On Friday, John Dean gave a statement to the Judiciary Committee in opposition to Brett Kavanaugh's nomination. His objection was based in part to Senator Chuck Grassley's decision to withhold over 100,000 documents from Kavanaugh's time in the George W. Bush White House.
His point about the documents wasn't merely a process question, as he explained.
"Based on personal experiences with the confirmation of William Rehnquist in studying the confirmation of Clarence Thomas, it's clear there was an across the board failure to fully vet the nominees and it has haunted their careers on the court," Dean told the committee. "It's hurt the court and the American people."
Going into further detail, Dean told committee members, "All the court historians that I have examined and court scholars find clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Rehnquist lied at his two confirmation proceedings."
He then moved to Thomas, noting that his career has been under a cloud because he was not properly vetted, and it has done harm to him and the court.
After reminding the committee that reporters have concluded that there is a preponderance of evidence that Anita Hill was truthful, and that renewed outrage over sexual harassment is an issue in the midterms with at least one candidate promising to initiate impeachment proceedings of Thomas, Dean turned his attention to Kavanaugh.
"Kavanaugh's nomination has raised issues about the truthfulness of his confirmation to become a judge on the D.C. Circuit. His answers to this committee have not resolved the issue," he warned.
Expressing surprise that Brett Kavanaugh has not demanded that all documents be released to the committee, Dean suggested a reason for it.
"Unless, of course there's something to hide," he said, concluding his statement.
Brett Kavanaugh HAS lied, just in this proceeding, but also in others. There are also areas where he has intentionally deflected or dissembled, such as when he dodged Senator Kamala Harris' questions about whether or not he had any discussions with anyone at the Kasowitz law firm about Robert Mueller's investigation.
The committee should take John Dean's advice and get all the documents, read all the documents, and release all the documents.
What they should not do is confirm Brett Kavanaugh.
