Bitter Supreme Court confirmation process of Brett Kavanaugh reveals the "discussion over harassment and assault has no end in sight," Jodi Kantor writes
The investigative reporter who co-wrote the bombshell story that revealed sexual assault allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has one » firm prediction, » a year after the Me Too movement swept across the America: « This discussion over harassment and assault has no end in sight. » But apart from the now-disgraced Weinstein, Jodi Kantor said the movement took a different turn amid the contentious Supreme Court confirmation process for Brett Kavanaugh .
« What felt special in many ways about the Me Too movement in the last year, about the Weinstein story, the [Bill] O’Reilly story, etc., is that they did not split along partisan lines. The message was, this is a problem everywhere no matter who you are, no matter what you believe politically, this is something we need to confront together as a society. Now it feels a little bit with Kavanaugh like that togetherness is splitting and falling apart, » Kantor, a CBS News contributor, said Monday on « CBS This Morning. »
When figures like Kavanaugh, President Bill Clinton, Justice Clarence Thomas or President Trump are accused of sexual misconduct, the allegations take on « partisan anger, » she said. « In some ways they are the most important stories because they’re about the presidency and the Supreme Court. But they’re also the hardest because they’re about so much more, » Kantor said.
Kantor is working on a book about Weinstein and the cultural shift thereafter with Megan Twohey, her co-author in the Weinstein report. Kantor noted she did not think Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ decision to vote to confirm Kavanaugh was « logically consistent. »
« Sen. Collins on Saturday said there wasn’t enough evidence for me to vote against him, but then she sort of raising a theory that Dr. Ford is misremembering this and that it was really somebody else. What evidence does Sen. Collins have for that theory that she just floated on television? » Kantor said of the moderate Republican lawmaker.
On Sunday, Collins told CBS’ « Face the Nation »: « I am convinced that Dr. Ford believes what she told us and that she was the victim as a survivor of sexual assault and that, that has been a trauma that has stayed with her for her entire life. But we have a presumption of innocence in this country. And when I looked at the lack of any corroborating evidence, including no evidence from her very best friend who was present at the party, I could not conclude that Brett Kavanaugh was her assailant. »
Kantor pointed to the wide range of reactions from the public, as well as lawmakers.
« If you look at Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony, for a lot of people, the power was that she stood up before the country and she said, this thing happened so many years ago but it still matters. And, no, I don’t have perfect evidence and a ton of documentation and, no, I can’t tell you everything about that night. But I am clear on what happened that I’m going to tell you, » Kantor said. « Other people responded the opposite way and said, ‘what do you mean you have no evidence? What do you mean you have no documentation? He’s being falsely accused.' »
