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Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D. Now that the Senate, with the aid of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has completed its confirmation process of Justice Brett Kavanugh, the question is what, if anything, does it have to do next? In light of the fact that a 36 year old story was brought to the Senate for its serious consideration regarding a judicial nominee absent any corroborating information or evidence, the question that many have is whether this was the result of a good faith presentation, or was it a concerted effort to disrupt the nomination process and derail the appointment of a qualified judicial nominee? If the answer to this question is a negative, then there is no further action to be taken. But, after all the shenanigans, all the posturing, and all the insults, the reality is that absent an investigation, there is no way of knowing. And if the allegations were brought forth merely for political expediency or personal gain, then the nomination process will have been placed under great peril for no valid reason, something the Senate cannot allow. The Senate may begin with Senator Diane Feinstein. Senator Feinstein allegedly came to learn of Ford's allegations through a letter she received from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in July. According to the Senate testimonies, by the time she met with Judge Kavanaugh, Senator Feinstein was already in possession of this letter and had even assisted Dr. Ford in obtaining a lawyer. Amazingly, Senator Feinstein did not bring up the allegation with Kavanaugh during their July 20th meeting. Also of great interest is the comment Ford made during her testimony indicating that Feinstein and she had agreed to keep her letter confidential until the end of the hearing. It was a comment that Arizona Attorney Rachel Mitchell was in the process of developing when Blaisey Ford's attorneys hurriedly interjected. If Senator Feinstein withheld material information from the Senate Judiciary Committee for over a month with the specific intent of railroading the confirmation process, then Feinstein's actions represent the most egregious of ethical breaches. For these reasons, her role in the presentation of Dr. Ford's testimony must be brought to light. The other question is the role of Monica McLean. McLean is a life long friend of Dr. Ford's and a 24-year FBI operative who quit the agency about six months prior to President Donald Trump's inauguration. McLean's role in the development of Ford's story is certainly suspect. Bear in mind that McLean lives in Delaware, which is where Ford was when she wrote the letter to Eshoo. Additionally, McLean is the person who was identified by another friend of Dr. Ford's, Ms. Leland Keyser, as the person who had tried to pressure her into changing her testimony. Such a change in testimony would have been very important since, up to that point, Kelly, who had been identified as one of the four people to have witnessed Kavanaugh's alleged assault on Ford, said she had no recollection of such a gathering nor did she know Judge Kavanagh. It was McLean who allegedly received the coaching from Dr. Blaisey Ford on taking polygraphs, a contention McLean denies. If true, the finding would make Ford's testimony before the Senate not credible since she told the Committee that she did not know anything about polygraph tests. If it was learned that Ford had so much familiarity with polygraph testing that she was able to coach others on how to take one, Ford's credibility would seriously suffer as would the validity of the polygraph results. Finally, it is interesting that McLean was one of the few acquaintances of Dr. Ford who was present at the Senate hearing. Undoubtedly, the Senate must find out the truth regarding Dr. Ford's testimony. If indeed, the events of the last two weeks were the result of a concerted effort at derailing the nomination process, then the Senate must punish those nefarious actors supporting it, and just as importantly, it must take steps to prevent such a destructive orchestration from ever happening again. Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He is the author of The Federalist Pages and serves in the Florida House of Representatives. He can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com to arrange a lecture or book signing.
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Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D.Dr. Gonzalez is an orthopedic surgeon and lawyer who served as State Representative for South Sarasota County in Florida for four years. He is the author of Heathcare Reform: The Truth, The Federalist Pages, and The Case for Free Market Healthcare. Archives
April 2019
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