The team behind the push to get Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh confirmed last fall had damaging information on the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct but kept it quiet to avoid the appearance of "victim shaming," a new book claims.
Fox News' Howard Kurtz reviewed the book — "Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court" — written by Federalist senior editor Mollie Hemingway and Judicial Crisis Network chief counsel Carrie Severino. The authors reported that the White House and aides surrounding Kavanaugh ultimately decided to have the judge defend himself rather than attack his main accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.
Ford's allegations dated back to 1982 and could not be corroborated, but she was nonetheless invited to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee as the panel grappled with whether to approve Kavanaugh's nomination.
The Kavanaugh team, Hemingway and Severino wrote, "understood that any criticism of Ford would be treated as a smear" and could be termed "victim shaming."
After Ford testified in front of the Senate Judiciary panel, Kavanaugh took a seat in front of the lawmakers and launched a forceful defense of himself, his character, and his judicial career.
Kavanaugh's contentious nomination made it out of the committee and he narrowly survived a full Senate vote, 50-48.
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