memeorandum: Journalists made a damaging Kavanaugh story go viral - but it was too good to be true (Carlos Garcia/TheBlaze)

10:20 AM ET, September 29, 2018

Top Items:

Carlos Garcia / TheBlaze:

Journalists made a damaging Kavanaugh story go viral - but it was too good to be true — Mainstream media reporters and commentators appeared to be much too zealous in spreading a false story on social media Friday that was very damaging to Brett Kavanaugh, the president's nominee to the Supreme Court.

Discussion: BuzzFeed News

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

A Bitter Nominee, Questions of Neutrality, and a Damaged Supreme Court — WASHINGTON — In the first round of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings early this month, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh kept his cool under hostile questioning, stressed his independence, and exhibited the calm judicial demeanor …

New York Times:

At Times, Kavanaugh's Defense Misleads or Veers Off Point — On Thursday, the adolescent jottings of Brett M. Kavanaugh in his high school yearbook were being scrutinized under the searing lights of a Supreme Court confirmation hearing, where he sat accused of committing a drunken sexual assault when he was 17.

Discussion: The Intercept, The Atlantic and BloombergQuint

New York Times:

A Tumultuous 24 Hours: How Jeff Flake Delayed a Vote on Kavanaugh — WASHINGTON — Surrounded by his colleagues in a cramped corridor behind the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Jeff Flake was in agony, getting pounded on all sides. — He had already released a statement that he would vote …

Discussion: Politico, HuffPost, Daily Caller News Foundation, CNBC, twitchy.com, NY State of Politics, Joe.My.God., Gothamist and Washington Post

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic:

America Is Finally Listening to Women. It's Sparking a National Crisis. — “The only consensus,” declared the Washington Post about Thursday's Judiciary Committee hearings, “was that the Senate — and the nation — had hit a new low.” In the Weekly Standard, Jonathan Last added that …

Discussion: Vox and Weekly Standard

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

In Plain Terms, Judge Brett Kavanaugh Lies About Everything — He lied about his days as a Republican operative, about the drinking age in Maryland, about the “Devil's Triangle.” All of it. — WASHINGTON— Stars and Stripes — had a damn fine Friday morning, one of which any newspaper would have been proud.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

'I Don't Think People in the U.S. Know How Closely We're Watching This' — International readers tell us how the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee affected their perceptions of the United States.

Discussion: Jezebel and Outside the Beltway

Del Quentin Wilber / Los Angeles Times:

Former FBI agents say there are clues to follow from dramatic Kavanaugh hearing … Former FBI officials expressed confidence Friday that agents could quickly interview key witnesses and track down potential leads into Christine Blasey Ford's allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett …

Discussion: Politico

Erik Brady / USA Today:

Is Brett Kavanaugh right that he can no longer coach girls basketball? — Brett Kavanaugh testified the other day that he might never coach girls' basketball again. — He shouldn't - at least not until further investigation has concluded. — The U.S. Senate may yet confirm Kavanaugh …

Discussion: Conservative News Today, The Gateway Pundit and The Nation

Ana María Archila / USA Today:

I confronted Jeff Flake over Brett Kavanaugh. Survivors like me won't stand for injustice. — Jeff Flake finally called for an FBI investigation, showing the power survivors of sexual assault have when we stand together in the fight for change. — CONNECT

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox and CBS Philly

Jonathan Allen / NBC News:

Kavanaugh fight shows us that Washington is sick. Very sick. — Analysis: The Kavanaugh confirmation process will end with no winners. — WASHINGTON — The nation's capital is critically ill. — “D.C. is truly disgusting right now on both sides,” a top Trump ally told NBC News shortly …

Sam Baker / Axios:

How to impeach a Supreme Court justice — Some Democrats are already rumbling about trying to remove Brett Kavanaugh from the Supreme Court, if he's confirmed. That is not at all realistic. — The big picture: Supreme Court justices can be impeached. But if there aren't 50 votes …

Discussion: Raw Story, Breitbart, Politico and Wall Street Journal

Ashley Feinberg / HuffPost:

Harvard Law School Dean Won't Say If Brett Kavanaugh Still Has A Job — The dean assured students that the school would be conducting “necessary inquiries.” — In response to student protests over the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee and Harvard Law School visiting …

Discussion: Fox News Insider, AOL, Reuters and Common Dreams

Emma Dumain / The State:

Graham's defense of Kavanaugh has conservatives applauding. How long will that last? — WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham is ready to run for reelection in 2020. — He's championed a pet cause of the conservative base this week that's crucial to winning in South Carolina like rarely before.

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

Jeff Flake Explains Himself — Jeff Flake barely slept the night before he upended the battle for the Supreme Court. — The Arizona senator had spent days agonizing over what to do with the explosive allegation that Judge Brett Kavanaugh attempted to rape a young woman when he was in high school.

Politico:
Scenes from Jeff Flake's Supreme Court rebellion

Discussion: HuffPost, CBS News, Breitbart, Vox, CNN, Bloomberg and Washington Free Beacon

Robin Abcarian / Los Angeles Times:
Was I the only one who shuddered at Brett Kavanaugh's belligerent comments about beer?

Discussion: Raw Story

Roger Cohen / New York Times:
An Injudicious Man, Unfit for the Supreme Court

Discussion: LifeSiteNews, Hot Air, Just Security and IJR

Newt Gingrich / Gingrich Productions: Next for Judge Kavanaugh: Are There Any Honorable Senate Democrats?

Michael Kranish / Washington Post:
Details in Kavanaugh's 1982 calendar entry could be scrutinized in FBI investigation

Discussion: Townhall

David Mack / BuzzFeed News:
Here's Exactly What Happened As Jeff Flake Chose To Delay The Kavanaugh Vote

Discussion: The Guardian, Power Line and Townhall

Marina Pitofsky / USA Today:
‘Your life and family are not ruined’: Parkland father slams Kavanaugh

Discussion: IJR, ThinkProgress and FOX40

Marian Bull / GQ:
How to Talk to the Women in Your Life Right Now

Discussion: Althouse and WINK NEWS

CNBC:
Kavanaugh friend Mark Judge: ‘I will cooperate’ with FBI probe of sex assault claims

Discussion: IJR, TheBlaze, twitchy.com, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God., NPR, Snopes.com, Bustle, Daily Wire and thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

Ellie Hall / BuzzFeed News:
Trump Calls Christine Blasey Ford “Credible” And Says He's Not Sure Kavanaugh's Nomination Will “Continue Onward”

Discussion: HuffPost, Daily Kos, CANNONFIRE, Joe.My.God., Media Matters for America, Miami New Times, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Post, TheBlaze, Daily Wire and Taylor Marsh

Tucker Higgins / CNBC:
Senate GOP agrees to one-week delay on Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation to allow for FBI probe

Discussion: Washington Post, Vox, AOL, Sputnik International, The Gateway Pundit, Althouse, Joe.My.God., Splinter, United States Senate Committee …, Daily Wire and Scared Monkeys

Chris Buskirk / American Greatness:
Kavanaugh Vote Is a Victory for Decency and Fair Play

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Times and Media Matters for America

Jennifer Haberkorn / Los Angeles Times:
Flake and Murkowski join Democrats in calling for FBI inquiry of sex assault allegations against Kavanaugh

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, Telegraph, Raw Story and New York Times

Alex Pappas / Fox News:
Trump orders FBI investigation of Kavanaugh, as McConnell says nomination is ‘moving’ forward

Discussion: Bustle, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit, Scared Monkeys, HuffPost and fox13now.com

David Bauder / Associated Press: More than 20 million people watched Kavanaugh hearing

Julia Jacobo / ABC News:
Ford welcomes reopening of FBI investigation into Kavanaugh, attorney says

Discussion: Breitbart, National Law Journal, American Greatness and Washington Post

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Lawyer for Kavanaugh accuser: FBI probe should not have ‘artificial’ limits

Discussion: The Week and Politico

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:

The train will continue, and you will be crushed — “I was ... wondering whether I would just be jumping in front of a train that was headed to where it was headed anyway, and that I would just be personally annihilated.” — I am so tired. — The train is very, very urgent.

Discussion: Raw Story

Alvin Chang / Vox:
Every time Ford and Kavanaugh dodged a question, in one chart

Discussion: The Intercept, Fox News, Raw Story, Political Wire, The Atlantic, Boing Boing, New Republic, National Review and NBC News

New York Times:

How the F.B.I. Will Investigate the Kavanaugh Accusations — Can the bureau finish investigating in a week? What about the allegations of other women? Here's what to expect from the inquiry. — Here are three inconsistencies the F.B.I. investigation could address.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

George F. Will / Washington Post:

Abolish the death penalty — Without being aware of it, Vernon Madison might become a footnote in constitutional law because he is barely aware of anything. For more than 30 years, Alabama, with a tenacity that deserves a better cause, has been trying to execute him for the crime he certainly committed …

Roberta Rampton / Reuters:

Trump heads on five-state rally blitz amid Supreme Court chaos — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday kicks off a week of rallies in five friendly places around the country, seeking to shore up support ahead of congressional elections even as the fate of his pick …

Discussion: Political Wire