Fox News’ Joey Jones thinks Brett Kavanaugh lying under oath about supporting Roe v. Wade was just fine because “if I was accused of being a serial rapist because I liked beer at 16, I would probably say whatever I needed to get the hell out of that building.” Cohost Geraldo Rivera agreed.
Although Brett Kavanaugh was credibly accused by at least two women of horrible sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, nobody actually alleged he had raped them. But putting that split hair aside, it speaks volumes that Jones sees Kavanaugh as the victim – and that that gave him license to dissemble during his confirmation harings about a cherished right of women awarded by the Supreme Court.
It also speaks volumes that not one of Jones’ cohosts on yesterday’s The Five objected to his abhorrent remark. Rather, Geraldo Rivera, whose accusations about Kavanaugh's and other conservative justices' dishonesty prompted Jones’ response, nodded, put his hand on Jones’ arm and said, “I agree with that, Joey.”
NPR recently reviewed what the Roe overturners (as per a leaked draft of an upcoming decision) said in their confirmation hearings and not one of them admitted wanting to overturn Roe v. Wade. “Instead, they often commented on the importance of precedent and constitutional guarantees to privacy,” NPR reported. But Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that in a private meeting, Kavanaugh told her he considered Roe v. Wade “settled law.” More from NPR:
But Kavanaugh stopped short of repeating that [Collins] line in his hearing, instead focusing on Roe's status as Supreme Court precedent.
"It is settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court, entitled the respect under principles of stare decisis," he said. "The Supreme Court has recognized the right to abortion since the 1973 Roe v. Wade case. It has reaffirmed it many times."
Additionally, Kavanaugh said it can be appropriate for the court to revisit prior decisions. "I listen to all arguments," he said. "You have an open mind. You get the briefs and arguments. And some arguments are better than others. Precedent is critically important. It is the foundation of our system. But you listen to all arguments."
It's pretty clear now that Kavanaugh knew at the time he’d be willing to overturn Roe but carefully parsed his words to make it seem otherwise. And, as Crooks and Liars’ John Amato noted, even if Kavanaugh had been accused of being a serial rapist, what bearing does that have on misrepresenting his legal views about one of the Supreme Court’s most important decisions?
And what about Justice Neil Gorsuch? In his confirmation hearings, Gorsuch called Roe “precedent” and “the law of the land.” He added, “I accept the law of the land.”
Fox News sided with then-nominee Kavanaugh when he was credibly accused of sexual assault. So why wouldn’t they be fine with his misrepresentations under oath about overturning Roe v. Wade?
You can watch Jones and Rivera give Kavanaugh a pass on sexual misconduct and dishonesty below, from the May 4, 2022 The Five. The relevant part begins with Rivera lambasting the conservative justices at about 2:47.
And I would certainly want the policy wonks to reflect on how to prevent any ruling of the court from reversing previous rulings by fiat: all decisions should be subject to some sort of ratification procedure by elected representatives, preferably those that can demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the Constitution, both the original documents and those that have evolved during the process of developing “a more perfect union”.
Why am I not surprised that the most activist judges to be seated in the history of SCOTUS call themselves conservatives? They are truly deplorable, as well as despicable.
This evil will continue unabated, because these people ARE evil.
The Dems truly need to do something other than send emails for more donations and use the tools they have available.