Kavanaugh Nomination Tainted by Conspiracy with Foreign Adversaries

There are a host of reasons to reject Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. From the purely partisan point of view there’s the theft of a seat in the last year of President Obama’s second term. From power perspective Kavanaugh has expressed some dangerous ideas such as his belief that a sitting President should be insulated from justice unless dispensed by congress through impeachment. From an issues point of view Kavanaugh’s decisions and dissents in numerous cases in ways that show his deference to corporate power over workers’ rights, religious bigotry over religious diversity, and the use of wealth to achieve political power in order to enhance that wealth.

I could write pages on how Kavanaugh could be one of the very worst possible choices for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court but Kavanaugh’s views and rulings are not the only reasons to object. We should also consider that the man occupying the White House and nominated Kavanaugh has been all but named as an unindicted co-conspirator to felony crimes involving campaign finance violations that have a penalty of 5 years in prison attached. Michael Cohen who infamously organized the payoff of porn star Stormy Daniels testified in open court as he plead guilty to 8 counts that he acted at the instruction of the “candidate”. That means that Cohen not only committed a violation of campaign finance laws he was involved in a conspiracy with Donald Trump to do so.

In addition other Trump associates have been given immunity from prosecution for testimony that at present we can only propose educated guesses given their positions and what we already know about them through leaks. The publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, kept a safe full of documents which tell a tale of Trump’s cover-ups and possibly other illegal acts and he is prepared to testify. The Trump Organization’s Chief Financial Officer, Allen Weisselberg, who served in that capacity for over 20 years has also received immunity from prosecution for his testimony. That makes three of Trump’s closest associates, people who know “where the bodies are buried”, willing to testify against Trump.

Perhaps the most import of all the Cohen revelations is his statement that he witnessed the discussion Donald Trump denies having with his son in advance the meeting with Russian’s to collect dirt they claimed to have on Hillary Clinton. This provides evidence that Trump did indeed conspire with a foreign power against the United States.

Of course Trump hasn’t been convicted, but his legitimacy has definitely been called into question and while it is still too early to talk about impeachment it isn’t too early to put a stop to every judicial nominee’s appointment until such time as all the evidence has been presented and assessed. Most especially no President tainted by dalliances with foreign adversaries should be allowed to place their appointees on the federal bench for their lifetimes. The legitimacy of every single one of the judges he’s already appointed is also tainted.

The allegations against Trump are too significant to allow him to continue to reshape the federal judiciary unless and until the allegations are put to rest after a thorough review of the evidence presented. That won’t happen for months and likely not until after the election and only if his enablers on congress are defeated at the polls in November.