By Saba Hamedy
Rachel Mitchell, the outside prosecutor hired by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans to lead the questioning of Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, has sent out a memo arguing that a “reasonable prosecutor” would not bring a case against Kavanaugh based on Blasey’s allegations.
Still, Mitchell, an Arizona prosecutor specializing in sex crimes, outlines in her memo what she believes are inconsistencies in Blasey’s testimony, according to multiple outlets which obtained the memo.
“A ‘he said, she said’ case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that,” Mitchell writes in the memo, which the Washington Post and CNN obtained. “Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them. For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.”
Mitchell argues that Blasey has “not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened”; has “struggled to identify Judge Kavanaugh as the assailant by name”; “has no memory of key details of the night in question”; and “has not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened.”
She also wrote that she believes “the activities of congressional Democrats and Dr. Ford’s attorneys likely affected Dr. Ford’s account.”
Mitchell’s memo ― which is addressed to all Republican senators ― doesn’t analyze Kavanaugh’s testimony, during which he denied the allegations against him, attacked the partisans who raised them, and portrayed himself as an aggrieved victim.
The memo, news of which first surfaced Sunday night, also comes after the White House formally asked the FBI to reopen its background investigation into Kavanaugh on Friday. Committee Republicans had shocked observers by agreeing in a last-minute move prompted by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to request a formal investigation into the claims of misconduct.
“A ‘he said, she said’ case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that,” Mitchell writes in the memo, which the Washington Post and CNN obtained. “Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them. For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.”
Mitchell argues that Blasey has “not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened”; has “struggled to identify Judge Kavanaugh as the assailant by name”; “has no memory of key details of the night in question”; and “has not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened.”
She also wrote that she believes “the activities of congressional Democrats and Dr. Ford’s attorneys likely affected Dr. Ford’s account.”
Mitchell’s memo ― which is addressed to all Republican senators ― doesn’t analyze Kavanaugh’s testimony, during which he denied the allegations against him, attacked the partisans who raised them, and portrayed himself as an aggrieved victim.
The memo, news of which first surfaced Sunday night, also comes after the White House formally asked the FBI to reopen its background investigation into Kavanaugh on Friday. Committee Republicans had shocked observers by agreeing in a last-minute move prompted by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to request a formal investigation into the claims of misconduct.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday voted to advance the nomination of Kavanaugh.
Two other women have also come forward with accusations of misconduct against Kavanaugh, which he has also denied.
Ryan J. Reilly and Elise Foley contributed to this report.
Two other women have also come forward with accusations of misconduct against Kavanaugh, which he has also denied.
Ryan J. Reilly and Elise Foley contributed to this report.
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