September 6, 2018

Kavanaugh Can’t—Or Won’t—Answer This Question About the Mueller Probe

Hmmmm.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday was either unable or unwilling to answer repeated questions from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif) about whether he had ever discussed the Mueller probe with anyone from Kasowitz, Benson, and Torres—the law firm of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Marc Kasowitz.

The tense exchange surrounding the question “Have you ever discussed Special Counsel Mueller or his investigation with anyone?” came at the tail end of nearly 12 hours of exchanges between Kavanaugh and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the second day of his confirmation hearing. 

“I’m not sure I know everyone who works at that law firm,” Kavanaugh said at one point during his response to Harris. He then asked if she was referring to a specific person. “I would like to know the person you’re thinking of.”

“I think you’re thinking of someone and you don’t want to tell us,” the California senator responded, repeatedly declining to elaborate on her line of questioning.

The back-and-forth was briefly interrupted with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who pointed out the abundance of law firms in Washington. 

Some legal experts noted the potential significance of Kavanaugh’s seeming inability to provide a direct answer to Harris.

Others seemed more skeptical about Harris’ line of questioning:

Listen to senior reporter Stephanie Mencimer describe the raucous opening days of the Kavanaugh hearings on the latest episode of the Mother Jones Podcast:

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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