The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.28 Brett Kavanaugh Testimony and Reactions

Episode Date: September 28, 2018

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Friday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, and today we're going to do something a little bit different. Yesterday, as I mentioned, there was a lot to break down in our main story of the day. Today we're going to cover just one story which we couldn't fit into yesterday's show, and also as we were filming it and even done, it was still happening. And given how serious the situation was, it just didn't feel right to release it without sharing both sides. And so let's talk about Kavanaugh and Ford. And as a heads up, if you didn't see both of the hearings,

you can continue from here, but if you saw everything from yesterday, you want just the most recent updates, you can jump to here in the time code. Yesterday, I tried to consolidate as much as possible everything that has come out and led up to the hearings. And yesterday, the day finally came where Kavanaugh and Ford spoke in an open session

to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Some of the details about the hearing, it was before 21 senators, 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats with extra security. Dr. Ford was accompanied by two lawyers. Also very interesting, Republicans opted to question Ford using outside counsel. The person they hired to question Ford was Rachel Mitchell.

So the stage was set, the players picked, what did we see? Well, to start, we saw Ford sworn in and in her opening statement say, I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. 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 then went on to identify five people who were also at that small gathering. There were four boys I remember specifically being at the house. Brett Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, a boy named PJ, and one other boy whose name I cannot recall.

I also remember my friend Leland attending. She then goes on to give her account of the incident. Brett and Mark came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. There was music playing in the bedroom. It was turned up louder by either Brett or Mark once we were in the room. I was pushed onto the bed, and Brett got on top of me. He began running his hands over my body and grinding into me. I yelled, hoping that someone downstairs might hear me, and I tried to get away from him, but his weight was heavy.

Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time because he was very inebriated. And because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit underneath my clothing. I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from yelling. This is what terrified me the most and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me. Then going on to say as far as why she didn't tell other people, why she didn't report this,

she said. I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone these details. I did not want to tell my parents that I, at age 15, was in a house without any parents present, drinking beer with boys. I convinced myself that because Brett did not rape me, I should just move on and just pretend that it didn't happen. Also regarding those who have accused her of being partisan, she said, I have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives. Those who say that do not know me. I am an independent person and I am no one's pawn. My motivation in coming forward was to be helpful and to provide facts about how Mr. Kavanaugh's actions have damaged my life

so that you could take into a serious consideration as you make your decision about how to proceed. During the hearing, Ford was also asked several questions that stood out. Ford is asked about these two men that think that they were being confused with Kavanaugh. Last night the Republican staff of this committee released to the media a timeline that shows that they've interviewed two people who claimed they were the ones who actually assaulted you. I'm asking you to address this new defense of mistaken identity directly. Dr. Ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe

Brett Kavanaugh assaulted you? 100%. She's also asked what is the strongest memory you have from the incident, which she says. Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense. And as far as Mitchell's line of questioning, there have been a lot saying that it wasn't standout, but it was detailed. She seemed to be establishing very specific facts around Ford's accusation.

Things like differences in one version with how many people were there. Things like what she said in the past about the allegations. Distance from Ford's home, whether she was coached to take the polygraph, who paid for it. But for the most part, a lot of it was seeing this person that has been talked about and whose words have been used

and actually hearing them say it. Also with his testimony, it was interesting to see some of the initial reaction. For example, we saw Senator Lindsey Graham saying he felt ambushed by these allegations of sexual assault and also saying this. Here's what I'll tell you. When it comes to where it happened, I still don't know.

I don't know when it happened. She said she's 100% certain it did happen. I bet you, Judge Kavanaugh will say I'm 100% sure I didn't do it. The people named say they don't know what Ms. Ford's talking about. She can't tell us how she got home and how she got there. And that's the facts I'm left with. A nice lady who has come forward to tell a hard story that's uncorroborated. And this is enough. God help anybody else that gets nominated. Ford was also asked why people who were allegedly at the party said that they do not remember the party. And these were sworn statements under penalty of a felony.

Are you aware that they say that they have no memory or knowledge of such a party? Yes. I don't expect that PJ and Leland would remember this evening. It was a very unremarkable party. It was not one of their more notorious parties because nothing remarkable happened to them that evening they were downstairs. And Mr. Judge is a different story. I would expect that he would remember that this happened. Ford was also asked about her fear of flying. And the reason for that is on Sunday CNN reported that two long-time friends of Ford said that she feels uncomfortable and struggles with enclosed spaces. Particularly in places without an escape route or more than one exit door. And that was also connected to a report about her not submitting to an interview because of flying.

So we saw back and forth where Mitchell questioned Ford about that. Ford talked about how she had hoped the committee would come to her for an interview, but realized it was an unrealistic request. That was certainly what I was hoping was to avoid having to get on an airplane, but I eventually was able to get up the gumption with the help of some friends and get on the plane. Mitchell also followed up, asking whether Ford flies for work and pleasure. In fact, you fly fairly frequently for your hobbies and you've had to fly for your work. Is that true? Correct, unfortunately.

Ford also testifying that she has flown to Delaware annually to visit her family and has traveled to vacation spots, including Hawaii and the South Pacific by airplane. And so the implication that some made was that she was using the supposed fear of flying to delay the committee hearing. And online we saw people, including Donald Trump Jr., calling Ford's fear selective, tweeting, "'I'm no psychology professor, "'but it does seem weird to me

"'that someone could have a selective fear of flying. "'Can't do it to testify, but for vacation, "'well, it's not a problem at all.'" Although on that note, some psychologists have said it's not surprising Ford was able to fly it sometimes and not others. Dr. Robert Reiner, a New York psychologist who treats fear of flying using a combination of biofeedback and virtual reality devices, told CBS, it's perfectly understandable that she could do it under certain circumstances.

It would never be something she likes doing, but she could tolerate it. And adding, there are plenty of people with fear of flying who manage to get on planes, but they're just a nervous wreck. They're the ones who need a couple of drinks or take a Xanax, but they don't like it. Then we had Brett Kavanaugh's testimony, and right from the beginning, it just had a completely different energy. His opening statement was 45 minutes compared to Ford's 17 minutes. Kavanaugh beginning by including Leland Kaiser's statement in his own opening statement.

Kaiser, of course, Ford's friend that was mentioned previously. I denied the allegation immediately, categorically, and unequivocally. All four people allegedly at the event, including Dr. Ford's longtime friend, Ms. Kaiser, have said they recall no such event. Her longtime friend, Ms. Kaiser, said under penalty of felony that she does not know me and does not believe she ever saw me at a party ever. He then continued and spoke on the harm he felt the allegations and delays it had on his family and on the confirmation process.

The day after the allegation appeared, I told this committee that I wanted a hearing as soon as possible to clear my name. I demanded a hearing for the very next day. Unfortunately, it took the committee 10 days to get to this hearing. In those 10 long days, as was predictable, and as I predicted, my family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed. Kavanaugh has also outspoken about the way the confirmation process has played out. This confirmation process has become a national disgrace. The Constitution gives the Senate an important role in the confirmation process. But you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy.

Kavanaugh then also going further, criticizing the Democratic response to finding out about the allegations. This first allegation was held in secret for weeks by a Democratic member of this committee and by staff. It would be needed only if you couldn't take me out on the merits. And then, as no doubt was expected, if not planned, came a long series of false last-minute smears designed to scare me and drive me out of the process. Crazy stuff. Gangs, illegitimate children, fights on boats in Rhode Island, all nonsense reported breathlessly and often uncritically by the media. This has destroyed my family and my good name.

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. Kevin also remaining steadfast that he would not withdraw. I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process. You've tried hard.

You've given it your all. No one can question your effort but your coordinated and well-funded effort to destroy my good name and destroy my family will not drive me out and even with how fiery most everything was he did slow down and even teared up when explaining that he had no ill will towards ford i intend no ill will to Dr. Ford and her family. The other night, Ashley and my daughter, Liza, said their prayers. And little Liza, all 10 years old. What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue? A well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue that was carefully selected by an Instacart shopper and delivered to your door. A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the Thank you. lie. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Said to Ashley, we should pray for the woman.

Before specific allegations, Kavanaugh brought up his calendars refuting the likelihood that he was at the alleged party. And then on the weekend of August 20 to 22nd, I was staying at the Garrett's with Pat and Chris as we did final preparations for football training camp that began on Sunday the 22nd. As the calendars confirm, that weekend before a brutal football training camp schedule was no time for parties. So let me emphasize this point. If the party described by Dr. Ford happened in the summer of 1982 on a weekend night, my calendar shows all but definitively that I was not there. And then what followed where senators asking questions, some just kind of making statements.

We saw Senator Richard Durbin kind of hitting the main thrust of what the Democrats were asking for, an FBI investigation. If you, Judge Kavanaugh, turned Don McGahn and to this committee and say, for the sake of my reputation, my family name, and to get to the bottom of the truth of this, I am not going to be an obstacle to an FBI investigation, I would hope that all the members of the committee would join me in saying, we're going to abide by your wishes and we will have that investigation. I welcome whatever the committee wants to do because I'm telling the truth. I want to know what you want to do.

I'm telling the truth. I want to know what you want to do, Judge. I'm innocent. I'm innocent of this charge. Then you're prepared for an FBI investigation. They don't reach conclusions. You reach the conclusion. We had Senator Kamala Harris asking a similar question, as well as if Kavanaugh, like Ford, had taken a professionally administered polygraph. Have you taken a professionally administered polygraph test as it relates to this issue?

No. I'll do whatever the committee wants. Of course, those are not admissible in federal court, but I'll do whatever the committee wants. They're not admissible in federal court because they're not reliable, as you know. So I'm going to ask you one last time. Are you willing to ask the White House to authorize the FBI to investigate the claims that have been made against you? The FBI would gather witness statements. You have a witness statement. We also had Senator Cory Booker asking if Kavanaugh truly thought that Ford was part of a left-wing plot. This past two weeks has been a two-week effort calculated and orchestrated as a political hit.

Are you saying that Dr. Ford's efforts to come forward to prepare for the very difficult testimony she gave today, to travel to Washington, D.C. and tell us about her experience have all been part of an orchestrated political hit? And are you basically calling her some kind of political operative? I've said my family has no ill will toward Dr. Ford. She wanted confidentiality. Her confidentiality was blown by the actions of this committee. I said all allegations should be taken seriously. Do you wish she never came forward? The witnesses who were there say

it didn't happen. Okay, sir, do you wish you just remain silent then? I wish the witnesses who are there say it didn't happen. Okay, sir, do you wish you'd just remained silent then? The witnesses who were there say it didn't happen. All allegations should be taken seriously. As for the Republicans, Graham was probably the most forceful Republican to speak out during the testimony. If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020. You've said that, not me.

You've got nothing to apologize for. When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said, oh, because I voted for them. I would never do to them what you've done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn't have done what you've done to this guy. Are you a gang rapist? No. I cannot imagine what you and your family have gone through.

Boy, y'all want power. God, I hope you never get it. I hope the American people can see through this sham, that you knew about it and you held it. You had no intention of protecting Dr. Ford. None. She's as much of a victim as you are. God, I hate to say it because these have been my friends.

But let me tell you when it comes to this you're looking for a fair process you came to the wrong town at the wrong time my friend did ted crew sitting on the fact that witnesses to the alleged incident could not recall what was being described by ford all three of those fact witnesses have stated on the record under penalty of perjury that they do not recall what she is alleging happening. They have not only not corroborated her charges, they have explicitly refuted her charges. Crew has also continued by criticizing Feinstein for how long she had the letter,

saying there could have been a confidential investigation. He also said that the only people who could have leaked Ford's letter were Senator Feinstein or Representative Eshoo. But we also saw Feinstein pushing back, saying that she kept the letter confidential at Ford's request until she decided to come forward. I was given some information by a woman who was very much afraid, who asked that it be held confidential. And I held it confidential until she decided that she would come forward. And following Kavanaugh's hearing, we saw Trump tweet Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why he nominated him. confidential until she decided that she would come forward.

And following Kavanaugh's hearing, we saw Trump tweet, Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why he nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting. Democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful, and this process has been a total sham and an effort to delay, obstruct, and resist. The Senate must vote. Also, according to reports, is after the meeting,

Senators Collins, Murkowski, Flake, and Manchin met privately. And the reason this was of note is that the three Republicans, Collins, Murkowski, and Flake, are considered met privately. And the reason this was of note is that the three Republicans, Collins, Murkowski, and Flake, are considered the deciding vote. Since Republicans outnumber the Democrats 51 to 49 in the Senate right now, Republicans can only afford to lose one vote if they hope to advance the nomination. And after all of that came today, where we saw some interesting things happening this morning. One, Senator Jeff Flake announced that he would be voting yes.

That also leading to Jeff Flake being confronted by sexual assault survivors in an elevator. What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court. This is not tolerable. Look at me when I'm talking to you. You're telling me that my assault doesn't matter. That what happened to me doesn't matter and that you're gonna let people who do these things into power. That's what you're telling me. Also very notably, the American Bar Association that had previously endorsed Kavanaugh, they called for a delay to the vote

and for an FBI investigation, writing that they urge the committee as well as the full Senate to conduct a confirmation vote on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States only after an appropriate background check into the allegations made by Professor Ford and others is completed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Adding, we make this request because of the ABA's respect for the rule of law and due process under law. The basic principles that underscore the Senate's constitutional duty of advice and consent on federal judicial nominees require nothing less than a careful examination of the accusations and facts by the FBI. Each appointment to our nation's highest court,

as with all others, is simply too important to rush to a vote. And saying, deciding to proceed without conducting additional investigation would not only have a lasting impact on the Senate's reputation, but it will also negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people

to have in the Supreme Court. It must remain an institution that will reliably follow the law and not politics. Respectfully, the Senate should recognize that a thorough FBI investigation will demonstrate its commitment to a Supreme Court that is above reproach." But to all of that, Senator Chuck Grassley this morning said, I've explained many times another FBI investigation is not necessary.

We're not going to let them dictate our committee's business. Also, this letter is from the president of the ABA, one individual. He doesn't represent the hundreds of thousands of lawyers in the United States. And in addition to this seeming like a big deal to many Because you have the president of the ABA sending in this letter after the organization had endorsed him It was also seen as a big deal because Kavanaugh himself Mentioned his rating with the ABA and even Senator Graham gave them high praise like the American Bar Association has the gold standard His integrity is absolutely unquestioned

He is the very circumspect in his personal conduct, harbors no biases or prejudices. He's entirely ethical, is a really decent person. He is warm, friendly, unassuming. He's the nicest person. You also had Yale Law School jumping into the mix. Kavanaugh, of course, went to Yale Law School. The school's dean, Heather K. Gerken, had praised him, even calling him a longtime friend to many of us in the Yale Law School. The school's dean, Heather Kay Gherkin, had praised him, even calling him a long-time friend to many of us in the Yale Law School community.

But this morning, Dean Gherkin released a statement saying, "'I joined the American Bar Association "'in calling for an additional investigation "'into allegations made against Judge Kavanaugh. "'Proceeding with the confirmation process "'without further investigation is not in the best interest "'of the court or our profession.'" And what followed that today is we saw two notable votes.

The first being around the Democrats wanting to subpoena Mark Judge, and in the accusations Judge is also a potential witness as well as accused. It issued a statement in the letter that the Democrats wanted to subpoena him. That failed in a vote of 10 to 11 right down party lines. And also one of the last updates to this story as I was ending filming today, Kavanaugh's friend Mark Judge has said that he will cooperate with an FBI probe. And then came the vote that we knew was coming after Jeff Flake announced what he was going to be doing, 11 to 10 for Kavanaugh. But with this vote, we did also see something interesting come from Jeff Flake. I think it would be proper to delay the floor vote for up to, but not more than one week, in order to let the FBI continue to do an investigation

limited in time and scope to the current allegations that are there. I will vote to advance the bill to the floor with that understanding. And on that note, Senator Grassley says he can advocate for that, but he doesn't control the Senate floor votes. And here's the thing regarding that,

if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks he has the votes, he has at least 50, there's nothing to stop him from taking this to the Senate floor. We know that there are 47 at definite no's, and as of recording this video, there are technically four undecided votes. Republicans Murkowski and Collins, and Democrats Heitkamp and Manchin. And once again, that's with assuming that Jeff Flake wouldn't kind of fold back on what he just said and just voted yes anyway. And actually, in a super last-minute update, the Senate GOP has actually agreed to request a one week delay on Kavanaugh's confirmation to allow for an FBI investigation.

And so for now we just have to pay attention and see what happens here. And as far as my personal opinion on it, and oh, get those dislike buttons ready, I personally agree with the president of the American Bar Association, the Dean of Yale Law School. And also something that Jeff Flake hit on

when he called for this delay saying, "'This country is being ripped apart here. We've got to make sure that we do due diligence.'" I personally think that the one week compromise that Flake has on when he called for this delay saying, "'This country is being ripped apart here. We've got to make sure that we do due diligence.'" I personally think that the one-week compromise that Flake has thrown out there, at the very least, it's good optics and it also will help fight against the idea that they're just railroading this guy through. But with all of that said, I pass the question off to you,

a person who does not have to agree or disagree with me. What is your takeaway from all of this? What do you think? And let me know what you think in those comments down below. And ultimately that is where today's show ends. And of course with this news show, I also want it to be a conversation, and so I pass the question off to you,

what is your takeaway from all of this? Any and all opinions I'd love to see in those comments down below. Also while you're at it, remember if you like these daily dives into the news, hit that like button. If you're new here, hit that subscribe button so you get the new ones.

Also if you didn't see yesterday's show, you wanna catch up, click or tap right there to watch that or if you want to watch a special video we did about voting click or tap right there but that's it of course as always my name is philip defranco you've just been filled in i love yo faces and i'll see you monday