Come on, counselor. You know better than that. NO ONE, regardless of who they are, has to testify in a criminal matter. PERIOD. Regardless of guilt or innocence.
She had it coming, she obviously knew what the deal was when she walked into the room, it's expected that a teenage boy might get overly aggressive in that situation, so she should have done more to make it clear there was no consent. You know, standard blame the victim attacks.
FYI - Apparently Dr. Ford is in negotiations with the Senate Judiciary committee but is saying that testifying Monday is not possible: In the email, obtained by The New York Times, the lawyer for Christine Blasey Ford said that testifying Monday — the timetable Republicans have set for a hearing — “is not possible and the Committee’s insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event.” The lawyer reiterated that it is Dr. Blasey’s “strong preference” that “a full investigation” occur before her testimony — wording that stopped short of demanding an F.B.I. probe and suggested she is open to testifying without one.
You might want to read the Washington Post story. It says nothing about her being drunk, as conservative detractors have claimed here. Nothing about not telling her parents because she didn't want them to know she's been drinking. And nothing about there being only five people at the party. That's why I asked if she's given an interview to someone other than the Post.
Where did I say anything about her being drunk? If you have read an article that says there were more than 5 people at the party, please provide it. That number has been widely reported.
25 years of practicing civil law and I make every jury understand that as the Defendant, my client doesn't have to prove anything. If the Plaintiff cannot prove his/her case, my client wins. In a criminal case you must be espousing "you have nothing to fear, if you have nothing to hide."
If slut-shaming, victim blaming, misogynist thinking, and other fears aren't the reason up to 80% of all assaults do not get reported, then what are the reasons?
Assuming Whelan isn't blowing smoke, would seem that there are at least two possibilities that come to mind: 1) They're confident she knows what it is they have and that she'll drop it without them having to reveal it if she knows they know (although I'm not sure what the scenario that gets there is short of the right wing twitter rumor that "she sent Feinstein effectively the same letter about Gorsuch, which is why Feinstein didn't do anything with it originally and is now hedging that she doesn't know whether the allegations are accurate or not," which doesn't seem particularly likely); or 2) They need her to fully commit to what the accusation is first so it doesn't change to try to explain away their evidence (something like "Kavanaugh was gone the whole summer of 1982" where they don't want her to go "oh, well in that case maybe it was 1983").
I didn't say you did. That came from another person here trying to turn this into the typical "Nothing happened, but if it did, it was her fault." I thought that was clear. Same with the person who said why she didn't tell her parents. I thought it was clear it was someone else here. Of course, I read the story, and you should, too. She doesn't say how many people were there. Seriously, 'widely reported?' That's reason enough to claim it's true?
Roles are reversed here. This isn't a criminal trial. Kavanaugh has to convince the Senate that he's telling the truth.
I guess we'll see. I think if he had an ace in the hole, he'd play it. The 1982 thing would be devastating regardless of whether he played it now or then.
Telling the truth in regards to what? There is nothing before the committee the indicates that Kavanaugh has not told the truth.
Then what is number? If it is not 5 or 6, what is it? The number of people at the party is very important as those are the people who can back up Dr. Ford's version of the events. As of right now the number 5 is what the news has been reporting. It was Ford, Kavanaugh, Judge, Smyth, and one other person. According to Ford's letter to Difi, she says it was herself and four boys. Read the letter Christine Blasey Ford sent accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct - CNNPolitics
You stated …….. " Had she come forward 35+ years ago, Dr. Ford would have been slut-shamed," You have no idea if this would have happened. None. You are willing to assume and opine as much …. but you don't know that it would have happened.
It's happening today. 35+ years ago, the environment was even more tilted towards men. I can't say 100% certain she would have been slut-shamed, but I can say with 99.99% confidence it would have happened.
