15. John Bresnahan (@BresPolitico), “.@ChuckGrassley releases a letter from 65 women who knew Kavanaugh in high school (showing Rs knew about this high-school rape allegation.) These women say Kavanaugh ‘behaved honorably and treated women with respect.’ ” Twitter, September 14, 2018, 8:02 a.m., https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/1040616745499848704; “/ 2 ADD – Judiciary Cmte Republicans object to my tweet. GOP aides say they didn’t know the substance of the Feinstein letter or the nature of the allegations. GOP aide also says Judiciary Cmte Rs received updated FBI file on Kavanaugh yesterday after Feinstein letter,” September 14, 2018, 8:32 a.m., https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/1040624414814072837; “/3 But clearly it took some effort to fund 65 women who attended high school at same time as Kavanaugh 30-odd years ago. This took some time to round up signatures,” September 14, 2018, 8:35 a.m., https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/1040625006449971200.
16. Elana Schor, “Anita Hill: Kavanaugh Accuser deserves ‘fair and neutral’ process,” Politico, September 14, 2018, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/14/anita-hill-kavanaugh-accuser-deserves-fair-and-neutral-process-825111.
17. The leak from the FBI background file, a serious breach of Senate procedure, triggered a special counsel investigation into its source. The counsel was never able to identify the source, but made the unremarkable conclusion that it was unlikely to have been leaked by Republican staffers; Neil A. Lewis, “Inquiry Fails to Find Source of Leak at Thomas Hearing,” New York Times, May 6, 1992, A00018. Feinstein’s staffers probably knew this history, which may have influenced how they handled the letter from Kavanaugh’s accuser.
18. When Thomas took the stand on Friday evening, October 11, his testimony received higher ratings than a baseball playoff game the same night. The ratings continued to be high throughout the weekend. By contrast, the Bork hearings weren’t even televised after the first day. John Anthony Maltese, The Selling of Supreme Court Nominees, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995), 92–93.
19. Emma Brown interview on Morning Joe, MSNBC, September 17, 2008, https://archive.org/details/MSNBCW_20180917_100000_Morning_Joe/start/1860/end/1920.
20. The Washington Post story about Ford’s allegations will be quoted throughout this chapter. Emma Brown, “California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault,” Washington Post, September 16, 2018, A1.
Chapter Six: Delay, Delay, Delay
1. Kasie DC (@Kasie DC), “BREAKING: Sen. Bob Corker says he believes a vote on Kavanaugh should not be held until his accuser speaks to the Senate Judiciary Committee. If she wishes to do so, he says, ‘she should do it promptly.’ ” Twitter, September 16, 2018, 6:03 p.m., https://twitter.com/KasieDC/status/1041492710526525440.
2. Elana Schor, “Flake’s revenge? Trump antagonist holds power over Supreme Court pick,” Politico, September 16, 2018, https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/16/flake-kavanaugh-trump-revenge-826067.
3. Jenny Hollander, “Why ‘Believe Women’ Means Believing Women Without Exception,” Bustle, November 21, 2017, https://www.bustle.com/p/why-believe-women-means-believing-women-without-exception-5532903.
4. Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders), “.@gregclarycnn asked Sen Susan Collins if she believed the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. Collins said: ‘I don’t know enough to create the judgment at this point.’ ” Twitter, September 16, 2018, 3:20 p.m., https://twitter.com/ElizLanders/status/1041451852032819201.
5. Caitlin Flanagan, “I Believe Her,” The Atlantic, September 17, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/me-too/570520/.
6. John T. Bennett, “Three Ways Kavanaugh Nomination Could Play Out After Accuser Speaks,” Roll Call, September 16, 2018, https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/kavanaugh-3-ways-nomination.
7. Alanna Vagianos, Amanda Terkel, and Jenna Amatulli, “Brett Kavanaugh’s Supporters Now Far More Reluctant To Speak Up Publicly,” HuffPost, September 18, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brett-kavanaugh-supporters_us_5ba12864e4b04d32ebfd446d.
8. Kalhan Rosenblatt and Rebecca Shabad, “Senators seek delay of Kavanaugh vote after Christine Blasey Ford reveals sexual assault allegation,” NBC News, September 17, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/senators-call-delay-kavanaugh-confirmation-vote-after-woman-reveals-sexual-n910026.
9. Benjamin Wittes, “Kavanaugh Bears the Burden of Proof,” The Atlantic, September 21, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/kavanaugh-confirmation/571021/.
10. Eli Rosenberg, “Totally misreading court records and other ways people are trying to undermine Kavanaugh’s accuser,” Washington Post, September 18, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/09/18/how-conservative-media-reacted-christine-ford-accusation-against-brett-kavanaugh/.
11. “Kellyanne Conway on Christine Blasey Ford,” C-SPAN via YouTube, September 17, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpxSChWOMBk.
12. Debra Katz interview, “Kavanaugh Confirmation Controversy,” NBC News via archive.com, September 17, 2018, https://archive.org/details/KNTV_20180917_140000_Today/start/900/end/960.
13. Debra Katz interview by Alisyn Camerota, “Confirmation Battle: Kavanaugh Accuser Comes Forward, Details Alleged Attack,” New Day With Alisyn Camerota and John Berman, CNN via archive.org, https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20180917_110000_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/1740/end/1800