrelevant.

How would you describe them as a group?

Judges.

And people like Obama and Corey Booker are not like them, Thomas is. Bernie Sanders is not like them.

And yet he's an old white man. Maybe your rhetoric is just plain wrong.

 

[Belz...]

The Republicans don't care about these allegations other than they are politically damaging. I expect they will confirm Brett anyway and hope that it doesn't hurt them too much politically.

They might figure that having him help shape the legal landscape for decades to come to outweigh short term losses. Losing an election or two is small potatoes compared to getting women back in the kitchen.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

https://twitter.com/BrianKarem/status/1043306079713734657

BREAKING: Montgomery MD PD Chief Tom Manger confirms will investigate sexual allegations against Brett Kavanaugh if a complaint is filed. ⁦@CNN⁩ ⁦@ChrisCuomo⁩

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

https://twitter.com/DanEggenWPost/status/1043615588839579650

Kavanaugh grew frustrated when it came to questions that dug into his private life, particularly his drinking habits and his sexual proclivities...He declined to answer some questions altogether, saying they were too personal"

https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1043688838890225666

Unfortunately, the precedent for digging into private sexual behavior well before taking their current position was established by...Judge Kavanaugh in his role on Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's team investigating President Bill Clinton. #Karma