Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination has become a smear fight over unproven and contradictory claims that he sexually assaulted women. Kavanaugh denied the accusations.
The media has widely reported death threats against the first of Kavanaugh’s accusers, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. CNN reports that the FBI is investigating similar threats against the Kavanaugh family, which were described by the judge’s wife to Fox News.
Liberal supporters of Ford have raised over $270,000 through GoFundMe in light of threats against her. Conservative entrepreneur, author, and journalist John Hawkins responded by launching a new GoFundMe effort to support the Kavanaughs. Almost $19,000 has been raised as of this writing, averaging $1,000 per hour.
Hawkins conducted an exclusive interview with CatholicVote hours after the GoFundMe went live.
“There is a GoFundMe fundraiser to pay for Christine Blasey Ford’s security, so it seemed fair to give the same courtesy to the Kavanaughs,” wrote Hawkins in an e-mail:
“I’m sure their legal and security expenses because of this whole debacle are going to be enormous. How do we get decent conservatives to serve if their names are going to be dragged through the mud, their families are going to be put through hell, and they’re left with enormous bills? We can’t fix every one of those things, but if we can help alleviate things on the financial side, we should.”
Many ways to back Kavanaugh
Hawkins said that people should “support Kavanaugh every way they can. Contribute to this GoFundMe. Spread it on social media. Write your Senator. Speak up about what is being done to the man. Don’t do just one, do them all.”
Judicial Crisis Network Chief Counsel Carrie Severino told CatholicVote in a phone call that Kavanaugh supporters should “talk to your senator because there are a lot of people getting fed up with the circus, particularly for those Democratic Senators in red states.”
“This confirmation has always been challenging for” red state Senators, she explained. “Their choice seems to be, do you vote for Judge Kavanaugh – the most qualified and widely respected nominee in modern history – or for a smear campaign?”
Judicial Crisis Network is just one of many groups which support Kavanaugh.
Tea Party Patriots Action Honorary Chairman Jenny Beth Martin told CatholicVote that her group is supporting Kavanaugh through “thousands of calls to Senators,” traditional media efforts, social media, and a texting campaign.
Severino and Martin are speaking at a Concerned Women for America (CWA) rally on Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. CWA communications coordinator Annabelle Rutledge told CatholicVote, “there are thousands and thousands of women standing behind this confirmation” and “who are willing to stand behind due process….”
Severino expressed confidence that Kavanaugh would be named to the Court, noting that Senators McConnell and Grassley, as well as the White House, aren’t backing down.
Hawkins: Treatment of Kavanaugh “shameful”
“The shameful way that Kavanaugh has been treated is even more immoral and repulsive than the circus [Justice Clarence] Thomas was put through,” Hawkins said. “I don’t think we should #believewomen or #believemen; we should believe the evidence. Preferably after the conclusion of a trial. Moving from innocent until proven guilty to innocent until accused for men would be poison for our society.”
Hawkins said that if Kavanaugh is “found guilty in a court of law” of sexual assault, “I would refund all the money.” A conviction means Kavanaugh “certainly doesn’t belong on the Supreme Court.”
However, Hawkins does not believe Ford’s claim. “She’s making a 36-year old allegation with no time, date, or location,” he explained:
She has said there were four people at that mystery party besides her. She has named all four of them, including a friend of hers that doesn’t know Brett Kavanaugh. All of them have denied being there. It is absolutely wrong to send anyone death threats, but I feel a lot worse for the innocent man and his family getting them than I do for the woman making what appears to be an obviously false allegation.
For her part, Severino says Democrats are at fault. “We need to give Dr. Ford an opportunity to be heard, and [Republicans] agree she needs to be treated with respect, but Democrats’ tactics are outrageous and doing a real disservice to our country.”
American Principles Project Executive Director Terry Schilling said in an e-mailed statement that “Democrats and their allies in the press have created a trial-by-media” equivalent to “a modern-day version of the Salem Witch Trials.”
Assurance: Support will get to the Kavanaughs
With the presence of scams on crowdsourcing platforms, Hawkins said experience and transparency will ensure the Kavanaughs get the money raised through GoFundMe.
“I have been around the conservative world for a long time, and have helped raise roughly $900,000 for Republican candidates,” explained Hawkins. “I have reached out to mutual acquaintances to get in contact with the judge’s family. What happens to the money will be entirely up to them. They can keep it or give it to charity. I will give them as much or as little privacy as they want about that decision.”