Several of the people who quickly jumped to support Brett Kavanaugh when Donald Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court have slowed their roll and are calling for an investigation into the sexual assault allegations against him. Kavanaugh’s former Yale Law School classmates Kent Sinclair, Douglas Rutzen, and Mark Osler had signed on to a letter lauding not just his intellect and knowledge of the law but his “friendly manner, good sense of humor and humility.”
Now:
… in a joint statement to The Washington Post on Tuesday, Sinclair and Rutzen said that new allegations require “a fair and credible investigation.”
“The confirmation process should be conducted in a way that fosters trust in the process and the Supreme Court, and that seriously considers allegations of sexual violence,” stated Sinclair, a political independent who practices law in Beverly, Mass., and Rutzen, a lawyer in Washington and registered Democrat.
According to Osler, “The focus can’t just be on the accusers and trying to bring their veracity into question. The circumstances need to be probed.” Also, Akhil Amar, a Yale Law professor who had in July written an embarrassing op-ed in support of Kavanaugh, had earlier this week joined the calls for investigation.
Kavanaugh has insisted again and again (and again and again) that he wants a “fair process,” but as these past public supporters make clear, a truly fair process would look for the truth rather than just sweeping serious sexual assault allegations under the rug. The fact that Kavanaugh opposes the investigation that could, in the eyes of many observers, clear his name suggests that he has reason to believe it would do the opposite.