"It is from this experience that I concluded that although Brett was normally reserved, he was a notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time, and that he became aggressive and belligerent when he was very drunk. I did not observe the specific incident in question, but I do remember Brett frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk."
Roche says he became friends with Debbie Ramirez. "She stood out as being exceptionally honest, with a trusting manner. As we got to know one another, I discovered that Debbie was very worried about fitting in. She felt that everyone at Yale was very rich, very smart and very sophisticated and that as a Puerto Rican woman from a less privileged background she was an outsider. Her response was to try hard to make friends and get along."At that point, the former Yalie clams up. He does not address the question that we all want answered: Did Ramirez mention the Kavanaugh penis-waving incident?
A word about Michael Avenatti's as-yet unnamed client: We know that she has held a security clearance and that she has worked for the "State Dept, U.S. Mint, & DOJ." I'm trying to think of a specific job that could fit this description.
Avenatti may have revealed more than intended when he framed the questions he would like Kavanaugh to answer:
1. Did you ever target one or more women for sex or rape at a house party? Did you ever assist Mark Judge or others in doing so?Most people have not noticed that, in every instance, Avenatti left himself an out: Maybe rape occurred, or maybe a group of college students used a drunk woman sexually. The former is a crime; the latter is simply...what's the word? "Icky" isn't strong enough, but it will do for now.
2. Did you ever attend a house party at which a woman was being gang raped or targeted for sex by multiple men?
3. Did you ever witness a line of men outside a bedroom in any house where you understood a woman in the bedroom was being raped or taken advantage of?
4. Did you ever participate in sexual conduct with a woman at a house party whom you understood to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs?
5. Did you ever communicate with Mark Judge or anyone else about your participation in a “train” involving an intoxicated woman?
6. Did you ever object or attempt to prevent any man from participating in the rape or taking advantage of a woman at any of the house parties?
There are women who willingly submit to what we may call the Full Messalina Experience. Don't tell me that such women do not exist; I've met at least one. ("Met" as in talked to, years after the fact. Being an ugmo, I was never invited to help a would-be Messalina achieve glory.)
(By the way, there are those who doubt the stories about Messalina, but I am not among the doubters. Robert Graves would not lie to me.)
And y'know what? As long as all parties are willing, I do not judge. My point is that Avenatti has cleverly sidestepped the most pertinent question: Were all parties willing?
I suppose we'll get an answer within the next 48 hours. At some point during this time period, we are promised a full revelation. But...why not today? Why the delay?
Another question: If Avenatti is representing the woman, what is the case? Is this a civil or criminal matter? Is the issue even triable at this point?
Avenatti has alluded to a possible criminal case. Here is the best information I can find concerning the statute of limitations for rape in Connecticut:
In Connecticut, the statute of limitations for prosecuting rape and felony sexual assault cases is five years from the date of the offense (CGS § 54-193). As in Massachusetts, periods when the accused is outside the state are not counted. Special rules exist for offenses involving sexual abuse, exploitation, or assault of a person under age 18. In cases involving such victims, prosecutions must be brought within (1) two years of the victim turning age 18 or (2) five years of the victim reporting the offense to the police or a prosecutor, whichever is earlier. The time period cannot be less than five years after the crime was committed (CGS § 54-193a).Sorry, but even if the woman was raped, I don't see how Kavanaugh can be charged.
Connecticut also provides an extended period for prosecuting certain sexual assault crimes when DNA matching the accused was collected at the crime scene. Prosecutions can be brought up to 20 years after the offense, so long as the victim reported it to the police or prosecutor within five years of its commission. The covered offenses are: (1) first-degree sexual assault, (2) aggravated first-degree sexual assault, (3) sexual assault in a spousal or cohabiting relationship, (4) second-degree sexual assault, (5) third-degree sexual assault, and (6) third-degree sexual assault with a firearm (CGS § 54-193b).
There is such a thing as a civil action to recover damages in a case of rape. See here. Seems to me that the passage of time would make such a case very difficult to pursue.
As you know, I have very mixed feelings about Avenatti. His ambition for office annoys the hell out of me. On the other hand, that same ambition makes it likely that he would not take on such a case unless he had his ducks in a row. That said, it's perfectly fair to ask the obvious question: Mr. Avenatti, you say you are representing this woman -- but in what case?
By the way: I'm continually amused by the right-wingers who denounce Avenatti as a "creepy porn lawyer" or a "sleazy porn lawyer." Most lawyers have clients who are part of what we may call the demimonde. How can anyone argue that Avenatti is creepy for representing a porn star but that Trump is not creepy for fucking a porn star and then paying her hush money?
There are also Trumpers who slam Avenatti for being insufficiently transparent about his taxes. Now that is freakin' hilarious.
A final note: Mark Judge is hiding in Delaware with a car filled with old Superman comic books. Great Ceasar's ghost! I don't think I will ever forget that detail.
So if we put Mark Judge, Jerry Seinfeld and Alan Moore on a desert island, they'll have something to talk about.
10 comments:
Like the late hardtop said, "How did I get stuck with a party of spineless wimps!"
Why can't Democrats just come out with, "No SCOTUS appointment until the people have spoken Nov 6."
Once again looking to outside agency for solutions to Trump.
You can gloss this over with a reference to ancient Rome, but what happens in a gang rape is that a woman is so drunk she is barely aware that she is being used by a chain of men, one after another. She is being raped because she is incapable of consent due to her extreme drunkenness. You can try to explain this away by claiming that she did it on purpose or liked it that way, but neither is true.
Is Trump looking towards the exit? He disgraced himself at the UN today by talking about how much his administration has accomplished. Surely some kind of a caring institution would be a better place for him to nurse such reminiscences? "It's true", and so on. They could even allow the loony a mobile phone so he could post to Twitter.
Avenatti's list of questions slyly mirror those Kavanaugh urged Starr to ask Clinton.
Mr. Mike-‘Cause the Dems don’t control the Senate??? Why are people that play Democratic supporters on the internet so ignorant and self-defeating? Quit posting, whining about a world that never was, and start working for a world that can be.
Joseph-Not sure why you are posting the Connecticut legal statutes, when the most likely jurisdiction is Maryland or perhaps DC if Judge (spent 7 years at Catholic U.) is involved. No statute of limitations in Maryland on sex crimes, if a felony or a misdemeanor with prison time. There is a 15 year limitation in DC. VA is the same as Maryland in terms of felonies, but suburban MD teens didn’t hang out in VA in the 80’s and 90’s, so a crime this planned or premeditated seems as likely or less than Connecticut, again if Judge is involved.
Anon 11:08 -- first, please don't be anonymous. Second, you don't even know the woman's name, history or location at this point. To be honest, we can't yet be sure of her existence. So how can you be sure of her blood alcohol level on an occasion three decades ago? Proving "extreme drunkeness" at this historical remove is a challenge no lawyer in his or her right mind would want to accept.
You don't know if she drank anything, if she drank to the point of reducing inhibition, or if she drank to the point of nearly blacking out. You don't even know (yet) that she is real. You just don't know.
My classical allusion proved the same point as my reference to personal experience: There are females who do such things willingly. I do not judge. I simply stipulate their existence.
Anon 5:06 -- the same Anon? My understanding is that Yale is located in Connecticut. Has it moved?
b: It is in Trump's nature to disgrace himself. He could burble up lunch all over his oversized polyester tie and his followers would laud his genius. All of our allies could shout "We hate Trump" with one voice and his followers would insist that he as restored America's standing in the world.
5:06 Anon here not the same as the 11:08-
From Avenatti’s wording it seems like he is implying that Judge is the lynchpin to his allegations. Kavanaugh could be a participant or a witness in this scenario or scenarios. So, I still think it is more likely the incident/crime happened near Judge’s location at the time Maryland/DC, rather than Yale/Connecticut.
-C’est Moi
I too totally got the impression that Avenatti was/is referring to incidents from Kavanaugh's days in Maryland/DC...
Say Mwah (and friend): I have to concede territory here. Perhaps because the Avenatti claim followed hard upon the Ramirez claim, I came under the impression that Avenatti's claimant also attended Yale. However, I cannot find an article or tweet supporting that memory. I did find this:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/25/avvenatti-expects-new-kavanaugh-accuser-to-go-public-soon.html
So...it happened in high school.
Thank you for correcting me.
From what little I know of Russian intelligence operations, it seems they surely would have people working in a prestigious university which supplies leadership material for the United States. And if the university's students were whispering of a frat group, that in a very organized way was using alcohol as a date rape drug and setting up unsuspecting young women to pull a train... Well that information would be very valuable to an operative. Such juicy kompromat on potential young leaders.
The budding young rapists may have found that some doors mysteriously opened for them as they later climbed their career ladders within the US bureaucracy. A blackmailable federal judge would be quite a prize. A hundred times more so with a compromised Supreme Court justice. And on the long shot that such an individual almost made confirmation but the whole process blew up with sordid disclosures, it would still be worth its weight in gold for having shaken the foundations of American democracy.
Or maybe American conservative prep schools just turn out dirt bags.
Post a Comment