“Stories and Stakes in a Noisy Democracy” is a witty, engaging, and ingenious piece. The writer pulls off the difficult feat of writing something of import and meaning, something that manages to be weighty and yet not at all self-serious. It is full of surprises and pleasures, macro- and micro-, a piece of history and commentary and entertainment that works conceptually, structurally, and visually. —Guest Judge Charles Yu
HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SECOND, THIRD, NINTH, ELEVENTH, FIFTEENTH, SIXTEENTH, and SEVENTEENTH CONGRESSES
FIRST and SECOND SESSIONS
ON
THE NOMINATIONS OF CLARENCE THOMAS, RUTH BADER GINSBURG, JOHN G. ROBERTS, Jr., SAMUEL A. ALITO, Jr., SONIA SOTOMAYOR, ELENA KAGAN, NEIL M. GORSUCH, BRETT KAVANAUGH, AMY CONEY BARRETT, and KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, TO BE ASSOCIATE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 17, 19, OCTOBER 11, 12, and 13, 1991
JULY 20, 21, 22, and 23, 1993
SEPTEMBER 12, 13, 14 and 15, 2005
JANUARY 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, 2006
JULY 13, 14, 15, and 16, 2009
JUNE 28, 29, 30, and JULY 1, 2010
MARCH 20, 21, 22, and 23, 2017
SEPTEMBER 4, 5, 6, 7, and 27, 2018
OCTOBER 12, 13, 14, and 15, 2020
MARCH 21, 22, 23, and 24, 2022
Serial No. J-102-40, J-103-21, J-109-37, J-109-56, J-111-34, J-111-98, J-115-6, J–115–61, J-116-65, and J-117-56 have been dissected and reconstituted into the subsequent document, a work of creative (non)fiction, by Dr. Ann E. Bartos.
All material in this document are direct quotations from Supreme Court Nominees, witnesses, and members of the Judiciary Committees.
OPENING STATEMENTS OF JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
There is a story. It may be apocryphal, and if so, you can disabuse us of it now.1 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. John G. Roberts, Jr. to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 109th Cong. p. 201 (2005) (Kyl)↓ It’s an age-old story,2 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Ketanji Brown Jackson to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 117th Cong. p. 285 (2022) (Whitehouse)↓ a great American story,3 Jackson, p. 369 (Durbin)↓ an extraordinary story…that gives people great, great inspiration. It is just a really impressive story.4 Roberts, p. 502 (Kennedy)↓ The story of how you got to this desk, you and I and everyone here, generations of folk who came here and said…I can make this country love me as much as I love it.5 Jackson, p. 348 (Booker)↓
Our Nation cries out for judges who love the law and who work every day to uphold its moral authority.6 Roberts, p. 31 (Sessions)↓ You have devoted your entire life to the law, and it is clear that you love it.7 Roberts, p. 441 (Schumer)↓ Justice Ginsburg loved the law, and she loved this country.8 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Amy Coney Barrett to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 116th Cong. p. 4 (2020) (Feinstein)↓ I love the Federal Courts and I love the judges.9 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 109th Cong. p. 673 (2006) (Hatch)↓ I love and respect the Third Court of Appeals.10 Alito, p. 675 (Hatch)↓ “I love the Federalist Society.”11 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Elena Kagan to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 111th Cong. p. 33 (2010) (Durbin)↓ “I love Elena.”12 Kagan, p. 42 (Klobuchar)↓ I love Justice Scalia’s definition of textualism.13 Barrett, p. 61 (Blackburn)↓ I love the Geneva Convention.14 Kagan, p. 268 (Graham)↓ “My love of my country surpasses all politics.”15 Roberts, p. 230 (Sessions)↓ I love Colorado.16 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Neil M. Gorsuch to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 115th Cong. p. 46 (2017) (Blumenthal)↓ I love Oklahoma.17 Gorsuch, p. 406 (Kennedy)↓ I love my home State.18 Gorsuch, p. 142 (Gorsuch)↓ I love my city.19 Jackson, p. 201 (Booker)↓ I love visiting California.20 Barrett, p. 367 (Kennedy)↓ “The American people love democracy, and the American people are not fools.”21 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Brett. M. Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 115th Cong. p. 79 (2018) (Part 1 of 2 Parts) (Kennedy)↓ Americans love democracy.22 Barrett, p. 59 (Kennedy)↓
I like where I live.23 Barrett, p. 50 (Booker)↓ I like beer.24 Kavanaugh, p. 704 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ I like softballs.25 Barrett, p. 221 (Barrett)↓ I also would like to say I like to consider the Senate an essential business.26 Barrett, p. 187 (Tillis)↓ I like the fact that he talked about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.27 Jackson, p. 364 (Blackburn)↓ I like—he’s a Texan.28 Jackson, p. 198 (Booker)↓ I like how you talked about walking with women.29 Jackson, p. 424 (Blackburn)↓ Those are some awesome women, and I love all of them.30 Kavanaugh, p. 688 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ I love her, and I haven’t even met her yet.31 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 103rd Cong. p. 366 (1993) (Hatch)↓ I love you girls impossibly.32 Gorsuch, p. 64 (Gorsuch)↓
I love my good friend, Ron Klain.33 Kagan, p. 70 (Kagan)↓ He dearly loves you.34 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Clarence Thomas to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 102nd Cong. p. 87 (1991) (Part 2 of 4 Parts) (Hatch)↓ I love Justice Marshall.35 Kagan, p. 106 (Kagan)↓ Patrick, I love you.36 Jackson, p. 64 (Jackson)↓ I love my brother, Tim Scott.37 Jackson, p. 347 (Booker)↓ I love Ross Feingold to death.38 Kagan, p. 175 (Coburn)↓ Whether I liked them or not, I did my best.39 Jackson, p. 91 (Graham)↓
A polished liar can create a seamless story.40 Kavanaugh, p. 649 (1/2) (Durbin)↓ You sound like you love people.41 Thomas, p. 501 (1991) (2/4) (Thurmond)↓ I love the law.42 Roberts, p. 37 (Graham)↓ Each of us in public life can tell you back a story or two as well of our own family experiences.43 Barrett, p. 376 (Durbin)↓ Kimberly’s story is not unique.44 Barrett, p. 46 (Hirono)↓ Felicia’s story is not unique.45 Barrett, p. 224 (Harris)↓ But you will provide a very important perspective, indeed a unique perspective, that the Court needs more than ever at this moment in its history.46 Jackson, p. 159 (Blumenthal)↓ The rest of your story is quite literally history.47 Ginsburg, p. 40-41 (Feinstein)↓ I loved what you said—I will not go into it all, it is right there in the record.48 Thomas, p. 503 (2/4) (Simpson)↓ I love that you’re doing your job.49 Confirmation Hearing on the Nomination of Hon. Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, 117th Cong. p. 467 (2009) (Sotomayor)↓
If you only look at what is going on in the puppet theater, you are not going to understand the whole story. You are not going to understand the real dynamic of what is going on here. And you are certainly not going to understand forces outside of this room who are pulling strings and pushing sticks and causing the puppet theater to react.50 Barrett, p. 128 (Whitehouse)↓ The pattern around here is to take out old statements and memoranda and bring them up out of context.51 Roberts, p. 230 (Sessions)↓ But there’s the other side of the story that never gets mentioned.52 Jackson, p. 92 (Graham)↓ The Supreme Court has relied on corruption and the appearance of corruption…and it is—you know the story.53 Kavanaugh, p. 386 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ A story we want to tell about America in the twentieth century.54 Thomas, p. 806 (1/4) (Kohl)↓
Everyone who is concerned about these issues and more are wondering what the story of America is.55Kavanaugh, p. 91 (1/2) (Booker)↓ I do not like to see facts twisted, untruths fabricated.56 Alito, p. 15 (Grassley)↓ The Supreme Court has a long and storied history.57 Jackson, p. 2 (Durbin)↓ We still don’t have the full story.58 Barrett, p. 62 (Blackburn)↓ I want to give you my side of the story.59 Barrett, p. 75 (Graham)↓ It is this story that not even The New York Times would report.60 Kavanaugh, p. 706 (1/2) (Cornyn)↓ It is a simple concept we learned in grade school that no one is above the law.61 Kavanaugh, p. 58 (1/2) (Klobuchar)↓
Now, let’s talk about you. I like you, by the way, for whatever that matters.62 Sotomayor, p. 137 (Graham)↓ I like the way you look.63 Alito, p. 367 (Leahy)↓ I like the phrase ‘‘minuet.”64 Alito, p. 16 (Biden)↓ I like Judge Roberts’s phrase of ‘‘modesty.’’65 Alito, p. 28 (Sessions)↓ I like my charts better than his.66 Alito, p. 443 (Cornyn)↓ [The] thing I like most about democracy is it is a journey without a destination.67 Barrett, p. 421 (Graham)↓ I like to ask questions that have no easy answers and then listen to how they develop their responses.68 Sotomayor, p. 483 (Bloomberg)↓ What I am looking for is somebody who is smart, who is intellectually curious, who writes cleanly and crisply, who knows what a semicolon is for…Every one of them counts.69 Kavanaugh, p. 78 (1/2) (Kennedy)↓ I like to get every scrap of information anybody wants to put in front of me. I read it all. I take it all seriously.70 Gorsuch, p. 354 (Gorsuch)↓
Did you read the book, The Exorcist? Quite a few people have read it, from what I understand. I haven’t read it, but—71 Thomas, p. 240 (4/4) (Heflin)↓I have read your writings.72 Kavanaugh, p. 92 (1/2) (Booker)↓ You wrote a big book, which I will never read.73 Kavanaugh, p. 100 (1/2) (Graham)↓ I checked it out. It is 900 pages long.74 Kavanaugh, p. 173 (1/2) (Cornyn)↓ I am going to paraphrase because I do not have the exact quotes in front of me.75 Kavanaugh. p. 9 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ Could you quote me that language?76 Kavanaugh. p. 74 (1/2) (Blumenthal)↓ I will quote part of it.77 Kavanaugh. p. 79 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ On page 70 of this particular version of The Exorcist,
Oh, Burk, sighed Sharon. In a guarded tone, she described an encounter between the Senator and the director. Dennings had remarked to him, in passing, said Sharon, that there appeared to be “an alien pubic hair floating around in my gin.”78 Thomas, p. 206 (4/4) (Hatch)↓
This is certainly a difficult book—at least for someone like me who is not a specialist in political philosophy.79 Thomas, p. 151 (1/4) (Thomas)↓ It does not pass the giggle test.80 Kavanaugh, p. 35 (1/2) (Leahy)↓
I hope people in the country understand this game.81 Kavanaugh, p. 102 (1/2) (Graham)↓ This is a new game for the Supreme Court, and this game is particularly disturbing.82 Jackson, p. 13 (Graham)↓ You know the game.83 Kavanaugh, p. 50 (1/2) (Whitehouse)↓ The umpire calling the game is not neutral.84 Sotomayor, p. 7 (Sessions)↓ And that game is fixed.85 Kavanaugh, p. 78 (1/2) (Kennedy)↓ The commission changed the rules in the middle of the game to ensure that the newly elected black [sic] official had no real power.86 Ginsburg, p. 254 (Moseley-Braun)↓ It is a game that I am sad to be part of.87 Kavanaugh, p. 102 (1/2) (Graham)↓
In my spare time, I played baseball and other sports with my friends.88 Alito, p. 5 (Alito)↓ I loved sports first and foremost.89 Kavanaugh, p. 444 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ I love to fish.90 Gorsuch, p. 197 (Gorsuch)↓ I love skiing.91 Gorsuch, p. 230 (Tillis)↓ Few judges could claim they love baseball more than me.92 Sotomayor, p. 79 (Sotomayor)↓
No wonder the American people feel the game is rigged. Here is how the game works.93 Kavanaugh, p. 49 (1/2) (Whitehouse)↓ It has gotten really bad.94 Kavanaugh, p. 102 (1/2) (Graham)↓ It is mostly a sham.95 Kavanaugh, p. 50 (1/2) (Whitehouse)↓ Fairy tales.96 Ibid.↓ It is Alice in Wonderland.97 Kavanaugh, p. 33 (1/2) (Leahy)↓ Lin-Manuel Miranda.98 Kavanaugh, p. 61 (1/2) (Sasse)↓ Somebody talked about—said they had seen this movie before.99 Kavanaugh, p. 79 (1/2) (Kennedy)↓ Animal House, Caddyshack, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High,100 Kavanaugh, p. 688 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ Sleepless in Seattle,101 Ginsburg, p. 225 (Ginsburg)↓ “some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in its grave and shuffles abroad after being repeatedly killed and buried.”102 Ginsburg, p. 154 (Metzenbaum)↓ Violence in our media, in the television and the movies, has had a profound effect on our society.103 Ginsburg. p. 350 (Moseley-Braun)↓
I have been told that there is a pornographic movie in regards to “Long Dong Silver.”104 Thomas, p. 240 (4/4) (Heflin)↓ We have seen this movie before.105 Kavanaugh, p. 51 (Whitehouse)↓ I took that to mean, we ought to have sex or we ought to look at these pornographic movies together.106 Thomas, p. 57 (4/4) (Prof. Hill)↓ You always show up in the picture.107 Kavanaugh, p. 40 (1/2) (Durbin)↓ There were headlines all over the country, really, accusing REDACTED being basically Bill Cosby.108 Jackson, p. 13 (Graham)↓ I jokingly said in one of your previous appearances that you are like the Forrest Gump of Republican politics.109 Kavanaugh, p. 40 (1/2) (Durbin)↓ That looks like auditioning.110 Kavanaugh, p. 50 (1/2) (Whitehouse)↓ It is not only shameful.111 Kavanaugh, p. 35 (1/2) (Leahy)↓ It has gotten so weird.112 Kavanaugh, p. 49 (1/2) (Whitehouse)↓
I said yesterday that the Government can buy Shakespeare and not modern theater.113 Ginsburg, p. 184 (Ginsburg)↓ I am reminded here of the great court scene in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, in which Shylock justifies his taking a pound of flesh from Antonio.114 Thomas, p. 164 (1/4) (Thomas)↓ Shakespeare had spotted a fatal contradiction in a seemingly very free society.115 Thomas, p. 165 (1/4) (Thomas)↓ That is why I am confident, at the end of what Shakespeare would describe as, ‘‘a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”116 Kavanaugh, p. 55 (1/2) (Cruz)↓ My dear mother taught me that humor was the irreplaceable solvent against the abrasive elements of life.117 Thomas, p. 187 (1/4) (Simpson)↓ Stop the theater, and start talking about what is really meaningful here—118 Kavanaugh, p. 95 (1/2) (Tillis)↓
The President has been packing our courts with ideologically driven judges who come to the bench with firm positions and clear agendas, who then go on to rule in ways consistent with those agendas.119 Kavanaugh, p. 81 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ As a judge, I have no agenda.120 Sotomayor, p. 428 (Klobuchar)↓ Before you became a judge, you were faithfully advancing the Republican Party agenda.121 Kavanaugh, p. 40 (1/2) (Durbin)↓ This nominee has devoted his entire career to a conservative Republican agenda.122 Kavanaugh, p. 98 (1/2) (Harris)↓ ‘‘I have an agenda. I like guns. I hate guns. I like abortion. I hate abortion.”123 Barrett, p. 79 (Barrett)↓ I have no agenda to try to overrule Casey.124 Barrett, p. 87 (Barrett)↓ She said she had, quote, “no agenda to try to overrule Casey,” end quote.125 Jackson, p. 100 (Feinstein)↓ I think that’s what makes people worry about our courts and our legal system today and whether agendas are being promoted through the law rather than just strictly following what the law says.126 Sotomayor, p. 394 (Sessions)↓
All of this may come down to REDACTED’s vote, and that is what is at stake,127 Kavanaugh. p. 97 (1/2) (Harris)↓ that ghoulish case about stakes in the hearts and the specters of the night and six feet into the hole.128 Ginsburg. p. 155 (Simpson)↓ Centrally at stake was the principle that no person should be judge of his or her own cause.129 Ginsburg. p. 196 (Ginsburg)↓ That is what is at stake.130 Kavanaugh. p. 93 (1/2) (Booker)↓ There is a T-shirt worn by a number of folks walking around this building that says, ‘‘I am what’s at stake.’’131 Kavanaugh. p. 72 (1/2) (Blumenthal)↓ They know what is at stake.132 Kavanaugh. p. 85 (1/2) (Crapo)↓ They are fearful about where the Supreme Court is going and what it will do when it has the power to shape law, shape the lives and liberties for individuals, for decades to come.133 Kavanaugh. p. 90 (1/2) (Booker)↓ Because of all that is at stake, a lifetime appointment to this bench is perhaps the most sacred trust that can be bestowed on an individual.134 Ginsburg. p. 28 (Leahy)↓ The survival of the Court was truly at stake.135 Ginsburg. p. 146 (Thurmond)↓
I realize we are painting in broad strokes here.136 Ginsburg. p. 185 (Leahy)↓ I do not want to paint with too broad a brush.137 Kavanaugh. p. 78 (1/2) (Kennedy)↓ The point is I am just simply different from what people painted me to be.138 Thomas. p. 370 (1/4) (Thomas)↓ “He is trying to paint himself as some kind of choir boy.”139 Kavanaugh. p. 633 (1/2) (Feinstein)↓ Persons painted him as a champion of women’s rights and empowerment.140 Kavanaugh. p. 637 (1/2) (Dr. Ford)↓ Painting and repairing the full exterior of the house, painting the interior of the house.141 Kavanaugh. p. 1515 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ You painted a picture for us yesterday of the Court that is straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.142 Gorsuch, p. 342 (Hirono)↓ They have to turn the volume up to eleven and try to paint you as one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse,143 Kavanaugh. p. 29 (1/2) (Hatch)↓ to paint you as a monster with an agenda.144 Barrett, p. 372 (Blackburn)↓
I jotted a note that said “delphic ambiguity.”145 Ginsburg. p. 220 (Cohen)↓
As if all this is about today is an abstract fight.146 Barrett, p. 36 (Coons)↓ These are not normal times.147 Kavanaugh. p. 80 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ This is not a news flash.148 Kavanaugh. p. 78 (1/2) (Kennedy)↓ ‘‘The lights are blinking red.’’149 Kavanaugh. p. 58 (1/2) (Klobuchar)↓ This is not normal.150 Ibid.↓ I know this is not something you are supposed to say,151 Alito, p. 17 (Biden)↓ to say the least,152 Alito, p. 33 (Graham)↓ that [it] is a pretty extreme thing to say.153 Sotomayor, p. 26 (Graham)↓ [But] at the end of this dark era, when the history of this time is written, I believe that the heroes will be our independent judiciary and our free press.154 Kavanaugh. p. 73 (1/2) (Blumenthal)↓ Listen to that fact again.155 Kavanaugh. p. 52 (1/2) (Cruz)↓ We know how it ends.156 Kavanaugh, p. 51 (1/2) (Whitehouse)↓
CONTINUATION OF CONFIRMATION HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF HONS. REDACTEDREDACTED AND REDACTEDREDACTED, TO BE ASSOCIATE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Let me begin…by indicating that the morning is going to be painless, Judge—157 Thomas, p. 1 (1/4) (Biden)↓ Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees are an independent—are a very important opportunity to discuss the appropriate role of judges.158 Kavanaugh, p. 24 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ We have to consider certain threshold qualities—judgment, temperament, experience, intellectual distinction, moral fiber.159 Ginsburg, p. 28 (Leahy)↓
This morning, we continue our hearing on the nomination of Judge REDACTED,160 Kavanaugh. p. 627 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ to hear evidence on sexual harassment charges that have been made against Judge REDACTED, 161 Thomas. p. 1 (4/4) (Biden)↓ who [have] been nominated to be Associate Justice[s] of the Supreme Court.162 Ibid. and Kavanaugh. p. 627 (Grassley); brackets indicate plurality to singular near-identical statements in the Thomas and Kavanaugh Hearings. ↓ I do not think that this country is ever going to look at sexual harassment the same tomorrow as it has any time in its past.163 Thomas. p. 118 (4/4) (Kennedy)↓
Our legal system is the envy of the world.164 Kavanaugh. p. 24 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ It provides our people stability, predictability, protection of our rights, and equal access to justice. 165 Ibid.↓ It is unfair and unethical.166 Kavanaugh p. 25 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ Our legal system’s success is built on judges.167 Kavanaugh p. 24 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ A good judge exercises humility and makes decisions according to the specific facts of the case.168 Ibid.↓ A good judge never—— 169 Ibid.↓.
[Disturbance in the hearing room.]170 Kavanaugh.↓
What we have heard is the noise of democracy.171 Kavanaugh. p. 39 (1/2) (Durbin)↓ Behind the noise is really a very sincere belief that it is so important to keep…a Court that really serves the people and serves this great democracy.172 Kavanaugh. p. 28 (1/2) (Feinstein)↓
[Disturbance in the hearing room.]173 Kavanaugh.↓
I want to thank them for their interest and indeed their passion. That is what sustains democracy, that commitment to ordinary, everyday Americans participating and engaging in this process.174 Kavanaugh. p. 72 (1/2) (Blumenthal)↓ They should be protesting in front of this body.175 Kavanaugh. p. 63 (1/2) (Sasse)↓ Let me inform the Capitol Hill Police that, if there is not absolute order and decorum in here, we will recess the hearing and those who engage in any outburst at all will be asked to leave the committee room.176 Thomas. p. 1 (4/4) (Biden)↓ I think we ought to have this loudmouth removed.177 Kavanaugh. p. 29 (1/2) (Hatch)↓ I am going to continue.178 Ibid.↓
Judge REDACTED, I am so doggone proud of you I can hardly stand it.179 Thomas, p. 43 (1/4) (Hatch)↓ Your nomination is a reflection on who we are as a country, and it represents an American success story that we can all be proud of.180 Sotomayor, p. 9 (Kohl)↓ I know you deserve this position. I am proud of the President for nominating you, and frankly, I wish you the best because we are going to confirm you.181 Kavanaugh. p. 31 (1/2) (Hatch)↓ You are the sort of person many of us would like to have as a friend and a colleague. You also apparently like to eat pasta with ketchup, but nobody is perfect.182 Kavanaugh. p. 29 (1/2) (Hatch)↓
Dr. REDACTED first raised her allegations in a secret letter to the Ranking Member nearly two months ago.183 Kavanaugh. p. 628 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ These allegations could have been investigated;184 Ibid.↓ sadly, the allegations were leaked to the press.185 Ibid.↓ This is a shameful way to treat…Judge REDACTED, who has had to address these allegations in the midst of a media circus.186 Ibid.↓ I did not expect this circus.187 Thomas. p. 249 (4/4) (Thomas)↓ It won’t be a circus.188 Jackson. p. 11 (Graham)↓
I want to emphasize that this is not a trial, this is not a courtroom. At the end of our proceedings, there will be no formal verdict of guilt or innocence, nor any finding of civil liability.189 Thomas. p. 2 (4/4) (Biden)↓ No one is going to ask you with mock severity, “Do you like beer?”190 Jackson. p. 27 (Cruz)↓ Each of us in this committee has already stated how he [sic] will vote on Judge REDACTED‘s nomination.191 Thomas. p. 2 (4/4) (Biden)↓ Many of our colleagues…have also made it clear that no matter what happens today, the Senate will plow right through and ensure Judge REDACTED would be elevated within a week.192 Kavanaugh. p. 632 (1/2) (Feinstein)↓ This is despite the fact that in the last few days, two more women have come forward with their own serious allegations of sexual assault involving REDACTED.193 Ibid.↓ I think one of the most important factors to me is [Judge REDACTED] has already exercised excellent judgment in marrying a Texan.194 Kavanaugh. p. 38 (1/2) (Cornyn)↓
Judge REDACTED must be given a full and fair opportunity to confront these charges against him, to respond fully, to tell us his side of the story and to be given the benefit of the doubt.195 Thomas. p. 4 (4/4) (Biden)↓ Nobody here, on this panel or in this room is saying, Judge, you have to prove your innocence, because I think we have to remember and we have to insist that [the sexual assault survivor] has the burden of proof or any other challenger, and not you, Judge.196 Thomas. p. 188 (4/4) (Hatch)↓ The fact of the matter is, the accuser, under our system of jurisprudence and under any system of fairness, would have to prove their case.197 Thomas. p. 189 (4/4) (Hatch)↓
But I am deeply sorry that our actions in this respect have been seen by many across this country as a sign that this committee does not take the charge of sexual harassment seriously.198 Thomas. p. 1-2 (4/4) (Biden)↓ We emphatically do.199 Ibid.↓
Sexual harassment is a serious matter and, in my view, any person guilty of this offense is unsuited to serve, not only the Nation’s highest court, but any position of responsibility, of high responsibility in or out of government.200 Thomas. p. 2 (4/4) (Biden)↓ Chief Justice REDACTED has recognized that, and I quote him, “the judicial branch is not immune,” end quote, from the widespread problem of sexual harassment and assault and has taken steps to address this issue within the judiciary.201 Barrett. p. 191 (Hirono)↓ Justice REDACTED’s truthfulness vis-a-vis Professor REDACTED’s claims of sexual harassment have never been fully resolved, nor has the controversy ever ended.202 Kavanaugh. p. 601 (Statement of John W. Dean, Former Counsel to the President, Richard M. Nixon)↓
Perhaps fourteen men sitting here today cannot understand these things fully.203 Thomas. p. 3 (4/4) (Biden)↓ I mention this because I have a sense of history.204 Kavanaugh. p. 32 (Leahy)↓
There are many of us who are concerned about the future of this country and the future of democracy, and you are asking for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land where you will make decisions, the deciding vote on things that will decide the course of history and where we are headed.205 Kavanaugh. p. 40 (Durbin)↓ On its face, this may look like a normal confirmation hearing. It has all the trappings. All of us up here, all of the cameras out there, the statement, the questions, all of it looks normal, but this is not a normal confirmation hearing.206 Kavanaugh. p. 57 (Klobuchar)↓ We have never had this moment before and I just want to talk about the joy…this is not normal. It has never happened before.207 Jackson. p. 44 (Booker).↓
Thank you for your good humor.209 Ginsburg. p. 549 (Biden)↓ I apologize for my digression here.210 Ibid.↓ I have known you for a long time.211 Kavanaugh. p. 28 (1/2) (Hatch)↓ Unfortunately, I do not think you are going to tell us much this week.212 Kavanaugh. p. 41 (1/2) (Durbin)↓ Time and again you said, ‘‘I cannot rule it out.”213 Kavanaugh. p. 42 (1/2) (Durbin)↓ And that is my worry.214 Kavanaugh. p. 28 (1/2) (Feinstein)↓
We have already heard that your nomination will somehow be bad for women, for the environment, for labor unions, for civil rights, for a whole host of other things that Americans hold near and dear.215 Kavanaugh. p. 46 (1/2) (Lee)↓ “People will die if REDACTED is confirmed’’216 Kavanaugh. p. 61 (1/2) (Sasse)↓. It is pretty obvious to most people going about their work today that the deranged comments actually do not have anything to do with you.217 Ibid.↓ You can demonize them.218 Kavanaugh. p. 64 (1/2) (Sasse)↓
President REDACTED may have selected you, Judge REDACTED, with an eye toward protecting himself.219 Kavanaugh. p. 69 (1/2) (Coons)↓ Because if there is one thing we know about [President] REDACTED, it is that he is committed to self-preservation every minute, every hour, every day.220 Kavanaugh. p. 81 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ I have that concern as well.221 Kavanaugh. p. 72 (1/2) (Flake)↓
This was not going to be a ‘‘Kumbaya’’ moment.222 Kavanaugh. p. 93 (1/2) (Tillis)↓ I sincerely hope this week we can all take a deep breath—we are not doing very well so far——223 Kavanaugh. p. 38 (1/2) (Cornyn)↓
Let me close with this comment.225 Jackson, p. 364 (Ossoff)↓ I am frank to say to you,226 Thomas, p. 178 (1/4) (Metzenbaum)↓ Do not worry about what I have done, written, or said until now.227 Kavanaugh. p. 81 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ See a good movie this weekend or whatever.228 Ginsburg, p. 337 (Biden)↓
[Disturbance in the hearing room.]229 Kavanaugh.↓
INTERROGATIONS
Senator. I realize that, as is appropriate, people pay not so much attention to who might be asking the questions, but, rather, to what you say.230 Ginsburg. p. 312 (Leahy)↓ So let me ask you this:231 Ibid.↓ Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give before this Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?232 All Chairmen of any of the Hearings asked this question to any and all nominees and witnesses.↓
Nominee/Witness. I do.233 This statement has been made by anyone who has ever been asked the question for public record.↓
S.The first question for you. Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?234 Kavanaugh. p. 258 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ I start asking these questions about sexual harassment because it is so hard to hold lifetime appointees to the Federal bench accountable, and because I did not want the #MeToo movement to be swept under the rug.235 Ibid.↓
N/W. The first thought I had was no woman should be subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace ever.236 Kavanaugh. p. 137 (1/2) (Kavanaugh in response to questions by Hatch)↓
S. I think that is a complete answer. Let me go on.237 Kavanaugh. p. 259 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ If a judge was aware that another judge was engaging in sexual harassment or sexual assault, would the judge have a duty to report it?238 Kavanaugh. p. 260 (1/2) (Hirono)↓
N/W. If I heard those allegations, Senator, I would have… I would have… I would have… I would have… I would have… I would do that and…Women who are the victims of sexual harassment need to know who they can call, when they can call. They need know first that the way——239 Kavanaugh. p. 260 (1/2) (Kavanaugh in response to questions by Hirono; truncated)↓ Your question stated that way, the answer would be ‘‘no.’’ But I think sometimes the cases, when you are—if you are——240 Kavanaugh. p. 301 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ And therefore, I think I better say nothing about it.241 Kavanaugh. p. 301 (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Okay, I am going to take the ‘‘no.’’242 Kavanaugh. p. 301 (1/2) (Kennedy)↓ Did you consume alcohol during your high school years?243 Kavanaugh. p. 693 (1/2) (Ms. Mitchell)↓
N/W.244 The short answer is: “Yes.”↓ Yes, we drank beer, my friends and I, boys and girls. Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer, still like beer. We drank beer… And we—yes, we drank beer. And I said sometimes—sometimes probably had too many beers, and sometimes other people had too many beers. We drank beer. We liked beer.245 Kavanaugh. p. 693 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ We drank beer, and you know, so did, I think, the vast majority of people our age at the time. But in any event, we drank beer and—and still do. So whatever—yes.246 Kavanaugh. p. 694 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ I drank beer with my friends. Almost everyone did. Sometimes I had too many beers. Sometimes others did. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I do not drink beer to the point of blacking out, and I never sexually assaulted anyone.247 Kavanaugh. p. 687 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Now, see, I was going to ask the Judge if—not him but any of his underage running buddies had ever tried to sneak a few beers past Jesus or something like that in high school, but I am not going to go there.248 Kavanaugh. p. 465 (1/2) (Kennedy)↓
N/W. I had a stated objection to drawing lines between males and females based on age, whether it is for beer drinking, for statutory rape, for——250 Ginsburg. p. 265 (Ginsburg)↓ Boys drive more, drink more, and commit more alcohol-related offenses. That, on average, is certainly true.251 Ginsburg. p. 339 (Ginsburg)↓
S. What do you consider to be too many beers? 252 Kavanaugh. p. 693 (1/2) (Ms. Mitchell)↓
N/W. I don’t know. You know, whatever the chart says, blood alcohol chart.253 Ibid. (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Well, let us see the chart.254 Kavanaugh, p. 658 (1/2) (Grassley)↓ Your student reviews are off the charts favorable.255 Kavanaugh, p. 29 (1/2) (Hatch)↓ Some of them are detailed on the chart behind me: very explicit allegations of sexual harassment and assault.256 Kavanaugh, p. 258 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ One of Judge REDACTED‘s former students has said, “People forget how things were.”257 Ginsburg. p. 12 (Norton)↓
N/W. Senator, again, that is ten years ago. I view my special assistants as…students, they are kids of mine and I have an obligation to them.258 Thomas. p. 187 (4/4) (Thomas)↓ The way the world was just a generation or two ago is something that, as I said before, today young people can hardly grasp.259 Ginsburg. p. 135 (Ginsburg)↓ I anticipate needing some caffeine.260 Kavanaugh. p. 634 (1/2) (Dr. Ford)↓
S. A Coke or something?261 Kavanaugh. p. 638 (1/2) (Mr. Bromwich)↓
N/W. That sounds good.262 Ibid. (Ford)↓
S. Can you give us any sense of how often it happened that you would go in and have a Coke or a beer?263 Thomas. p. 225 (4/4) (Biden)↓
N/W. Oh, it couldn’t have happened any more than maybe twice or three times.264 Ibid. (Thomas)↓ I recall specifically that the incident about the Coke can occurred in his office.265 Thomas. p. 55 (4/4) (Prof. Hill)↓
S. And what was that incident again?266 Ibid. (Biden)↓
N/W. The incident with regard to the Coke can, that statement?267 Ibid. (Prof. Hill)↓
S. Once again for me, please?268 Ibid. (Biden). The use of “please” in the Senator’s question is questionable, but verbatim.↓
N/W. One of the oddest episodes I remember was an occasion in which REDACTED was drinking a Coke in his office, he got up from the table, at which we were working, went over to his desk to get the Coke, looked at the can and asked, “Who has put pubic hair on my Coke?”269 Thomas. p. 38 (4/4) (Prof. Hill); Prof. Hill was asked about the “Coke incident” by various Senators throughout the hearing—Biden, Specter, Heflin and Simpson.↓
[Disturbance in the hearing room.]270 Kavanaugh.↓
S. The witness did not say anything to the FBI about the described size of his penis, the description of the movie “Long Dong Silver,” about the pubic hair in the Coke story, and describing giving pleasure to women with oral sex. That is not part of the original FBI report.271 Thomas. p. 124 (4/4) (Simpson)↓
N/W. I am not—it is not my fault that the facts change.272 Thomas. p. 161 (4/4) (Thomas)↓ My working relationship became even more strained when Judge REDACTED began to use work situations to discuss sex.273 Thomas. p. 37 (4/4) (Prof. Hill)↓ He spoke about acts that had been in pornographic films involving…rape scenes.274 Ibid.↓ My working relationship with her…did not involve, as I have indicated, any discussion of pornographic material.275 Thomas. p. 187 (4/4) (Thomas)↓
S. There is a line of contention that more protections are necessary for women from bans on pornography.276 Ginsburg. p. 191 (Specter)↓ The fact is, flatly, he never asked you to look at pornographic movies with him.277 Thomas. p. 62 (4/4) (Specter)↓ He bragged about sexually assaulting women.278 Kavanaugh. p. 450 (1/2) (Booker)↓ It is no wonder that many sexual assault survivors hide their past and spend their lives suffering in pained silence.279 Kavanaugh. p. 649 (1/2) (Durbin)↓
N/W. I ask you to judge me by the standard that you would want applied to your father, your husband, your brother, or your son.280 Kavanaugh. p. 690 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓ As to sex, this is not a topic I ever imagined would come up in a judicial confirmation hearing, but I want to give you a full picture of who I was. I never had sexual intercourse or anything close to it.281 Kavanaugh. p. 688 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Are you a scorned woman?282 Thomas. p. 87 (4/4) (Heflin)↓ Are you a zealoting civil rights believer?283 Ibid.↓ Do you have a militant attitude?284 Ibid.↓ Do you have a martyr complex?285 Ibid.↓ Do you understand you have been accused of multiple crimes?286 Kavanaugh. p. 705 (1/2) (Cornyn)↓
N/W. I’m painfully aware, for my family and me to read about this——287 Ibid. (Kavanaugh)↓
S. She said she was 100 percent certain that it was you who attacked her.288 Kavanaugh. p. 720 (1/2) (Hirono)↓ And——289 Ibid. (Cornyn)↓
N/W. [continuing]. Breathless reporting.290 Ibid. (Kavanaugh)↓
S. [continuing]. Of course, the sexual assault that Dr. REDACTED claims you have denied, then the claims of Ms. REDACTED that not even The New York Times would report because it could not corroborate it. And then Stormy Daniels’s lawyer released a bombshell accusing you of gang rape.291 Ibid. (Cornyn)↓ And there are a lot of slick lawyers in those groups, slick lawyers, the worst kind. There are some great ones, too, and it may have been a great one who found the reference to “Long Dong Silver.”292 Thomas, p. 205 (4/4) (Hatch)↓ Excuse me for this digression—293 Ginsburg. p. 195 (Biden)↓all of those are crimes, are they not?294 Kavanaugh. 705. (1/2) (Cornyn)↓
N/W. They are, and I’m—I’m never going to get my reputation back. My life is totally and permanently altered.295 Ibid. (Kavanaugh)↓ I will never be able to get my name back, I know it. 296 Thomas. p. 251 (4/4) (Thomas)↓
S. Well, Judge, do not give up.297 Kavanaugh. 705. (1/2) (Cornyn)↓ I apologize for what you’re going through right now. I can’t imagine. I’ve gone through a campaign and had a lot of smears, but it pales in comparison to what you’ve had to deal with.298 Kavanaugh. p. 722 (1/2) (Tillis)↓
N/W. Senator, I think this whole affair is sick.299 Thomas. p. 206 (4/4) (Thomas)↓
S. I think it’s sick, too.300 Ibid. (Hatch)↓
N/W. I have been wracking my brains, and eating my insides out trying to think of what I could have said or done.301 Thomas. p. 6 (4/4) (Thomas)↓ Anyone who’s known me…know, you know, I got a weak stomach, whether it’s with beer or with spicy food or anything.302 Kavanaugh. p. 703 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Are you telling us that you may have received a steady diet of what people on the list have described as, quote, ‘‘a lot of vulgar jokes, very dirty jokes?’’303 Kavanaugh. p. 259 (1/2) (Hirono)↓
N/W. Well, if I could elaborate.304 Ibid. (Kavanaugh)↓
S. So the vomiting that you reference in the ‘‘Ralph Club’’ reference related to the consumption of alcohol?305 Kavanaugh. p. 703 (1/2) (Whitehouse)↓
N/W. I already said—I already answered the question. If you’re——306 Kavanaugh. p. 704 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Did it relate to alcohol?307 Ibid. (Whitehouse)↓
N/W. I like beer.308 Ibid. (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Judge, have you—I do not know if it is ‘‘boofed’’ or ‘‘bufed’’—how do you pronounce that?309 Ibid. (Whitehouse)↓
N/W. That refers to flatulence. We were sixteen.310 Kavanaugh. ibid. (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓
S. By the way, please note in the record that people laughed.312 Ginsburg. p. 279 (Biden)↓
N/W. I don’t think that our country should be brought low by this kind of garbage.313 Thomas. p. 207 (4/4) (Thomas)↓ This hearing is a joke and really an embarrassment.314 Kavanaugh. p. 704 (1/2) (Kavanaugh)↓
S. Well, then let us go back to the incident. What is the strongest memory you have? The strongest memory of the incident, something that you cannot forget.315 Kavanaugh. p. 645 (1/2) (Leahy)↓
N/W. Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense.316 Ibid. (Dr. Ford)↓
S. You have never forgotten that laughter. You have never forgotten them laughing at you?317 Ibid. (Leahy)↓
[Laughter.]318 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]319 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]320 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]321T homas.↓ [Laughter.]322 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]323 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]324 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]325 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]326 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]327 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]328 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]329 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]330 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]331 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]332 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]333 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]334 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]335 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]336 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]337 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]338 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]339 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]340 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]341 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]342 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]343 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]344 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]345 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]346 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]347 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]348 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]349 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]350 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]351 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]352 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]353 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]354 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]355 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]356 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]357 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]358 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]359 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]360 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]361 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]362 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]363 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]364 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]365 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]366 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]367 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]368 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]369 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]370 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]371 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]372 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]373 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]374 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]375 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]376 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]377 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]378 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]379 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]380 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]381 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]382 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]383 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]384 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]385 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]386 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]387 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]388 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]389 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]390 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]391 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]392 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]393 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]394 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]395 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]396 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]397 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]398 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]399 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]400 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]401 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]402 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]403 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]404 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]405 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]406 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]407 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]408 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]409 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]410 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]411 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]412 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]413 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]414 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]415 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]416 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]417 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]418 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]419 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]420 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]421 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]422 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]423 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]424 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]425 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]426 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]427 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]428 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]429 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]430 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]431 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]432 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]433 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]434 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]435 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]436 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]437 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]438 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]439 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]440 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]441 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]442 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]443 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]444 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]445 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]446 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]447 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]448 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]449 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]450 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]451 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]452 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]453 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]454 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]455 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]456 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]457 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]458 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]459 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]460 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]461 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]462 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]463 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]464 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]465 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]466 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]467 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]468 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]469 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]470 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]471 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]472 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]473 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]474 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]475 Thomas.↓ [Laughter.]476 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]477 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]478 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]479 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]480 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]481 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]482 Kavanaugh.↓ [Laughter.]483 Barrett.↓ [Laughter.]484 Barrett.↓ [Laughter.]485 Barrett.↓
N/W. Correct.486 Kavanaugh. p. 645 (1/2) (Dr. Ford)↓
Annie’s debut essay collection, COLLISIONS: A MEMOIR IN SEDIMENTS, is forthcoming with the University of Georgia Press. She has a PhD in Geography, an MFA in Creative Nonfiction, taught in the social sciences at the University of Auckland, and has participated in writing workshops at Bread Loaf, the Kenyon Review, and the McCormack Writing Center. Her creative writing can be read in The Rumpus, Tahoma Literary Review, Pleiades, The Offing, and elsewhere. She lives near the Salish Sea and is at work on a speculative nonfiction novel.