When she was in high school, a woman says two teenage boys attempted to rape her at a party. One pushed her into a bedroom. They locked the door, then turned up the music to drown out her cries. The same one that shoved her then put a hand over her mouth. She was terrorized; she’d feared for her life. She still struggles with the memory.
Imagine being that terrified young woman—we’ll call her Marie—a few decades later, seeing the man who restrained, silenced, and tried to rape you on every screen and front page. He’s up for one of the 10 most important roles in federal government, a lifetime appointment.
We’ll call him Brett.
Marie sent a letter to her congresswoman, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), detailing her allegations shortly after the nomination. Eshoo would go on to contact Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, weeks before Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings were to begin.
Marie’s courage should have been met with support. Instead, she ended up giving up on her attempt to make her allegations public. Feinstein’s line to other Democratic senators who learned of the letter belatedly—months after she received it—was that it was too old to bother raising. She didn’t even refer it to the FBI until September.
We need to believe women.
Imagine you’re Marie, hearing that from her senator. It’s hard enough to come forward in the first place. Anita Hill comments, "The reluctance of someone to come forward demonstrates that even in the #MeToo era, it remains incredibly difficult to report harassment, abuse or assault by people in power."
By the way, Marie’s claim is credible. From initial reporting, it seems she has friends who can testify to her having experienced long-term trauma. Maybe she could even offer an outcry witness—that’s the legal term for the first person someone speaks to after a traumatic event. There’s an exception to the hearsay rule—one of just a handful of exceptions—for outcry witnesses.
Then there’s the non-denial from the second man involved in Marie’s alleged sexual assault.
“I have no recollection of that,” Kavanaugh’s alleged accomplice told The New Yorker. Could he have given a more suspicious statement?
Feinstein’s behavior goes against every fiber of #MeToo. So, too, does the notion that 65 women saying nice things about a man another woman has accused of sexual assault has any bearing on her allegation.
We’ve been here before and gotten it wrong: Clarence Thomas is proof.
As shocking as Feinstein’s behavior was and is, it’s even more shocking—if predictable—that Republicans are trying to cure the allegation with a letter from 65 women who merely attended high school in the same area as Brett.
Can you name 65 classmates from your own high school who knew you well enough that their opinion should have a bearing on your employment? Sixty-five classmates of one gender? What about 65 peers of the same gender who didn’t attend school with you but knew you so well they could offer a character reference decades later?
Then there’s the fact that some women signed on to the letter as early as Thursday, before the allegations against Kavanaugh became public. One confirms she signed without any knowledge of any specific accusations. The only letter that matters in this scenario is the one Marie wrote.
The reasons to postpone a confirmation vote are growing. Expect more reveals as the document review continues.