{"id":380354,"date":"2018-10-10T04:27:17","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T03:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/with-kavanaugh-on-the-court-checking-and-balancing-is-not-going-to-happen\/"},"modified":"2018-10-10T04:27:17","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T03:27:17","slug":"with-kavanaugh-on-the-court-checking-and-balancing-is-not-going-to-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/newswire\/with-kavanaugh-on-the-court-checking-and-balancing-is-not-going-to-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018With Kavanaugh on the Court, Checking and Balancing Is Not Going to Happen\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Janine Jackson interviewed Marjorie Cohn about the Brett Kavanaugh nomination for the <a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/marjorie-cohn-of-brett-kavanaugh-neil-demause-on-amazon\/\">October 5, 2018, episode<\/a> of <strong>CounterSpin<\/strong>. This is a lightly edited transcript.<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"wrapperMI_0\" class=\"wrap-mjp  \" style=\"padding:5px 0px 40px 0px;margin:0px;width:100%\">\n<div class=\"Eabove-mjp\" id=\"Eabove-mjp_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"subwrap-MI\">\n<div class=\"jp-innerwrap\">\n<div class=\"innerx\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerleft\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerright\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innertab\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"interface-mjp verdana-mjp\" style=\"height:71px\" id=\"interfaceMI_0\">\n<div class=\"MI-image Himg right-mjp\" id=\"MI_image_0\" style=\"width:auto;height:71px;overflow:hidden\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"T_mp3j_0\" class=\"player-track-title left-mjp norm-mjp plain-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"bars_holder\">\n<div class=\"loadMI_mp3j\" id=\"load_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"poscolMI_mp3j\" id=\"poscol_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"posbarMI_mp3j\" id=\"posbar_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"P-Time-MI_0\" class=\"jp-play-time\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"T-Time-MI_0\" class=\"jp-total-time\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"statusMI_0\" class=\"statusMI\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"transport-MI\">\n<div class=\"play-mjp\" id=\"playpause_mp3j_0\">Play<\/div>\n<div class=\"stop-mjp\" id=\"stop_mp3j_0\">Stop<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"buttons-wrap-mjp\" id=\"buttons-wrap-mjp_0\">\n<div class=\"mp3j-popout-MI\" id=\"lpp_mp3j_0\">pop out<\/div>\n<div id=\"download_mp3j_0\" class=\"dloadmp3-MI\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mjp-volwrap\">\n<div class=\"MIsliderVolume\" id=\"vol_mp3j_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerExt1\" id=\"innerExt1_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"innerExt2\" id=\"innerExt2_0\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"Ebetween-mjp\" id=\"Ebetween-mjp_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"listwrap_mp3j\" id=\"L_mp3j_0\">\n<div class=\"wrapper-mjp\">\n<div class=\"playlist-colour\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wrapper-mjp\">\n<ul class=\"ul-mjp darken1-mjp verdana-mjp med-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp left-mjp\" id=\"UL_mp3j_0\">\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div id=\"mp3j_finfo_0\" class=\"mp3j-finfo\">\n<div class=\"mp3j-finfo-sleeve\">\n<div id=\"mp3j_finfo_gif_0\" class=\"mp3j-finfo-gif\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"mp3j_finfo_txt_0\" class=\"mp3j-finfo-txt\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"mp3j-finfo-close\" id=\"mp3j_finfo_close_0\">X<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mp3j_dlf_0\" class=\"mp3j-dlframe\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"mp3j-nosolution\" id=\"mp3j_nosolution_0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"Ebelow-mjp\" id=\"Ebelow-mjp_0\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>MP3jPLAYLISTS.MI_0 = [<br \/>\n\t{ name: &#8220;CounterSpin Marjorie Cohn Interview &#8220;, formats: [&#8220;mp3&#8221;], mp3: &#8220;aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mYWlyLm9yZy9hdWRpby9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9Db3VudGVyU3BpbjE4MTAwNUNvaG4ubXAz&#8221;, counterpart:&#8221;&#8221;, artist: &#8220;&#8221;, image: &#8220;true&#8221;, imgurl: &#8220;&#8221; }<br \/>\n];<\/p>\n<p>MP3jPLAYERS[0] = { list:MP3jPLAYLISTS.MI_0, tr:0, type:&#8217;MI&#8217;, lstate:true, loop:false, play_txt:&#8217;Play&#8217;, pause_txt:&#8217;Pause&#8217;, pp_title:&#8217;FAIR&#8217;, autoplay:false, download:true, vol:80, height:71, cssclass:&#8217; &#8216;, popout_css:{ enabled:true, \t\t\tcolours: [&#8220;#fff&#8221;, &#8220;rgba(201,207,232,0.35)&#8221;, &#8220;rgb(241,241,241)&#8221;, &#8220;rgba(245,5,5,0.7)&#8221;, &#8220;rgba(92,201,255,0.8)&#8221;, &#8220;transparent&#8221;, &#8220;transparent&#8221;, &#8220;#525252&#8221;, &#8220;#525252&#8221;, &#8220;#768D99&#8221;, &#8220;#47ACDE&#8221;, &#8220;\/&#8221;, 600, 200 ],<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssInterface: { &#8220;color&#8221;: &#8220;#525252&#8221; },<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssTitle: { &#8220;left&#8221;: &#8220;16px&#8221;, &#8220;right&#8221;:&#8221;16px&#8221;, &#8220;top&#8221;:&#8221;8px&#8221; },<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssImage: { &#8220;overflow&#8221;: &#8220;hidden&#8221;, &#8220;width&#8221;:&#8221;auto&#8221;, &#8220;height&#8221;:&#8221;71px&#8221;  },<br \/>\n\t\t\tcssFontSize: { &#8220;title&#8221;: &#8220;16px&#8221;, &#8220;caption&#8221;: &#8220;11.2px&#8221;, &#8220;list&#8221;: &#8220;12px&#8221; },<br \/>\n\t\t\tclasses: { interface:&#8217; verdana-mjp&#8217;, title:&#8217; left-mjp norm-mjp plain-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp&#8217;, image:&#8217; Himg right-mjp&#8217;, poscol:&#8221;, ul:&#8217; darken1-mjp verdana-mjp med-mjp childNorm-mjp childPlain-mjp left-mjp&#8217; }} };<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fair.org\/audio\/counterspin\/CounterSpin181005Cohn.mp3\"><strong>MP3 Link<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Janine Jackson:<\/b> Donald Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/videos\/politics\/2018\/10\/03\/donald-trump-mocks-christine-blasey-ford-testimony-mississippi-rally-sot-vpx.cnn\">public mockery of Christine Blasey Ford<\/a>, the woman who testified <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/courts_law\/in-emotional-testimony-ford-says-she-is-100-percent-certain-that-kavanaugh-assaulted-her\/2018\/09\/27\/774fb8ea-c26b-11e8-b338-a3289f6cb742_story.html?utm_term=.d479e7442e5c\">she was assaulted<\/a> by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, was an acutely despicable spectacle in an administration that is no shirker when it comes to despicable spectacle. But the Kavanaugh hearings, the FBI \u201cinvestigation\u201d into allegations against him, the whole process, seemed to indicate more serious failures than Trump\u2019s vindictive creepiness. What is going on here, and what might it mean for the Supreme Court going forward?<\/p>\n<p>Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, and deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. She joins us now by phone from San Diego. Welcome back to <b>CounterSpin<\/b>, Marjorie Cohn.<\/p>\n<p><b>Marjorie Cohn:<\/b> Thanks for having me, Janine.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8928416\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-8928416 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Kavanaugh-Hearings-Square.jpg\" alt=\"Brett Kavanaugh\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Brett Kavanaugh<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b> We\u2019re in media res here, of course. We just heard this morning, October 4, that the FBI had completed its investigation, which Susan Collins <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/10\/04\/politics\/susan-collins-jeff-flake-kavanaugh-fbi-report\/index.html\">called<\/a> \u201cvery thorough,\u201d despite it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/brett-kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-christine-blasey-ford-deborah-ramirez_us_5bb684eee4b0876eda9ca281\">not including<\/a> statements from Ford, or dozens of others who wanted to contribute. I have so many questions, but they really all kind of amount to, how is this happening? How are we at a place where a man who shout-sobbed his way through his hearings, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stevedenning\/2018\/09\/28\/kavanaugh-the-senate-judiciary-committee-clarifies-the-key-issue\/#63c4835089e4\">snarling and accusing<\/a>, and making clear that he hates &#8220;Democrats,&#8221; &#8220;the Clintons&#8221; and &#8220;the left,&#8221; could even be <i>considered<\/i> to have the temperment appropriate to a Supreme Court justice?<\/p>\n<p><b>MC:<\/b> That\u2019s an excellent question, but it\u2019s very clear, and it\u2019s been clear from the start, that the Republican leadership, in concert with Donald Trump, is going to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2018\/sep\/29\/republicans-brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-dr-christine-blasey-ford\">ram this nomination through<\/a> so that they can achieve a solid, right-wing majority on the Supreme Court which will last for decades, and will reverse many of the rights that we hold dear.<\/p>\n<p>The Republicans <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/five-reasons-why-the-gop-is-rushing-to-confirm-kavanaugh\/\">know<\/a> that Kavanaugh would provide a reliable vote against immigrants, workers, voters, and gay and transgender people. He would deliver a dependable vote for employers, private property and church-state bonding, and they can rest assured that he would do his best to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2018\/08\/30\/donald-trump-troubles-shadow-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh\/1120656002\/\">immunize Trump from criminal liability<\/a>, and enable him to continue their mean-spirited, right-wing agenda. And this is more important to them than any judicial temperament, than any credible allegations of sexual assault, because the bottom-line issue\u2014one of the most significant issues\u2014is abortion rights, reproductive rights, and <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/supreme-court-nullify-roe-wade-overturn-senate-dem\/story?id=58338821\">overturning<\/a> <i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>, in addition to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/news\/politics\/2018\/07\/19\/lgbt-advocates-fear-kavanaughs-votes-on-gay-rights-issues\">gay rights<\/a>, and they have rationalized all of these other horrors to that end.<\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b> Kavanaugh seems so tainted, though, at this point. Why not just some other conservative? What is it about the timeline that you think makes them feel like they have to keep going with <i>this<\/i> candidate, over the objection of now, you know, millions of people?<\/p>\n<p><b>MC:<\/b> In part, they <a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/columnists\/kavanaugh-confirmation-cost-republicans-majority-congress-midterms\/\">want<\/a> Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court before the November 6 midterm elections, because if the Democrats achieve a majority in the Senate, then there might not be sufficient votes to confirm him after the election. That\u2019s the most immediate consideration, but they <a href=\"http:\/\/nymag.com\/daily\/intelligencer\/2018\/09\/deadlines-for-kavanaughs-supreme-court-confirmatio.html\">were in a hurry to get him confirmed<\/a> by October 1, which was the first day of the Supreme Court\u2019s new term, and they want to help ensure the outcome of several hot-button cases that are on the Court\u2019s docket, including cases involving double jeopardy, immigration, age discrimination and the Endangered Species Act. And there is a possibility that the Court might decide to take up cases involving gerrymandering, gay and transgender rights, and the separation of church and state.<\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b> You\u2019ve been <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/five-reasons-why-the-gop-is-rushing-to-confirm-kavanaugh\/\">writing<\/a> about Brett Kavanaugh for a while now, and you have <a href=\"https:\/\/consortiumnews.com\/2018\/09\/13\/brett-kavanaugh-threatens-racial-justice-and-voting-rights\/\">pointed out <\/a>that there\u2019s plenty to undermine his candidacy even before we get to sexual assault allegations, and those other things are, in a way, at risk almost of being overlooked. And one of the concerns is around his record on international law and the power of the president. What are the flags there? And, again, they\u2019re nothing to do with his \u201cpersonality,\u201d but they\u2019re derived from his public record as a judge.<\/p>\n<p><b>MC:<\/b> Keep in mind that international law\u2014insofar as the United States has ratified treaties\u2014or customary international law are part of US law, under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, and yet Kavanaugh has <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/kavanaugh-scorns-international-law-and-loves-executive-power\/\">nothing but scorn<\/a> for international law, <i>and<\/i> he confuses <i>international law <\/i>with <i>foreign law<\/i>. International law, as I said, is treaty law and customary international law, which is customs that countries have built up over the years. But foreign law is totally different. It\u2019s the law of France or Brazil or Germany; and he conflates the two.<\/p>\n<p>Now that he\u2019s been on the Court of Appeals, and during the Bush administration\u2019s so-called \u201cWar on Terror,\u201d \u00a0Kavanaugh almost always deferred to the president on executive power. Now, the Supreme Court, during the Bush administration, did check and balance the executive, the president, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/06\/13\/washington\/13scotus.html\">said<\/a> that federal courts have jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions by Guant\u00e1namo detainees; they said that a US citizen who\u2019s being held as an enemy combatant has due process rights to contest his detention, and they said that Bush\u2019s military commissions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/templates\/story\/story.php?storyId=5521062\">violated<\/a> the Geneva Conventions and the Federal Uniform Code of Military Justice.<\/p>\n<p>Now, in 2008, the Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/supct\/html\/06-1195.ZS.html\">ruled<\/a> in <i>Boumediene v. Bush<\/i> that Guant\u00e1namo detainees held as enemy combatants have the right to file habeas corpus petitions in US federal courts, to say, \u201cI\u2019m being unlawfully held.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But after <i>Boumediene<\/i>, Kavanaugh\u2014on the Court of Appeals\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/one-huge-difference-between-kavanaugh-and-kennedy\/2018\/07\/11\/469b995e-852a-11e8-9e80-403a221946a7_story.html?utm_term=.799201372b0b\">did his best to try to neuter these habeas corpus rights<\/a> that the Supreme Court had upheld in <i>Boumediene<\/i>, in case after case. And also, Kavanaugh has a record of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/blog\/national-security\/national-security-kavanaugh-has-history-extreme-deference-president\">dangerous deference to the president<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/brett-kavanaugh-opposed-going-easy-on-bill-clinton-in-1998\">Notwithstanding<\/a> the case of <i>Jones v. Clinton<\/i>, the Paula Jones case, which said that a president has to answer to at least a civil case\u2014that didn\u2019t involve a criminal case\u2014Kavanaugh <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/brett-kavanaugh-argued-sitting-president-law\/\">doesn\u2019t think<\/a> that a president should be bothered to answer to a civil case <i>or<\/i> a criminal case while he\u2019s in office.<\/p>\n<p>And under <i>US v. Nixon,<\/i> a unanimous Supreme Court said that Nixon had to turn over the tapes during the Watergate scandal, and that led to Nixon\u2019s resignation. And yet, although that case, <i>US v. Nixon,<\/i> is a settled precedent, Kavanaugh has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/07\/21\/politics\/kavanaugh-supreme-court-trump-questionnaire\/index.html\">said<\/a> he thinks it should be reconsidered. And one of the most disturbing things, Janine, is that in a law review article, Kavanaugh wrote in 2014, he <a href=\"https:\/\/scholarship.law.nd.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=4554&amp;amp=&amp;context=ndlr\">wrote<\/a> that, yes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/fas.org\/sgp\/crs\/misc\/R43708.pdf\">Take Care Clause<\/a> of the Constitution requires the president to enforce the law, it says that the president shall \u201ctake care\u201d that the laws are faithfully executed. But then Kavanaugh went on to say, yes, the president has to enforce the law<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>at least unless the president deems the law unconstitutional, in which event the president can decline to follow the statute until a final court order says otherwise.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So Kavanaugh would create a dangerous presumption in favor of a president who refuses to follow the law. That is very worrisome.<\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b> And it should be worrisome, I should think, to people of any political stripe, allowing the president to make the law. And there are references, also, \u201cWell, we\u2019re in wartime.\u201d But of course, given that the war is the \u201cWar on Terror,\u201d it\u2019s like we\u2019re always going to be in wartime, so we can\u2019t really think of that as a temporary status.<\/p>\n<p><b>MC:<\/b> Yes, that\u2019s the excuse for whatever the president wants to do: \u201cOh, we\u2019re fighting terrorism, \u00a0the \u2018War on Terror.\u2019\u201d The \u201cWar on Terror\u201d is a misnomer. Terrorism is a tactic; it\u2019s not an enemy. And yet, under the guise of the so-called \u201cWar on Terror,\u201d Bush and Obama, and now Trump, are <a href=\"https:\/\/ips-dc.org\/trump-plans-make-easier-kill-civilians-drones-sadly-can-thank-obama\/\">decimating<\/a> our civil liberties. And Congress, unfortunately\u2014not in every case, in some cases there\u2019s pushback, but\u2014largely defers to him, and the courts are the last resort to check and balance an out-of-control executive. And yet with Kavanaugh on the Court, that checking and balancing is not going to happen.<\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b> It seems important for the conversation to separate our concerns about Kavanaugh in particular, and then also this process that\u2019s happening, that\u2019s allowing him to advance in this way. There\u2019s the lack, as Anita Hill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/09\/18\/opinion\/anita-hill-brett-kavanaugh-clarence-thomas.html?action=click&amp;module=Opinion&amp;pgtype=Homepage\">pointed out<\/a> in an op-ed, the lack of a protocol for vetting charges of harassment or assault in confirmation hearings, which should have been put in place <i>before<\/i> Clarence Thomas, but certainly after.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s Jeff Flake <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/09\/28\/us\/politics\/brett-kavanaugh-senate-judiciary.html\">saying<\/a>, we\u2019re going to have an investigation by the FBI to last &#8220;no longer than a week.&#8221; What kind of an investigation decides how long it\u2019s going to last before it starts?<\/p>\n<p>The process, I think, just seems so broken to folks.<\/p>\n<p>And I know that we knew that the Supreme Court was subject to partisan push and pull. I mean, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2018\/oct\/7\/brett-kavanaugh-merrick-garland-equivalency-false\/\">Merrick Garland<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2005\/10\/27\/AR2005102700547.html\">George W. Bush<\/a>, it\u2019s not a new thing. But, I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s hard to see how anyone can, going forward, see the Supreme Court as a check or balance at this point.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8928432\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-8928432\" src=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/New-Yorker-Kavanaugh.png\" alt=\"New Yorker: The F.B.I. Probe Ignored Testimonies from Former Classmates of Kavanaugh\" width=\"350\" height=\"386\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em><strong>New Yorker<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/will-the-fbi-ignore-testimonies-from-kavanaughs-former-classmates\">10\/3\/18<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>MC:<\/b> I think you\u2019re absolutely right, and I think when Kavanaugh, and I say <i>when<\/i> because I think his confirmation is a forgone conclusion, especially because this so-called FBI investigation, which didn\u2019t even last a week, this perfunctory investigation, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/will-the-fbi-ignore-testimonies-from-kavanaughs-former-classmates\">ignored<\/a> many people coming forward who had evidence, including a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary who would confirm and corroborate the allegations of Deborah Ramirez, who said that Kavanaugh waved his penis in her face, forcing her to touch it.<\/p>\n<p>It really is a farce, but Collins and Flake, at least the two of them, are getting political cover from this so-called week-long investigation\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/409903-flake-no-corroboration-for-fords-claims-in-fbi-report\">saying<\/a> there\u2019s \u201cno new credible corroboration,\u201d it was a \u201cthorough\u201d report. Whereas many, many people\u2014it was detailed in Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow\u2019s <b>New Yorker<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/will-the-fbi-ignore-testimonies-from-kavanaughs-former-classmates\">article<\/a>\u2014came forward and tried to contact the FBI, saying that they had relevant information, and yet the FBI did not contact them. They gave it a lick and a promise.<\/p>\n<p>And evidently, during his testimony, Kavanaugh said, oh, I\u2019ve been through six FBI investigations and there\u2019s never been a problem. Well, actually, during the FBI investigation for his appointment to the Court of Appeals, the American Bar Association <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/10\/02\/us\/politics\/kavanaugh-bar-association-aba.html\">reduced<\/a> their \u201cVery Qualified\u201d rating to \u201cQualified,\u201d because there were problems with his judicial temperament.<\/p>\n<p>And we saw that on display in the hearings\u2014terrible judicial temperament. I mean, he was having tantrums, he was aggressive, he was acting, you know, &#8220;I know you are but what am<em> I<\/em>?<i>&#8220;<\/i> with the senators, which is just unheard of.<\/p>\n<p>And I am proud to say that I\u2019m one of more than 1,000 law professors who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/news\/nationworld\/politics\/ct-kavanaugh-law-professors-letter-20181004-story.html\">signed<\/a> a letter saying that he should not be confirmed, solely on the basis of his judicial temperament, which is really, really beyond the pale.<\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b> I understand that Chuck Schumer is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/live-news\/kavanaugh-fbi-investigation-oct-18\/h_23b1855fef40f195aec804e52428e47b\">asking<\/a> for the FBI report to be made public, along with the White House directive. I imagine that many folks who see it will or would think, \u201cWell, yeah this was a sham.\u201d But what does that outrage translate to? What can we do, and is this a tipping point, potentially, for making actual, structural changes to the Court itself?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8928429\" style=\"width: 342px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8928429\" src=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Marjorie-Cohn-Portrait.jpg\" alt=\"Marjorie Cohn\" width=\"332\" height=\"332\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Marjorie Cohn: &#8220;Because of this time in history, where Kavanaugh has been accused of these things in the wake of the #MeToo movement, this has galvanized people all over this country, and these people are not going to go away.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>MC:<\/b> Well, I don\u2019t know about structural changes. I mean, that\u2019s a tall order. But you see people in the streets today, yesterday, probably tomorrow and Saturday. The #MeToo movement has really galvanized the whole issue of women\u2014and men, in some instances\u2014being afraid to come forward to report sexual assault, because of feelings of humiliation or the ramifications.<\/p>\n<p>And because of this time in history, where Kavanaugh has been accused of these things in the wake of the #MeToo movement, this has galvanized people all over this country, and these people are not going to go away. We are not going to go away. We are going to continue to pressure the branches of government.<\/p>\n<p>And the fact that there were two courageous women, survivors of sexual assault, in an elevator with Jeff Flake, in his face, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bshgOZ8QQxU\">challenging<\/a> him, is the only reason, I think, or certainly a primary reason, that he agreed to this investigation, this so-called investigation.<\/p>\n<p>So political pressure, and I\u2019m talking about people pressure, really does have an effect, and we have to keep it up, and people should be sitting in Collins\u2019 office, and Murkowski and Flake and Manchin, who are the swing voters, and they should be around the block, and they should be demanding that they vote \u201cNo\u201d on this confirmation.<\/p>\n<p><b>JJ:<\/b> We\u2019ve been speaking with Marjorie Cohn. You can find her most recent piece, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/five-reasons-why-the-gop-is-rushing-to-confirm-kavanaugh\/\">Five Reasons Why the GOP Is Rushing to Confirm Kavanaugh<\/a>,\u201d online at <a href=\"https:\/\/truthout.org\/\"><b>TruthOut<\/b>.org<\/a>, that and other work at <a href=\"http:\/\/marjoriecohn.com\/\"><b>MarjorieCohn.com<\/b><\/a>. Marjorie Cohn, thank you so much joining us this week on <b>CounterSpin<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p><b>MC:<\/b> Thank you so much, Janine.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"><\/span><br \/>\nThis piece was reprinted by <a href=\"http:\/\/rinf.com\">RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission from <a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/with-kavanaugh-on-the-court-checking-and-balancing-is-not-going-to-happen\/\">FAIR<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Janine Jackson interviewed Marjorie Cohn about the Brett Kavanaugh nomination for the October 5, 2018, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. 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