Report: Insider Grassley Emails Blow Apart Ramirez Accusations
A second accuser came forward against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh over the weekend, a former Yale classmate named Deborah Ramirez, who alleged that a drunken Kavanaugh had exposed himself in her face at a dorm party in either 1982 or 1983.
But her allegations, published by The New Yorker when several other outlets reportedly passed on the story, were admittedly vague, and nobody alleged to have been at the party where this incident was said to have occurred have any recollection of such an event.
Still, Ramirez, her attorneys and the Democrats cheering them on have demanded that a full FBI investigation be opened and Kavanaugh’s confirmation be further delayed, prompting Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by chairman Chuck Grassley, to once again scramble to accommodate another accuser and arrange a time for her to present her evidence to them so it can be considered by the committee, the proper venue for an investigation into allegations against a judicial nominee.
Ramirez’s attorneys had asserted through the media that committee Republicans were giving them the run-around, but a pair of tweets from CNN’s senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju would seem to indicate that Ramirez’s attorneys aren’t exactly telling the whole story, at least in regard to the level of cooperation they’ve received and reciprocated with the committee.
Internal emails show Grassley staff asking Debbie Ramirez’s attorneys six times for evidence of her claims to New Yorker on Kavanaugh. They also show Dem aide raising concerns that GOP was seeking precondition before having a call – all while Ramirez’s counsel calls for FBI probe
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 26, 2018
“Internal emails show Grassley staff asking Debbie Ramirez’s attorneys six times for evidence of her claims to New Yorker on Kavanaugh,” Raju tweeted Tuesday. “They also show Dem aide raising concerns that GOP was seeking precondition before having a call – all while Ramirez’s counsel calls for FBI probe.”
A follow-up tweet from Raju summarized, “Basically this shows GOP at a standstill with Debbie Ramirez’s attorneys, as Rs say they haven’t been given any evidence to back her claims and her side saying they’re refusing to back an FBI probe. It’s a clear sign the committee won’t get to hear Ramirez’s story before votes.”
As previously noted, the FBI has no jurisdiction over this alleged crime — if any law enforcement agency does, it would be local — and the proper venue for an investigation of allegations against a judicial nominee — including to the highest court in the land — would be the Senate Judiciary Committee, meaning the calls for an FBI investigation are a distraction and irrelevant.
The fact Ramirez’s attorneys are insistent upon an FBI investigation and have refused repeated requests to provide any relevant evidence of the alleged incident to the committee would seem to suggest that there is little, if any, additional information they can provide that wasn’t already included in the New Yorker article.
Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel delved even deeper into the matter and published several informative and explanatory tweet threads on Tuesday with regard to the developing situation around Ramirez’s allegations.
A short three-tweet thread highlighted why the demands for an FBI investigation were nothing more than a delay tactic, followed a few hours later by a 12-tweet thread that exposed the back and forth emails between Grassley’s staff and Ramirez’s lead attorney, John Clune.
Strassel noted that Clune had appeared on CNN and accused Republican committee members of “game playing,” but called that particular accusation “downright false” in light of the contents of the emails.
Starting Sunday evening, just hours after the New Yorker article was published, committee staff began to request a time when Ramirez could be interviewed so the committee could investigate. The attorneys responded by insisting on an FBI investigation and attempted to schedule conference calls for details on a potential hearing.
But the committee staff repeatedly asked for the provision of any actual “evidence” — outside of the disputed and gap-ridden article — Ramirez may have prior to there being any phone calls arranging a hearing or interview. Indeed, they asked for evidence no less than six separate times over the course of two days, all of which were avoided, ignored or summarily dismissed by Ramirez’s attorneys.
“This is a serious accusation. No law enforcement would commence investigation without such statement — this is basic request, in line with any committee probe. Yet every polite request for basic on record statement is ignored, rebuffed, delayed, denied. GOP has bent backwards,” Strassel tweeted.
To conclude her thread, Strassel wrote “Finally, as you can read, claim by Clune that GOP ‘blew off scheduled call’ (CNN headline) is flat out falsehood. Majority always said testimony/evidence first. Says something that an attny resorts to such deceptions. And that CNN (would) report w/o checking.”
So there you have it. Republicans have been begging Ramirez’s attorneys for any evidence in support of her claims, to no avail. Keep these facts in mind over the next several days as Democrats and the media caterwaul about Republican “games” or accuse them of not taking Ramirez’s allegations seriously.
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