‘Such acts are not only unfair; they are potentially illegal…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) Some on the Left, such as comedian Stephen Colbert, have suggested that the Democrats’ impending impeachment vote could create a Senate trial that closely resembles the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The likely insinuation is that radical activists will wage an organized pressure campaign consisting of intimidation tactics, threats, doxing and misinformation in a last-ditch effort to sway the outcome.
But just over a year since the Kavanaugh proceedings, their bad-faith attempts to block the confirmations are coming increasingly under scrutiny and revealing their own self-righteous actions to be far worse than those whom they accused of perverting democracy.
On Saturday, USA Today reported on one of several Kavanaugh accusers who had submitted false allegations to the Senate Judiciary Committee only to recant her claims as the Justice Department sought to follow up on the potentially criminal conduct.
Although the newspaper said it was unable to independently verify the woman’s admission, it reported on a recent letter from former Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Neb., who confirmed that Kentucky native Judy Munro–Leighton was a left-wing activist who had made false statements to Congress during the course of the hearings.
Munro–Leighton submitted an anonymous, handwritten letter to the office of Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. on Sept. 25 last year, during the heat of the contentious confirmation.
It said Kavanaugh and a friend had raped her “several times each” in the back seat of a car.
Kavanaugh was interrogated about the claim and replied unequivocally, “[T]he whole thing is just a crock, farce, wrong, didn’t happen, not anything close.” Nonetheless, the transcript of his interview—including the full “Jane Doe” letter” was publicly released.
About a week later, Munro–Leighton emailed and took credit for having sent the letter, while doubling down on the claims.
The investigation quickly established that she had a history of left-wing activism, was much older than Kavanaugh, and did not live anywhere near where she alleged the rape to have occurred.
But a month afterward, she said she had not written the letter and only took credit to grab the attention of investigators.
“I was angry, and I sent it out,” she said.
Grassley’s letter sought to follow up with the FBI and Justice Department on what had been done to hold accountable those who made false accusations, undermining the confirmation process while diverting resources at a crucial moment.
[W]hen individuals intentionally mislead the Committee, they divert Committee resources during time-sensitive investigations and materially impede our work,” Grassley said.
“Such acts are not only unfair; they are potentially illegal,” he continued. “It is illegal to make materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements to Congressional investigators. It is illegal to obstruct Committee investigations.”