Thread by @kazweida

This #SundayMorning we're digging into a question that has perplexed several news organizations looking into Brett Kavanaugh's financials.

How do you rack up between $60,000-$200,000 in credit card debt on baseball tickets and then make the debt disappear a year later?
(THREAD)

(2) First off let's explain what the hell is going on here. Brett Kavanaugh's finances are super suspicious. Kavanaugh makes about $250K as a judge and from lecturing at Harvard, but he also owes on a $1.2 million home that has been refinanced twice.

vanityfair.com/news/2018/07/b…

(3) In fact, Kavanaugh's finances tell a story of how he has lived beyond his means for the better part of a decade. Several times, his debt burden has exceeded his liquid assets.

That's not alarming on its own, but the details of that debt matter.
chicagotribune.com/news/nationwor…

(4) The same year he was at the peak of his credit card debt, Kavanaugh also joined the Chevy Chase Club - an elite country club that counts Chief Justice John Roberts among its members and, as of 2017, required a $92,000 initiation fee and annual dues of more than $9,000.
OUCH.

(5) When the White House released Brett Kavanaugh's financials, they were asked why between $60,000-$200,000 of debt Kavanaugh was holding on three separate credit cards suddenly disappeared in 2017.

The answer? The WH says Brett REALLY likes baseball.

thedailybeast.com/brett-kavanaug…

(6) Sounds ridiculous, right. How do you rack up hundreds of thousands on baseball tickets? But the WH claims that's exactly what happened and that Kavanaugh's debt disappeared because his friends paid him back.

Let's inspect if this claim is plausible.

theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

(7) Colleagues confirm Kavanaugh is a fan of the Nationals. The most expensive season tickets cost $9,000 a year. In order to reach $100,000, Brett would have had to front the costs for 10 season ticket holders.

That's a lot of friends. And a lot of debt.
washingtonpost.com/investigations…

(8) ProPublica has been asking if Brett bought season tickets for anyone or if he's been seen at games. There is evidence he attended the All-Star game but he's only been photographed two other times.

That's lots of money to pay for games you don't go to.
propublica.org/getinvolved/br…

(9) Let's give Brett the benefit of a doubt & say he did, in fact, spend all that money on baseball tickets. How the hell did he pay it off all at once? This is very puzzling because Brett doesn't have the liquid assets to pay his debt down so quickly.

This is where we're stuck.

(10) The mystery of the disappearing debt remains. Democrats did not broach the subject in Kavanaugh's hearing, perhaps because the Supreme Court nominee left them such a rich field of accusations in the documents that they felt it wasn't necessary.

slate.com/news-and-polit…

(11) Senators considering whether to confirm Kavanaugh know that his debt problems may signal other issues in his character.

It also suggests Brett might be susceptible to bribery in his position. Living beyond your means in DC is easy to do, especially when you like the dice.

(END) Thanks for dropping by for our #SundayMorning thread. I've got a story ready on all the reasons Senators should just say no to Kavanaugh about to drop, so stay tuned.

Enjoy your weekend, friends.

Gah! I almost forgot to thank @contrarymary197 for the thread suggestion.

Appreciate your feedback and thanks for being here.