There is much political noise surrounding the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Both political parties have made the appointment a fiasco because of their selfish political agendas. Like many readers, I spent Thursday listening to the he-said-she-said sexual allegations against Kavanaugh. Most of us were left with the incredulous assertion that both Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford were credible and yet neither is wrong, or guilty. The noise says that Kavanaugh is guilty or that Ford suffered a tragedy but has wrongly identified her perpetrator. But something stood out for me about Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony – he lied to Congress.
Forget the noise and let us focus on the facts.
During Thursday’s testimony, Brett Kavanaugh stated to Congress:
“Yes we drank beer, my friends and I, boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. I still like beer.” Kavanaugh added, “The drinking age as I noted was 18, so the seniors were legal. Senior year in high school, people were legal to drink.”
Many news outlets have pointed out that at no time was Brett Kavanaugh legal to drink in Maryland while he was in high school. Additionally, the Associated Press looked at the drinking laws in the District of Colombia while Kavanaugh was at Georgetown Prep, making it legal for Kavanaugh to drink for only four months of his senior year.
Remember that the alleged incident and the testimony before Congress was for 1982. Kavanaugh did not turn eighteen until February 12, 1983, after the alleged incident.
There are two significant laws about lying to Congress.
The first, section 1001 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code does not require the individual, who is accused of perjury, to be under oath. It is enough to “knowingly” or “willingly” lie to any federal official, including Congress.
However, in the case of Kavanaugh’s testimony, it is important to note that he was under oath while he testified that he was legally drinking beer while in high school. Section 1621 makes it a crime to lie under oath.
The obvious question is whether Kavanaugh’s testimony about legally drinking in high school is “relevant” to the issue at hand, the allegation of sexual misconduct. Each side of the debate will have their own take about this.
But there is an important element to consider. Brett Kavanaugh is an accomplished jurist by all accounts.
Thus, the question is whether Brett Kavanaugh would consider lying about “legally” drinking in high school acceptable testimony before his court.
None of that negates the fact that Brett Kavanaugh proffered misleading testimony before Congress and thus he committed perjury.
For that alone, Brett Kavanaugh relinquished any right to sit in the country’s highest court and pass judgement on the conduct of others.
