- Position‹4 of 5›
- Brett Kavanaugh didn’t do it
- Argument1 of 3›
“Brett Kavanaugh is a fine man”
The allegations described are not fitting with Brett Kavanaugh's nature.
The argument
Current President, Donald Trump, and former President George W. Bush were among those to defend Brett Kavanaugh’s character. The former called him a “fine, fine person”, while the latter assured the public he is a “man of the highest integrity. More than 65 female witnesses who knew Kavanaugh from his high school and college days wrote a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley. Within the letter, they argued that the allegations against Kavanaugh are completely out of character with the Brett Kavanaugh they knew. They asserted that in the 35 years they have known him, “he has behaved honourably and treated women with respect.
Context
Following Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations, prominent Republicans rushed to defend Kavanaugh’s character.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Brett Kavanaugh has demonstrated time and time again that he is not a man of impeccable character. He has a long record of lying under oath. In 2001, he told the Senate hearing for the nomination of Charles Pickering that he had no prior knowledge of Judge Pickering’s decision to solicit letters of support from lawyers with cases pending in his courtroom (a clear breach of judicial ethics). However, newly obtained emails show that Kavanaugh was lying. He handled the nomination personally. In 2004, he denied involvement in the theft of documents belonging to Democratic senators. Recently released emails show that he received the documents, then forwarded them to third parties. He evidently knew the severity of what he was doing, as the subject line of the email read, “Spying”. There is also some speculation about his character at school. Despite the 65 women claiming the allegations are completely unlike Brett Kavanaugh’s character, other witnesses have claimed the allegations fit very well with the Kavanaugh they remember. One of Kavanaugh’s former roommates at Yale described him as an “aggressive and even belligerent” drunk.
Rejecting the premises
Not everyone remembers him as a man of integrity. Several who knew him well have admitted he was often aggressive and belligerent when drunk.