1. THREAD:
I've also been thinking all day about this piece in POLITICO, in which @SenFeinstein says Kavanaugh, during his time as a Ken Starr prosecutor, violated law protecting grand jury secrecy. politico.com/story/2018/09/…
I've also been thinking all day about this piece in POLITICO, in which @SenFeinstein says Kavanaugh, during his time as a Ken Starr prosecutor, violated law protecting grand jury secrecy. politico.com/story/2018/09/…
2. Completely apart from the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, this article raises serious questions about his continued service as a federal judge; in other words, if he did violate grand jury secrecy, or order one of his deputies to do so. politico.com/story/2018/09/…
3. Let's take a closer look at the POLITICO piece. It says that according to a memo from 1995, when Kavanaugh was working on the Ken Starr investigation, Kavanaugh was worried about a possible article by Chris Ruddy (now a CEO of Newsmax and close Trump friend).
4. At the time Ruddy was working for the Scaife-owned Pittsburgh Tribune Review, covering Whitewater.
5. Ruddy had spoken with a grand jury witness, Patrick Knowlton, who told him Kavanaugh had questioned him about being in Fort Marcy Park around the time that Vince Foster killed himself.
6. According to an article in the Washington City Paper, from 1996, Knowlton had happened to stop in the park to take a leak, but ended up getting embroiled in Starr's investigation -- including to be called to testify at the grand jury, where he was questioned by Kavanaugh.
8. Grand jury witnesses are permitted to talk publicly and to the press about their appearances. Prosecutors are not. (Rule 6 (e)(2)) law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/r…
9. Knowlton had told Ruddy that Kavanaugh had questioned him about whether he was gay and cruising in Fort Marcy Park, and specifically about whether someone had touched his genitals. politico.com/story/2018/09/… 
10. According to a memo prepared by Kavanaugh co-prosecutor Hickman Ewing, and obtained by Sen. Feinstein from the National Archives, Kavanaugh was intent on having Ruddy not report that he had questioned Knowlton about whether a man in the park had touched his genitals.
12. Here's the memo (via POLITICO): politico.com/f/?id=00000166…
13. According to Ewing, Kavanaugh left him a voice mail that said, in part, "John Bates and I want you to call Ruddy - at least get him off the genitalia part. I am worried about that."
14. Ewing recounted in the memo that he told Ruddy that it was against the law for prosecutors to comment on grand jury proceedings. "I then asked him if we could go 'off the record - deep background' and he said, 'of course.'"
politico.com/f/?id=00000166…
politico.com/f/?id=00000166…
15. According to Ewing's memo to the file, he was making this call at Kavanaugh's direction. politico.com/f/?id=00000166…
16. Ewing goes on to recount how he basically talked with Ruddy about whether any of this undermined Knowlton's credibility as a witness.
17. Then, Ruddy proceeded to lecture Ewing on how the investigation was being conducted, and that they should be investigating Foster's death as a homicide, not a suicide (which, of course, was and continues to be a rampant rightwing conspiracy). politico.com/f/?id=00000166…
18. Now I'm getting a bit in the weeds. The key point here is that, at least according to this contemporaneous memo prepared by a Kavanaugh associate, Kavanaugh instructed him to violate grand jury secrecy rules, which can carry criminal penalties.
19. How has Kavanaugh coasted by (both during his DC CIrcuit confirmation and SCOTUS confirmation proceedings) without being asked about this moment in the Ken Starr investigation? How has he not been confronted with this memo?
20. Sources interviewed for the POLITICO piece question whether the conduct in question actually violated grand jury secrecy rules. But c'mon, the guy is up for a lifetime SCOTUS seat. How did this not come up? Rushed process, let's plow through it (per McConnell).
21. Obviously the sexual assault allegations are taking center stage now, as they should, and they should be thoroughly investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the very least.
22. But this one small(ish) incident from 1995 shows us that Kavanaugh has breezed through with very little scrutiny of an extended career in law enforcement, private practice, in the Bush White House, and as a judge.
23. Don't neglect to take note of Kavanaugh's invasive, prurient questioning of Knowlton, an innocent bystander who happened to be just pissing outside--and now he objects to being questioned about his past, as an invasion of his reputation and standing in the community.
24. According to that City Paper piece (washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/1…) this whole thing ruined Knowlton's life -- a private citizen who just happened to be in Fort Marcy Park when Foster killed himself.
25. Now everyone is supposed to feel sorry for Kavanaugh -- who willingly put himself in the public eye to ascend to one of the most powerful positions in the country, if not the world -- that his past conduct is being scrutinized?
