OA213: Rachel Mitchell to Cross-Examine Dr. Ford at Kavanaugh Hearings

Opening Arguments

Today's Rapid Response Friday tackles (ugh) the ongoing Judiciary confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Associate Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh in light of Dr. Ford's allegations, before segueing into an interesting question from super-listener Teresa Gomez. If you want to know everything about Rachel Mitchell (and so much more!) -- well, you've come to the right place! We begin with some good news about QED in Manchester, UK and your ability to hang out with Thomas! After that, it's time to figure out what's going on with Kavanaugh. We examine (1) the political landscape; (2) the status of Blumenthal v. Nat'l Archives, Case No. 18-02143-RDM seeking FOIA information from the National Archives and the CIA; (3) the unprecedented appointment of career sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to handle the questioning of Dr. Ford and Kavanaugh; (4) the strange circumstances surrounding Michael Avenatti's claim to represent additional women allegedly harrassed by Kavanaugh; and (5) what Dianne Feinstein wants. Phew! After that, we somehow have time to answer a fascinating question about pro se litigants giving testimony in court! Finally, we end with an all new Thomas Takes The Bar Exam #95 regarding Congressional delegation of rule-making authority. Will Thomas get back on track with just one extra wrong answer to give in the next six questions? Yu'll have to listen and find out! And, of course, if you'd like to play along with us, just retweet our episode on Twitter or share it on Facebook along with your guess and the #TTTBE hashtag. We'll release the answer on next Tuesday's episode along with our favorite entry! Appearances Thomas will be at QED in Manchester, UK on Oct. 13 and 14. Show Notes & Links

1. For an in-depth analysis of Dr. Ford's allegations against Kavanaugh, listen to Episode 158 of Serious Inquiries Only.
2. On politics: here's the 538 polling data that Kavanaugh becgan historically unpopular and is getting worse. And this is the (overblown) HuffPo story on the Judicial Crisis Network.
3. Check out the docket entries in the Blumenthal case!
4. Rachel Mitchell has no Wikipedia entry (yet!), but was profiled in the National Law Journal and gave this interview to the "Foundations Baptist Fellowship International." Bill Montgomery's endorsement was reported in this Arizona Central story.
5. Avenatti's client, Julie Swetnick, signed an affidavit under penalties of perjury that you can read here. We detailed Avenatti's ethical lapses on Episode 181.
6. Check out Sen. Feinstein's letter on the Kavanaugh hearings.
7. Finally, in answering Teresa's question, we relied on U.S. v. Nivica, 887 F.2d 1110 (1st Cir. 1989)... scroll down to part C!

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