Despite the fact that the latest sexual misconduct allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was so full of holes it looked like Swiss cheese, CBS Evening News actually scoffed at the notion that the accusations against him were part of a smear campaign during their Monday broadcast.
The scoff was intoned as CBS chief Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes was leading into her critical report. “In fact, they strongly reiterated their support for Kavanaugh today and suggested that these women might somehow be working together to smear the nominee,” she declared acting as though the Democrats weren’t the ones to dig up the newest accusation as has been reported.
After briefly noting that Judge Kavanaugh was fighting back in an exclusive interview with Fox News, Cordes dove into the latest dubious accusations. “Kavanaugh gave the rare interview after 53-year-old Deborah Ramirez of Colorado told The New Yorker that as a student at Yale University, ‘Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away,’” she reported.
Cordes brushed over how “[c]lassmates who were at the party told The New Yorker they don't recall Kavanaugh doing that” but used a broad generalization of Kavanaugh from a former roommate to suggest the accusations were true.
“James Roche, a software C.E.O., told a San Francisco reporter today that Kavanaugh was frequently drunk and incoherently. He said he never saw Kavanaugh engage in sexual misconduct but called the story believable,” she asserted.
But that was only part of the story. Cordes failed in her duty as a journalist to mention that Deborah Ramirez hadn’t stepped forward with her allegations until the Democrats came calling, and had spent six days “accessing” her memories with her lawyer. And while Cordes was pushing The New Yorker’s questionable report, there was no mention of how the magazine admitted they could not confirm Kavanaugh was at that party or how other liberal news outlets refused to run the story.
Cordes lamented how “Republican leaders rejected the new allegation” and highlighted radical Hawaii Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono chiding the GOP for thinking “that women just sit around making up these things.”
In wrapping up her report, Cordes hyped how the so-called ‘creepy porn lawyer’, Michael Avenatti claimed to “Congress he has a client who is prepared to meet with the FBI forthwith to disclose how she was victimized.” Of course, she failed to mention that the bonkers accusation was that Kavanaugh was involved in a "gang rape" ring while in high school. If she had included that part of the claim in her report it would have been clear to viewers that the allegation was a smear tactic.
Cordes’ disbelief that these claims were smears contextualizes CBS's second report on the topic, where reporters gawked at the White House’s defense of their nominee. “The President is questioning what's motivating women to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct,” noted White House correspondent Weijia Jiang.
“On CBS This Morning, Senior Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway called the claims a left-wing conspiracy,” she added.
Of course, neither CBS, ABC, nor NBC felt it was worth mentioning that women who knew Kavanaugh were rallying to his defense. And ABC and NBC only mentioned the massive holes in the second accusation after first pushing them.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
September 24, 2018
6:32:20 p.m. Eastern(…)
JEFF GLOR: But first, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, he vowed today he would not back down after a second woman came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct in the 1980s. Kavanaugh and his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, are scheduled to testify under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Nancy Cordes is on Capitol Hill once again with the latest. Nancy?
NANCY CORDES: Jeff, top Republicans insist they are not rattled by this new accusation. In fact, they strongly reiterated their support for Kavanaugh today and suggested that these women might somehow be working together to smear the nominee.
[Cuts to video]
BRETT KAVANAUGH: I'm not going to let false accusations drive us out of this process.
CORDES: With his wife Ashley at his side, Judge Brett Kavanaugh told Fox News he never sexually assaulted anyone.
KAVANAUGH: We're looking for a fair process where I can be heard defending my integrity, my lifelong record, my lifelong record of promoting dignity and equality for women starting with the women who knew me when I was 14 years old. I'm not going anywhere.
CORDES: Kavanaugh gave the rare interview after 53-year-old Deborah Ramirez of Colorado told The New Yorker that as a student at Yale University “Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.” Jane Mayer wrote the article with Ronan Farrow.
JANE MAYER: We found another classmate who remembers hearing about it that night or the next day.
CORDES: Classmates who were at the party told The New Yorker they don't recall Kavanaugh doing that, but Kavanaugh's Yale roommate, James Roche, a software C.E.O., told a San Francisco reporter today that Kavanaugh was frequently drunk and incoherently. He said he never saw Kavanaugh engage in sexual misconduct but called the story believable. As protesters filled the halls of Congress...
PROTESTORS: We believe Debbie Ramirez. We believe Dr. Ford.
CORDES: ...Republican leaders rejected the new allegation, calling it...
MITCH MCCONNELL: Another orchestrated, last-minute hit on the nominee.
ORRIN HATCH: It's not untypical for our friends on the other side to pull that kind of crap.
CORDES: Hawaii Democrat Mazie Hirono.
MAZIE HIRONO: They really believe that women just sit around making up these things.
CORDES: How credible do you think her story is given that she herself admits she's got some memory gaps.
HIRONO: This is why the FBI needs to investigate.
CORDES: Psychologist Christine Blasey Ford, who says Kavanaugh held her down and groped her in high school, is slated to go before the Senate on Thursday. Now Michael Avenatti, the attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, tells Congress he has a client who is prepared to meet with the FBI forthwith to disclose how she was victimized.
KAVANAUGH: I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone. I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter.
[Cuts back to live]
GLOR: All right. We're going to move now to the White House defense of Judge Kavanaugh. Here's Weijia Jiang with more on that.
[Cuts to video]
DONALD TRUMP: His family has suffered. What's going on is not something that should happen.
WEIJIA JIANG: President Trump continues to sympathize with his Supreme Court nominee and says he is hopeful Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed quickly.
TRUMP: It would be sad indeed if something happened to reroute that.
JIANG: Kavanaugh is participating in intense practice sessions ahead of Thursday's high-stakes hearing. The President is questioning what's motivating women to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
TRUMP: In my opinion, it's totally political. It is totally political.
JIANG: On CBS This Morning, Senior Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway called the claims a left-wing conspiracy.
KELLYANNE CONWAY: I just don't think one man's shoulders should bear decade of the #MeToo movement.
JIANG: When the #MeToo movement gained momentum last November, Mr. Trump said it was good for our society.
TRUMP: And I'm very happy a lot of these things are coming out, and I'm very happy – I’m very happy it's being exposed.
JIANG: But when more than a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct, then-candidate Trump took a very different position.
TRUMP: The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.
(…)
