Outside the Beltway

Another example of just how imperfect our system of justice can be.

At this point, corruption, dishonesty, and insanity are just baked in.

With four weeks to go until Election Day, Donald Trump and the Republicans are continuing to stoke the divisions laid bare by the Kavanaugh nomination.

Fifty years ago, a young college student who would become one of the most influential women in Washington was sexually assaulted by a Senator. She didn’t come forward with her story for more than fifty years, and the reasons why strike close to what we’ve been talking about for three weeks now.

Thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head for over a week.

After a long and contentious battle, Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed to become the 114th Supreme Court Justice.

With the support of two holdout Senators, the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh now appears to be all but official.

The Senate voted to proceed to an expected floor vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court tomorrow, but the final outcome is still uncertain.

As the Senate prepares for a key procedural vote on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh this morning, the Judge’s fate remains up in the air. However, signs are pointing to reasons for Republican optimism.

At least for the moment, the fight over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court appears to be helping Republicans rally their base for November. The question is whether it will last after the fight is over.

The F.B.I.’s updated background check is complete and will be reviewed by Senators beginning today. As a result, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is moving forward toward a final vote on the Kavanaugh nomination later this week.

After roughly a week of staying silent, President Trump decided last night to openly mock Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

The GOP has no alternative but to push forward with the Kavanaugh nomination, because they don’t have a viable alternative at this point.

After placing limits on the scope of the F.B.I.’s reopened background investigation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the White House has relented and is allowing a more open-ended investigation.

For the second time in two years, the Supreme Court starts a new term down one Justice. That isn’t as big a problem as it might seem.

Is the reopened investigation of Brett Kavanaugh a real investigation of the charges made against him by three separate women, or is it a political sham? It’s beginning to look much more like the latter than the former.

Saturday Night Live inevitably mocked the Ford/Kavanaugh hearing on Thursday in their cold open.

Surprise developments yesterday led to a pause in the confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh. Where it goes from here is unclear.

I’ve changed my mind on a couple of things and hardened my opinion on others.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the floor, but a last minute maneuver could delay a final vote pending an F.B.I. investigation.

After eight hours of testimony, the only impression a non-partisan mind could be left with from the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh is that we need a full investigation of the charges against the Supreme Court nominee. Unfortunately, we’re not going to get that.

Less than a day before a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a third woman has come forward with new allegations involving Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Republicans have set a Judiciary Committee vote for less than a day after hearing from Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Based on their own rhetoric, it seems clear that Republicans don’t really care what Christine Blasey Ford has to say regarding what happened to her in 1982.

New allegations of sexual misconduct mark the start of a crucial week for the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

We’ll likely never know whether the Supreme Court nominee is a sexual assaulter. But it really doesn’t matter.

I spoke too soon…

My last post on this subject for the weekend (I think).

Some details still need to be worked out, but it looks as though Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will be testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

A new report from The New York Times is likely to cause President Trump’s war on the Justice Department to heat up.

The status of a potential hearing in the Brett Kavanaugh nomination regarding the charges made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford remain unclear, but the likelihood is that she will testify in the end.

This morning, President Trump took to Twitter to attack Dr. Christine Blasey Ford over her allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Monday’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the charges made against Judge Brett Kavanaugh is still on as scheduled, but the details are still being negotiated.

The status of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation remains up in the air, as does the question of whether or not Christine Blasey Ford will appear for a hearing on Monday morning.

Several days after detailed sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee, I’m not fully sure what to believe.

Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford want the F.B.I. to investigate the charges she has made against Judge Kavanaugh before she testifies, but it’s entirely unclear what such an investigation would accomplish.

After a day of political pressure, Senate Republicans have agreed to hold a hearing regarding the sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh next week.

Donald Trump has been in office just over 600 days, and he’s proven beyond any doubt that he doesn’t care if what he says is the truth or not.

A woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of having assaulted her when he was 17 and she was 15 has come forward. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

Another day, another plea agreement in the Mueller investigation. This one could prove to be problematic for the President.

Some last minute dramatics in the Kavanaugh nomination fight, but it seems unlikely to impact the outcome of the nomination fight.

President Trump has made no secret of the fact that he is displeased with the performance of Jeff Sessions, but he could find it hard to replace him.

Former President Obama took on his successor in his first major political speeches since leaving office.

President Trump wants Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department to investigate the anonymous Op-Ed published earlier this week even though there doesn’t appear to have been a crime committed.

Former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos received a very generous sentence in return for his guilty plea.

Author Sam Anderson puts forward a rather strange hypothesis in Politico.

Washington said farewell to John McCain today in a service that both remembered his spirit and his heroism, and stands as a sharp rebuke to what politics has been reduced to in America today.

Robert Mueller and his legal team get their first victories in court.

The President’s former lawyer and “fixer” is pleading guilty to a number of charges, including apparent campaign finance law violations related to the Stormy Daniels payment.

The former CIA Director has been stripped of his access to classified information after repeatedly criticizing the President.