Courts

Did Brett Kavanaugh Know About Alex Kozinski?

Will anybody ASK him?

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(MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

The media is busy falling over itself praising the sterling résumé  of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s new pick to effectively immunize Trump from the Russia investigation. But one key validator is missing from the Kavanaugh party, former Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski.

Kavanaugh clerked for Alex Kozinski in 1991. Kavanaugh would not have been a clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy if he hadn’t first been a clerk for Kozinski. Kozinski was a prominent and popular feeder judge to the Supreme Court, and a moderate, or at least “non-Trumpian” conservative who could be a useful voice in Kavanaugh’s favor at this time.

Of course, we all know why Kozinski isn’t in front of the cameras standing by his former clerk. Kozinski resigned from the Ninth Circuit in disgrace after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced. Kozinski is one of the only federal judges to be held accountable for his actions in the #MeToo era.

What, if anything, did Kavanaugh know about Kozinski’s behavior? What, if anything, did Kavanaugh do to help the women being harassed by the judge?

This isn’t some guilt by association thing. Reports indicate that even after his time as a clerk, Kavanaugh and Kozinski remained close. He was there while harassment was allegedly occurring.

Courtney Milan, a law professor turned romance novelist who clerked for Kozinski, has been tweeting about just how deep the connection was between the two men:

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The way powerful men become sexual predators is that other powerful men refuse to call them on it. Given that we are about to elevate Kavanaugh to become one of the most powerful men in the country, it’s relevant to know what he did when confronted with sexual harassment in his own workplace. Who knows what kinds of sexual harassment issues Kavanaugh will have the opportunity to decide on over the next 30 years or so. Whether the man can even recognize sexual harassment WHEN HE SEES IT is relevant.

There’s an opposition research document on Kavanaugh that made the rounds that tried to make this point. From Politico:

The document argues it is virtually impossible that Kavanaugh, who served on a screening committee for Kennedy’s Supreme Court clerkship alongside Kozinski, was unaware of Kozinski’s behavior — though nobody has stepped forward to make that explosive allegation in public.

Kavanaugh clerked for Kozinski nearly three decades ago, early in his time on the bench and before Kozinski is accused of having spoken and behaved inappropriately toward women. But the two have maintained a fruitful professional collaboration for years after.

“After these allegations were reported in the press last year, I spoke with various former Kozinski clerks — including Judge Kavanaugh. None of us, including Judge Kavanaugh, had heard of any of these troubling allegations,” said one former Kozinski clerk.

Right. Sure. I am shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on here.

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We know turning a blind eye to sexual harassment goes down as a “pro” in Trump’s book. Does that sentiment extend to the entire GOP? We can assume that at least one Democrat will ask him about Kozinski — my money is on Kamala Harris. But will any of the Republican Senators demand that Kavanaugh account for his time under Kozinski? Or is #MeToo just not something the ruling party will concern itself with?

I assume team Trump did no vetting on this issue, because they honestly do not care. It’ll be left to the Senate and (cough) the MEDIA to demand answers on these questions.

You know, instead of just writing puff pieces about how good his résumé looks, and repeating whatever quotes are fed to you from the White House, maybe some of you people who have ear of the ruling Republican class can get out there and do some work?

Kavanaugh isn’t exactly taking my calls.

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

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