Carrie Severino is calling the alleged attack on Dr. Christine Blasey Ford by Brett Kavanaugh “rough horseplay.” Severino is the head of a secretly-funded far right wing activist organization that has spent millions of dollars advocating to get Kavanaugh into the U.S. Supreme Court.
Blasey Ford’s “allegations cover up a whole range of conduct from boorishness to rough horseplay to actual attempted rape, and so, obviously, if you go to rape, that is a really serious allegation,” Severino, the head of the Judicial Crisis Network, told CNN Tuesday.
Severino, whose group has spent a reported $4.5 million already on the campaign to get Kavanaugh confirmed, said Monday’s Senate hearing will be useful “so we can figure out what those allegations are.”
Or, she could just read the letter Dr. Blasey Ford wrote, the transcript of which has been widely published.
“Brett Kavanaugh physically and sexually assaulted me during high school in the early 1980’s,” Dr. Blasey Ford’s letter reads.
Kavanaugh physically pushed me into a bedroom as I was headed for a bathroom up a short stair well from the living room. They locked the door and played loud music precluding any successful attempt to yell for help.
Kavanaugh was on top of me while laughing with REDACTED, who periodically jumped onto Kavanaugh. They both laughed as Kavanaugh tried to disrobe me in their highly inebriated state. With Kavanaugh’s hand over my mouth I feared he may inadvertently kill me.
Severino, who is an attorney, did not specify which parts she believes to be “rough horseplay.”
Here’s here interview with CNN:
Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, who posted the video, notes that the Judicial Crisis Network “is the central campaign arm for Republican judicial nominations. The Federalist Society grooms and chooses the nominees. The JCN runs the campaigns, runs political ads in Senators’ states, as necessary.”
The Judicial Crisis Network “has committed to spending at least $10 million by the end of the nomination process,” according to a piece in HuffPost. It adds that JCN “spent a reported $7 million to block the appointment of Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court and another $10 million to seat Justice Neil Gorsuch.”
“The organization does not disclose its donors, but tax filings indicate that it is funded by the same group that funds the Federalist Society,” the HuffPost piece adds.