Courts

Brett Kavanaugh And The De Minimis Lie

Some lies are about more important issues than others, but every lie is a lie.

By Elie Mystal on September 19, 2019 4:15 pm

Justice Brett Kavanaugh

If you lie about the small things, people can expect you to lie about the big things. That’s so generally true that I’m sure there’s an ABC after-school special about this moral lesson.

The opposite is also largely true: if you lie about the big things, you will probably lie about the small things.

Alleged attempted rapist Brett Kavanaugh lies about the big things. He lies about big things under oath. I believe he lied about whether he tried to rape Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, lied about whether he shoved his penis at Deborah Ramirez, and lied about his knowledge of Alex Kozinski’s impropriety. I believe he also lied about knowledge of stolen Senate Judiciary prep materials, and was less then truthful about how he was suddenly able to pay off his debts.

Those are all very important issues, and I believe Brett Kavanaugh lied about some or all of them. Because Kavanaugh’s potential lies about the big stuff are so deeply disturbing, his even more obvious lies about “small” things tend to go unnoticed.

I believe he lied about what the “Renate Alumnus” notation meant in his high school yearbook. I think he lied about the fullness, accuracy, and provenance of his high school “calendar.” I think he lied about his dice games, whether he was playing for monetary stakes, and precisely why he asked all of his buddies to keep quiet about it.

Yearbooks and dice games are not really important issues. But Brett Kavanaugh’s inability or unwillingness to be truthful about them says a lot about who he is.

This week, we have another lie.

Kavanaugh wanted to comment about the book, but he didn’t want to look like he was commenting about the book, so his reflex was to lie. His solution was to incorporate others into his lie, assuming they would lie for him. Or at least keep quiet about his request that they lie. Just like his buddies kept quiet about his dice game, just like his teammates kept quiet for him about his yearbook, just like Mark Judge kept quiet when the F.B.I. came calling.

Sock-puppeting, or attempted sock-puppeting, is not a crime. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal. But it goes to one’s character.

Brett Kavanaugh has the character of a liar. He shows his character, in ways big and small, all the time. He does not belong on the United States Supreme Court.

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at [email protected]. He will resist.