| | | | Brett Kavanaugh's last line of defense | | On Monday, just 72 hours from sitting in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to respond to allegations of sexual assault from a California professor named Christine Blasey Ford, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh laid out a new line of defense: This isn't even about me.
"These are smears, pure and simple. And they debase our public discourse," Kavanaugh wrote in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. "But they are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country. Such grotesque and obvious character assassination -- if allowed to succeed -- will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service."
That's a very interesting strategy -- given the personal nature of the allegations against Kavanaugh. One, from Blasey Ford, alleges that the Supreme Court nominee laid on top of her and tried to remove her bathing suit when they were both teenagers. The other, from a woman named Debra Ramirez, alleges that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when they were both freshmen in college.
Kavanaugh has vehemently denied both accusations and repeatedly expressed his willingness to answer his accusers -- which he will get to do, at least in regard to Blasey Ford's claims, on Thursday in Washington. (Blasey Ford is set to testify before Kavanaugh in front of the committee, an order that allows Kavanaugh to hear what she says and then presumably rebut).
His new tact aims to play into an increasingly voluble Republican message that if someone like Kavanaugh can be disqualified by unproven, so-called last minute allegations, then no person of any merit will step forward for these sort of jobs.
"Well, it's amazing to me that these allegations come out of nowhere at the last minute and that they weren't brought up earlier in this process," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, on Monday. "And it's not untypical for our friends on the other side to pull that kind of crap."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said much the same on the Senate floor Monday. "Senate Democrats and their allies are trying to destroy a man's personal and professional life on the basis of decades-old allegations that are unsubstantiated and uncorroborated," said McConnell.
This is all an attempt by Republicans to indict the process by which we have come to this point. To paint the Kavanaugh accusers' words as nothing more than an attempt by Democrats to "smear" a good man. This is about Brett Kavanaugh today, the argument goes, but tomorrow it could be about you. So, beware.
The Point: This has turned into an even bigger mud fight than it started out as. And it's only going to get worse.
-- Chris | | "I've never seen my name in Korean. It looks nice."
-- President Donald Trump on Monday while signing a trade agreement alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the United Nations General Assembly. | | | WHAT'S NEXT FOR ROSENSTEIN | | | Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein went to the White House this morning expecting to be fired, but walked out still an employed man. President Donald Trump, who was not at the White House this morning but rather in New York for the UN General Assembly, will meet with Rosenstein Thursday. "I'm meeting with Rod Rosenstein on Thursday when I get back from all of these meetings," Trump said. "And we'll be meeting at the White House, and we'll be determining what's going on. We want to have transparency, we want to have openness and I look forward to meeting with Rod at that time."
The big question remains: If Rosenstein leaves, what happens with the Mueller investigation?
As deputy attorney general, Rosenstein has been overseeing the Russia investigation being conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself due to his experiences while affiliated with the Trump presidential campaign.
Noel Francisco, the solicitor general, would take on oversight of Mueller's investigation. Read more about the man who would replace Rosenstein in this piece by CNN's Tal Kopan. | | | If you know anything about Chris and his musical preferences, you know he loved The Hold Steady and, in particular, lead singer Craig Finn. So when he gets new Craig Finn music -- like this tune, entitled "Galveston," -- it makes him very, very happy. | | | Today's topic: Thursday's a massive day in national politics | | It was another jam-packed weekend filled with news about prospective 2020 candidates and the moves they're making now that could set them up for a potential run for the White House in two years.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday that he might move to run for president after the midterm elections this year.
"Right now, I'm only focused on the midterms," Bloomberg said. "I believe that the Republicans have not done what they should have done in terms of providing some counterbalance to the executive branch." He went on to add, "Afterwards, you take a look at it."
Former Vice President Joe Biden's calendar is filling up quickly, fundraising and supporting candidates across the country ahead of the November midterms. He had to postpone two trips down south this week: one to Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday to headline a fundraiser for his friend, Democratic gubernatorial candidate James Smith, as well as a Thursday visit to Georgia to campaign for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Biden is set to appear at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills on October 3 organized by Gonring, Spahn and Associates, along with Jeffrey Katzenberg. Proceeds from the $5,000 per plate event will benefit Biden's PAC American Possibilities, which supports Democratic candidates and causes. | | DEMOCRATS PROMOTING VOTER REGISTRATION | | Former first lady Michelle Obama kicked off her "When We All Vote" tour on Sunday in Las Vegas, where she urged voters to turn out for the midterm elections.
"Democracy continues with or without you," Obama told the crowd. She went on to say she is "sick of all the chaos and the nastiness of our politics," but that the importance of voting still remains.
The event was the first of two events that Obama has in the works this month to rally voters ahead of the midterm elections in November. CNN first reported on her involvement in the organization earlier this month.
The former first lady isn't the only Democrat pushing voter registration efforts this fall. CNN's Eric Bradner reported today that a Democratic group is launching what it says is the largest-ever digital advertising push to register new voters ahead of November's midterm elections.
"The edgy, Donald Trump-bashing $3 million campaign is by Acronym, a progressive nonprofit launched last year by veteran digital strategist Tara McGowan to help narrow the advantage Republicans had built in digital capacity. Dubbed 'Knock the Vote,' its logo features a silhouette of the President's head being punched."
The campaign is targeting the 36 states that allow online voter registration, with a heavy focus on the swing states of Arizona, Florida and Georgia that have large populations of unregistered but eligible voters, many of them young minorities. All of these states also have very competitive Senate, House and gubernatorial races this fall. | | Americans are split in their support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school.
According to a new Fox News poll released Sunday: - 36% of registered voters say they believe Ford
- 30% say they believe Kavanaugh
- More than a third (34%) don't know who they believe
Breaking out likely voters in the poll shows the people planning to vote in November are slightly more opinionated, with more people believing Ford (39%) than Kavanaugh (32%).
Read more takeaways from the poll in CNN's Grace Sparks' story.
| | | From Brenna: "For someone who caused such a stir today, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was not in any mood to be seen on camera. This moment from the White House earlier today was blink and you'll miss it. Don't let your friends miss out on any news! Tell them to subscribe to The Point." | | | | | | |
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