About

#ImpeachKavanaugh is a hashtag campaign used to call attention to series of sexual misconduct allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in hopes of having the justice removed from the court.

Background

On September 14th, 2019, The New York Times^[1] published an essay adapted from the 2019 book The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation. The piece reports that at least 25 people may have corroborating evidence regarding the sexual misconduct allegations made by Deborah Ramirez. The piece's authors continue to allege that FBI did not properly investigate these allegations as none of these 25 individuals were interviewed.

They write:

During the winter of her freshman year, a drunken dormitory party unsettled her deeply. She and some classmates had been drinking heavily when, she says, a freshman named Brett Kavanaugh pulled down his pants and thrust his penis at her, prompting her to swat it away and inadvertently touch it. Some of the onlookers, who had been passing around a fake penis earlier in the evening, laughed.

Ms. Ramirez’s legal team gave the F.B.I. a list of at least 25 individuals who may have had corroborating evidence. But the bureau -- in its supplemental background investigation -- interviewed none of them, though we learned many of these potential witnesses tried in vain to reach the F.B.I. on their own.

The piece continues to explore an allegation made by attorney Max Stier, who said he "saw Mr. Kavanaugh with his pants down at a different drunken dorm party, where friends pushed his penis into the hand of a female student." This allegation also was not investigated by the F.B.I. The Times later updated this portion of the essay to report "We corroborated the story with two officials who have communicated with Mr. Stier; the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say she does not recall the episode."

Developments

Online Reaction

Following the release of the story, critics of Kavanaugh began calling for his impeachment stating that he had lied in his testimony. Some focused primarily on the Stier allegation, which some did not understand why the F.B.I. did not investigate the allegation (shown below, left).^[2] Others felt that their suspicions about Kavanaugh during the confirmation hearing were validated, tweeting with the hashtag "#ImpeachKavanaugh" (example below, center).

Others dismissed the allegations by focusing on the update to the article made by The Times, stating that that disproves the Stier allegation (shown below, right).

Government Response

Presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and more all called for accountability on the behalf of the government in regards to Kavanaugh's place on the Supreme Court. On September 15th, Harris tweeted,^[3] "I sat through those hearings. Brett Kavanaugh lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly to the American people. He was put on the Court through a sham process and his place on the Court is an insult to the pursuit of truth and justice. He must be impeached." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 145,000 likes and 35,000 retweets (shown below, left).

Elizabeth Warren tweeted,^[4] "Last year the Kavanaugh nomination was rammed through the Senate without a thorough examination of the allegations against him. Confirmation is not exoneration, and these newest revelations are disturbing. Like the man who appointed him, Kavanaugh should be impeached." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 145,000 likes and 30,000 retweets (shown below, center).

Sanders tweeted,^[5] "The revelations today confirm what we already knew: During his hearing, Kavanaugh faced credible accusations and likely lied to Congress. I support any appropriate constitutional mechanism to hold him accountable." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 9,400 likes and 1,000 retweets (shown below, right).

On September 16th, United States President Donald Trump focused on the update, stating that the New York Times "walked back" their allegations, based on information from the morning show Fox and Friends. He wrote,^[6] "Just Out: 'Kavanaugh accuser doesn’t recall incident.' @foxandfriends DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT THESE HORRIBLE PEOPLE WILL DO OR SAY. They are looking to destroy, and influence his opinions – but played the game badly. They should be sued!" Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 46,000 likes and 13,000 retweets (shown below).

Media Coverage

Virtually every major news outlet covered the controversy, including NBC,^[7] Vox,^[8] National Review,^[9] Washington Post,^[10] CNN,^[11] New York,^[12] ABC,^[13] Fox News^[14] and more.

Search Interest

External References