Woman admits she didn't write anonymous sexual-assault claim against Brett Kavanaugh | Business Insider
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, right, and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, left, arrives to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 4, 2018. AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
"The Committee is grateful to citizens who come forward with relevant information in good faith, even if they are not one hundred percent sure about what they know," Grassley said. "But when individuals intentionally mislead the Committee, they divert Committee resources during time-sensitive investigations and materially impede our work."
This is why one cannot simply and uncritically "believe the woman" (or anyone else, for that matter), as activists stridently chanted during the Kavanaugh hearings. Even good-faith allegations may still be in error – incorrectly remembered or simply mistaken. And then you get this sort of thing!
This should also be a cautionary tale about the idea that "if there's enough smoke, there must be fire somewhere": additional uncorroborated allegations do not corroborate the initial uncorroborated allegation. #metoo...? Well, this woman said "me, too" – and she lied. And unfortunately, like the proverbial "boy who cried wolf," such false accusations actually harm women who have genuinely been assaulted, by calling into question the veracity of their accusations.
Senator Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has referred the case to the Department of Justice:
Grassley urged the FBI director and attorney general to give the case his "utmost consideration," but added that Munro-Leighton's fabricated allegations should not discount sexual assault claims that were made in "good faith."
"The Committee is grateful to citizens who come forward with relevant information in good faith, even if they are not one hundred percent sure about what they know," Grassley said. "But when individuals intentionally mislead the Committee, they divert Committee resources during time-sensitive investigations and materially impede our work."
"Such acts are not only unfair; they are potentially illegal," Grassley added. "It is illegal to make materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements to Congressional investigators."
Munro-Leighton is not the only individual to be in legal hot water as a result of statements made during the course of the Kavanaugh confirmation proceedings. USA Today notes that
Grassley has thus far asked federal authorities to investigate: Julie Swetnick, who accused Kavanaugh of drunken behavior and sexual assault; Michael Avenatti, her lawyer who also represented porn star Stormy Daniels in a suit against President Donald Trump; and a man, who was never publicly identified but recanted an allegation he'd made against Kavanaugh.
Good, say I, and I hope they all get the book thrown at them. There are people who need to be reminded that there are consequences for lying under oath, for impeding or interfering with the conduct of an investigation (and with the confirmation of a public official), and, yes, for besmirching the good name of a good man.
And someone who would lie about sexual assault certainly does not deserve the support or commendation of anyone who claims to be a friend of women, and women's rights. As I say, such things actually harm and set back the cause of justice for women who have actually been assaulted, by casting a shadow of doubt over good-faith allegations!