Brett Kavanaugh

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Brett Kavanaugh (2018)

Brett Michael Kavanaugh ([ 'kævənɔː ]; born February 12, 1965 in Washington, DC ) is an American lawyer . Since October 6, 2018, he has been a judge at the Supreme Court of the United States (English: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ).

Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court on July 9, 2018 by President Donald Trump . When his appointment was being considered by the United States Senate , several women accused him of sexually assaulting them in his youth. The allegations he denied and his behavior before the judicial committee led to heated political and social discussions. Subsequent investigations by the FBI, which were limited in scope , and the six FBI background checks that had already been carried out, failed to substantiate the allegations. After the Senate confirmed Kavanaugh's appointment on October 6, 2018, he was sworn in on the same day.

biography

Origin, education and first activities

Kavanaugh is the only child of Martha G. and Ed Kavanaugh and grew up in Maryland . His mother was a district judge there and his father was a businessman and lobbyist for the cosmetics industry. The father in particular had excellent contacts with higher political circles in Washington. In Maryland, Kavanaugh attended a Catholic boys' school. He then earned a BA in history from Yale University and studied law from 1987. At Yale, he was one of the few Republicans with a Democratic majority . After earning his Juris Doctor degree in 1990, he worked as a trainee lawyer (clerk) first at an appeals court in Delaware and then at an appeals court for the 9th federal judicial district . Both positions were seen as a kind of “stepping stone” to a clerkship at the Supreme Court , and a little later Kavanaugh managed to get a clerkship with Anthony Kennedy , one of the Supreme Court justices at the time.

Kavanaugh in the Oval Office with President Bush (2001-2006)

After completing his legal clerkship, Kavanaugh nearly moved into the private sector with legal counsel Kirkland & Ellis , but he accepted an offer to help with Kenneth Starr's special investigation into alleged Clinton administration misconduct . In 1997, when the Lewinsky affair , the presidency of Bill Clinton shook, he was one of the authors of the so-called Starr report , the one impeachment recommended (impeachment) President Clinton. Kavanaugh spoke out against the publication of the report detailing the president's relationship with his intern. After George W. Bush became president in 2001, Kavanaugh became one of the White House's legal advisors . In this role he advised the government on the 2001 Enron bankruptcy.

District of Columbia federal appeals court judge

Brett Kavanaugh (2009)

2003 Kavanaugh was by the American Bar Association "well qualified" (well qualified) rated for the office of federal judge - to review, to "qualified" However, in 2006 (qualified) was downgraded. This did not hinder his further career, however, and on June 1, 2006, he was elected by 57 to 46 votes to the Circuit Judge , ie the judge at the Federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia . 53 out of 55 Republicans in the US Senate voted for him, but only four out of 44 Democrats. When he was sworn in, President Bush gave a speech. During his tenure as appellate judge, the Supreme Court decided on appeals in 13 cases, which was rated as a remarkably high number. Only in one case involving the responsibility of states for air pollution in excess of state borders (Kavanaugh had spoken out against such responsibility) did the Supreme Court fail in his favor.

Candidate for the Supreme Court

President Trump nominating his candidate Kavanaugh on July 9, 2018

In the 2016 presidential election campaign , Donald Trump announced that he would appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court, and published a list of candidates based on proposals from the conservative Federalist Society . Kavanaugh was not in the first list of eleven candidates in May 2016, but was named in the later list, which was expanded to 25 candidates. After Trump took office as President, Kavanaugh was already one of the favorites for the nomination in place of Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia, who died in early 2016 . Trump decided in early 2017 for Neil Gorsuch , who was considered conservative and was confirmed in April 2017.

In the summer of 2018, President Trump was able to nominate another Supreme Court Justice after Anthony Kennedy, who is considered to be moderately conservative, announced his retirement. On July 9, 2018, Trump introduced Kavanaugh as his candidate to succeed Kennedy. The New York Times commented that Kavanaugh's nomination was an attempt by Trump to secure a majority in the Supreme Court for his deregulatory economic policies.

Kavanaugh's nomination then had to be confirmed by the United States Senate, in which the Republicans had a slim majority of 51 to 49. A rejection of Kavanaughs was considered most likely by the two Republican Senators Susan Collins ( Maine ) and Lisa Murkowski ( Alaska ). On the other hand, it was believed possible that Democratic Senators Heidi Heitkamp ( North Dakota ), Joe Donnelly ( Indiana ) and Joe Manchin ( West Virginia ) could vote for Kavanaugh.

Hearing in the judiciary committee

Brett Kavanaugh (2018)

On September 4, 2018, Kavanaugh's first hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee took place, during which the Senators of the Democrats tried to change their minds with individual Republican colleagues by raising controversial issues. The public was partly allowed. There was tumult when viewers (mostly women), some of whom wore maid costumes modeled on the television series The Handmaid's Tale , shouted angrily in between. In the interjections there was talk of a “ travesty of law” or “damage to democracy”. According to police, 61 spectators were removed from the room and arrested for disturbing public order. Criminal investigations were also initiated against nine other people for obstructing the event. The Republican Senator John Cornyn (Texas) then spoke of a "rule of the mob" ("mob rule").

Leading Democrats expressed concern that Kavanaugh was seeking to override the current abortion regime after emailing him in 2003 to deny that Roe v. Wade is the "established law of the country". The Democrats also found Kavanaugh's stance on same-sex partnerships doubtful . Related questions, for example his attitude towards Obergefell v. Hodges , Kavanaugh had previously answered evasively or not at all. On the other hand, Roe v. Wade (1973) by the Supreme Court in the later decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) confirmed. There Justice Kennedy was the so-called swing vote. Also in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) and a number of other gay rights cases, Justice Kennedy was the swing vote. It was therefore doubted that Kavanaugh would reverse the most important decisions of his mentor Justice Kennedy, for whom he worked as a law clerk. In addition, according to American case law, such precedents cannot simply be overturned ( stare decisis ). At the hearing, Kavanaugh also took the conservative view that precedents can only be lifted under strict conditions. In a 2009 legal essay, Kavanaugh doubted that an incumbent president could be prosecuted for criminal offenses. In view of the possible involvement of Trump in criminal activities involving Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort , the Democrats voted on August 24, 2018 to postpone the Kavanaugh hearing. It is controversial among legal scholars whether incumbent presidents can be charged with criminal offenses; Alan Dershowitz rejects this possibility almost completely.

The Democrats had also criticized the Trump administration's refusal to allow full file access to Kavanaugh's previous activities under the Bush administration. It was about 100,000 documents. Another 42,000 documents were only made available on the eve of the hearing, after being reviewed and approved by a government attorney. Democratic Senator Cory Booker ( New Jersey ) said that to sift through the documents he would have had to read 7,000 pages an hour the night before the hearing. The Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont described the entire hearing as "the most intransparent he has ever seen." Leading Republicans rejected these allegations as unfounded.

Sexual assault allegations

On September 13, 2018, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein stated that she had a report of possible misconduct by Kavanaugh, which she had forwarded to investigative authorities. It was an attempted rape allegation brought by psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford . She claims to have been massively sexually assaulted at a party in the summer of 1982 as a 15-year-old by the then 17-year-old and drunk Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh fully denied Blasey Ford's allegations. Media drew comparisons to Anita Hills ' allegations during Clarence Thomas' 1991 appointment hearing .

Letter from Senator Feinstein to Chairman Grassley

On September 23, 2018, Senator Feinstein wrote another letter to the committee chair to inform the committee chair about another alleged sexual assault by Kavanaugh against a fellow student while studying at Yale in 1983. Published on September 26, the day before Blasey Ford's testimony in the Senate was published Michael Avenatti's lawyer reported Julie Swetnick's allegations against Kavanaugh. This is said to have been present at least during group rape in the 1980s. She was also raped by a group in the presence of Kavanaugh at one of the gang rape parties she regularly attended. Kavanaugh and a friend added substances to girls' drinks to make them compliant for such sexual assault. However, in an NBC television interview, Julie Swetnick changed these affidavit statements. Kavanaugh has denied all allegations, including others made anonymously. Justice Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley recommended that the FBI investigate a possible false accusation against one of the anonymous whistleblowers .

According to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, none of the allegations made against Kavanaugh have been independently verified by friends, family members, or classmates. One of the women who accused Kavanaugh told a friend that she was not sure if he had actually molested her. Another woman, who initially claimed an anonymous letter of allegations had been written by her, later admitted that she had never met Kavanaugh and was simply trying to prevent his appeal to the Supreme Court.

On September 27, 2018, Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh had an emotional hearing before the Judiciary Committee, in which Blasey Ford shared her recollections of the alleged rape attempt and Kavanaugh debated what he believed to be a false accusation that covered his name and reputation permanently harmed his family, outraged. After the previously hesitant Republican Jeff Flake announced the following morning that he would be transferring Kavanaugh's nomination to the Senate plenary for a vote with the other Republicans on the committee, he was loudly urged to vote against Kavanaugh by two women on the way to the committee meeting. They claimed to have been the victim of sexual assault themselves. Flake then, after deliberations with Democratic committee members, made its approval subject to the condition that a week before the plenary vote would be allowed for the FBI to investigate the allegations ; otherwise the country would be torn apart. The judicial committee then decided with 11 to 10 votes along the party lines to refer the proceedings to the Senate plenary; President Trump ordered the FBI to conduct a limited investigation into the allegations.

In a letter to the Senate, published as an open letter in the New York Times, more than 2,400 law professors urged the Senators to vote against Kavanaugh. The reason given was that at his hearing on September 27th, Kavanaugh behaved in an uncontrollable manner, argued partisanly and did not cooperate adequately in the search for the truth. This lack of judicial temperament (roughly equivalent to “judicial balance”) basically disqualifies him for the office of judge. The Washington Post Editorial Board and former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens have also spoken out against Kavanaugh. On October 4, around three hundred protesters against Kavanaugh were arrested at the Hart Senate Office Building .

After completing the FBI investigation, criticized by the Democrats for being too limited, the Senate formally decided on October 5 whether the vote on the nomination should take place the following day. 51 senators voted for, 49 against. Of the Republicans, only Murkowski voted against, while three other senators who had left their voting behavior open on Saturday voted in favor (Republicans Collins and Flake and Democrat Manchin). In a speech, Collins declared her support for Kavanaugh; Manchin then joined, so that a majority for the vote in the Senate was established.

Confirmation by the Senate

Kavanaugh's swearing-in by presiding judge John Roberts

On October 6, 2018, Kavanaugh was confirmed by the Senate with 50 votes to 48. The vote essentially followed the party lines; Joe Manchin , who was close to the upcoming mid-term elections in his home state of West Virginia , was the only Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh. Republican Senator Steve Daines , who would have voted yes, was absent because of his daughter's wedding, which is why Lisa Murkowski , who was the only Republican to speak out against Kavanaugh, voted in attendance instead of no, thereby equalizing the voting ratio. It was the tightest Supreme Court confirmation since 1881 ( Stanley Matthews ). The vote was repeatedly interrupted by protests and heckling. Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered on the steps in front of the Supreme Court seat and were moving towards the roped off Capitol ; some were arrested there as they were running towards the barricades.

On the evening of October 6th, Kavanaugh was sworn in private by Chief Justice John Roberts and his predecessor Anthony Kennedy.

For Daniel C. Schmidt of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and numerous other commentators, the confirmation of the controversial judge shows again that a deep rift is running through American society.

Private

Since 2004, Kavanaugh has been married to George W. Bush's former personal secretary. He has two daughters with her. Kavanaugh is a practicing Catholic and is considered a sports enthusiast (basketball, marathon). "As a believer, I believe that it is important to talk about religion and to represent religious ideas and thoughts," he said at the Senate hearing in August 2018.

Publications

Web links

Commons : Brett Michael Kavanaugh  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ FBI to End Kavanaugh Inquiry as Soon as Wednesday, With Vote Coming This Week New York Times, accessed October 26, 2018
  2. ^ A b George W. Bush: Remarks at a Swearing-In Ceremony for Brett Kavanaugh as a United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia. www.presidency.ucsb.edu, accessed August 25, 2018 (English, address by George W. Bush on the occasion of the swearing-in of Kavanaugh's mother as a district judge in Maryland).
  3. ↑ a b c d e Scott Shane, Steve Eder, Rebecca R. Ruiz, Adam Liptak, Charlie Savage, Ben Protess: Influential Judge, Loyal Friend, Conservative Warrior - and DC Insider. The New York Times, July 14, 2018, accessed August 25, 2018 .
  4. ↑ On the Nomination PN1179: Brett M. Kavanaugh, of Maryland, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit. govtrack.us, May 6, 2006, accessed August 25, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Kevin Liptak, Ariane de Vogue: Trump adds five to his Supreme Court list - but there's still no vacancy. In: CNN.com , November 17, 2017; Abby Vesoulis, Abigail Simon: Legal Experts Say President Trump's Supreme Court Pick Reflects GOP Mainstream. In: Time , July 10, 2018.
  6. ^ Adam Liptak, Matt Flegenheimer: Neil Gorsuch Confirmed by Senate as Supreme Court Justice. The New York Times, April 7, 2017, accessed August 25, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Mark Landler, Maggie Haberman: Brett Kavanaugh Is Trump's Pick for Supreme Court. In: The New York Times , July 9, 2018.
  8. ^ A b Anthony Zurcher: Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings: Five takeaways. BBC News, September 7, 2018, accessed September 17, 2018 .
  9. ^ A b Seung Min Kim: Clearinghouse for Kavanaugh documents is a Bush White House lawyer, angering Senate Democrats. The Washington Post, August 15, 2018, accessed September 17, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh hearing rocked by 'mob rule'. BBC News, September 4, 2018, accessed September 5, 2018 .
  11. ^ Hoover Institution: Judging Brett Kavanaugh and the Supreme Court with John Yoo. September 5, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  12. ↑ CNN: Collins: Kavanaugh won't overturn Roe v. Calf. October 7, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  13. ^ William Cummings: Senate Democrats officially call for Kavanaugh postponement, cite possible crimes by Trump. USA Today, April 7, 2017, accessed August 25, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Channel 4 News: Alan Dershowitz: 'A sitting President cannot be charged with a crime'. August 22, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Feinstein Statement on Kavanaugh , September 13, 2018.
  16. ↑ Emma Brown: California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault. In: The Washington Post , September 16, 2018.
  17. ^ Joan Biskupic: Echoes of Anita Hill in allegations against Kavanaugh . CNN, September 18, 2018.
  18. ↑ Ronan Farrow , Jane Mayer: Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh's College Years. In: The New Yorker , September 23, 2018; Todd Ruger: Kavanaugh Has Bumpy Week Ahead as Two More Women Come Forward. In: Roll Call , September 23, 2018.
  19. ↑ New Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick details parties where girls were allegedly drugged and raped cnbc.com retrieved on October 26, 2018
  20. ↑ Everything we know about Julie Swetnick businessinsider.de, accessed on October 26, 2018
  21. ↑ Another woman makes serious allegations against Kavanaugh. In: Spiegel Online , September 26, 2018.
  22. ↑ Kavanaugh accuser Julie Swetnick alleges he was 'very aggressive,' but her latest interview raises new questions cnbc.com, accessed October 26, 2018
  23. ↑ Jordain Carney: Kavanaugh questioned about Rhode Island sexual assault allegation. In: The Hill , September 26, 2018; Veronica Straqualursi: Senate Judiciary Committee refers false Kavanaugh allegation to FBI, DOJ for criminal investigation. In: CNN.com , September 30, 2018.
  24. ↑ Christine Blasey Ford Reaches Deal to Testify at Kavanaugh Hearing New York Times, accessed October 26, 2018
  25. ↑ White House Directs FBI to interview First Two Kavanaugh Accusers, But Not the Third Wall Street Journal, accessed on 26 October 2018
  26. ↑ Stephen Dinan: Another Kavanaugh accuser admits to fabricating rape story , The Washington Times, November 3, 2018.
  27. ↑ Christal Hayes: "I was angry and I sent it": Another Kavanaugh accuser referred to FBI after recanting , USA Today, November 3, 2018.
  28. ↑ GOP Chairman Refers Kavanaugh Accuser for Criminal trial , New York Times, November 3 2,018th
  29. ^ Anthony Zurcher: Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh hearing: What we learned. In: BBC News , September 27, 2018.
  30. ↑ Alexander Bolton, Jordain Carney, Lydia Wheeler: How Flake came to secure Kavanaugh delay. In: The Hill , September 28, 2018; Seung Min Kim, John Wagner: Senate Republican leaders agree to new FBI background investigation of Kavanaugh. In: The Washington Post , September 28, 2018; Trump orders FBI investigation into Kavanaugh. Der Spiegel, September 28, 2018, accessed on September 29, 2018 .
  31. ↑ Opinion: The Senate Should Not Confirm Kavanaugh Open letter to the Senate signed by more than 2,400 law professors in: The New York Times , October 3, 2018.
  32. ^ Vote 'No' on Kavanaugh. In: The Washington Post , October 4, 2018.
  33. ↑ a b Alexander Bolton, Jordain Carney: Bitter partisan battle over Kavanaugh enters final chapter. In: The Hill , October 4, 2018
  34. ↑ What did the FBI inquiry into Kavanaugh result in? In: BBC , October 4, 2018.
  35. ↑ Jordain Carney: Kavanaugh advances in key Senate vote. In: The Hill , October 5, 2018.
  36. ↑ Jordain Carney: Collins to support Kavanaugh, securing enough votes for confirmation. In: The Hill , October 5, 2018; Alexander Bolton: Manchin says he will vote for Kavanaugh. In: The Hill , October 5, 2018.
  37. ↑ Lisa Hagen, Ben Kamisar: The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2018. The Hill, October 4, 2018, accessed October 7, 2018 (English).
  38. ↑ Sheryl Gay Stolberg: Kavanaugh Is Sworn In After Close Confirmation Vote in Senate. In: The New York Times , October 6, 2018.
  39. ^ Tal Axelrod: Kavanaugh sworn in as Supreme Court justice. In: The Hill , October 6, 2018.
  40. ^ Daniel C. Schmidt: The Split Land In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , October 7, 2018
  41. ↑ In cross-examination. In: die-tagespost.de. September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Kavanaugh, Brett
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kavanaugh, Brett Michael (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, DC