Donald Trump reveals he’s at the end of his rope on Brett Kavanaugh nomination
When you have to try to do something in secret, it’s generally an acknowledgement that you know you might not be able to pull it off if anyone knew you were doing it. Donald Trump’s last best shot at saving the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination involved placing secret restrictions on the FBI investigation into him, and hoping no one would figure it out in time. It was a dumb plan which quickly and predictably failed. Then his fallback plan failed too. Now he’s at the end of his rope.
It took a day and a half, a phony tweet, mounting public pressure, Dianne Feinstein’s FBI inquiry, Julie Swetnick’s announcement that she’s already sat down for a not-yet-aired interview with NBC News, and Jeff Flake’s call today for an unrestricted FBI probe, but Donald Trump has finally informed the FBI that it can handle the Brett Kavanaugh nomination any way it wants. Yes, we’ve heard this before. But people on the inside are now telling the New York Times that Trump really did give the FBI the order, meaning it’s got to be the real thing this time.
This is a big deal, not only because it means that the Resistance has won this round, but because it means that Donald Trump knows he has no remaining leverage on the Kavanaugh nomination. Palmer Report predicted on Saturday that he would end up having to relent on the FBI probe, because pressure from all sides was going to force his hand. It took a bit longer for him to cave than would have been ideal, because – naturally – he had to try a two bit scheme first. But this shows he’s got nothing left.
It made sense that Brett Kavanaugh was willing to subject himself to an FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations against him, so long as Donald Trump was secretly shielding him from the most serious criminal liability. But now that the FBI is free to talk to the numerous former classmates and old friends who have already come forward publicly to confirm that Kavanaugh lied under oath with regard to his drinking habits, Kavanaugh is facing potential indictment for perjury, whether the sexual assault allegations can be legally proven in a week or not. Don’t he shocked if he drops out now, because prison – in all seriousness – is now officially on the table.
