In December 2017, Judge Alex Kozinski retired as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals 9th Circuit after six extremely accomplished women who clerked for him came forward to detail allegations of sexual harassment. The number of women has now jumped to 15, and it appears sexual harassment is something he’d apparently been getting away with for a very long time. The women accused Kozinski of getting them into his private chambers under a work-related guise, and then showing them porn. Kozinski wanted to know if the porn aroused the female clerks. From Washington Post:
Heidi Bond, who clerked for Kozinski from 2006 to 2007, said the porn was not related to any case. One set of images she remembered was of college-age students at a party where "some people were inexplicably naked while everyone else was clothed." Another was a sort of digital flip book that allowed users to mix and match heads, torsos and legs to create an image of a naked woman.
Bond is one of six women — all former clerks or more junior staffers known as externs in the 9th Circuit — who alleged to The Washington Post in recent weeks that Kozinski, now 67 and still serving as a judge on the court, subjected them to a range of inappropriate sexual conduct or comments. She is one of two former clerks who said Kozinski asked them to view porn in his chambers.
Kozinski’s retirement effectively killed any real investigation into his behavior. In effect, it was case closed. In fact, Kozinski’s behavior was well-known. Nancy Rappaport, special counsel to the president of the University of Nevada Las Vegas said she had an unsettling and inappropriate dinner with Kozinski, and afterward refused to recommend women for a clerkship under the judge.
But I have told countless female law students that I would never write them a letter of recommendation for a clerkship with him, and I have told them why. I didn’t want them ever to be at risk of being sexually harassed by him. I have told some of my female colleagues not to be alone with him, and for the same reason.
Rappaport and many others said it was an ‘open secret’ that Kozinski was a sexual harasser. That leads us to current Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who clerked for Kozinski from 1991-1992 and has maintained a relationship with him. In fact, Kozinski’s son clerked for Kavanaugh, and the two judges were featured on panels together at events organized by conservative organizations. During his confirmation hearing last week, Brett Kavanaugh was asked by Democratic Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono whether he was aware of Kozinski’s behavior.
Hmmmm. It was a an ‘open secret’ among the federal judicial community, but one of Kozinski’s preferred clerks, one who was being groomed for the Supreme Court and maintained contact all those years—he knew nothing? Curious.
With that backstory in mind, let’s get to the follow-up questions that Delaware Sen. Chris Coons sent to Kavanaugh this week ahead of any vote on his confirmation. Among the 13 pages of questions, one line of questioning stands out. All the questions are quite curious, but the key questions have been bolded.
21. How frequently do you communicate with Judge Kozinski? If the frequency of your communications has changed over time, please provide estimates for different time periods.
a. At least 15 women have accused Judge Kozinski of sexual harassment. Do you believe that Judge Kozinski treated women inappropriately?
b. During the entire course of your relationship with Judge Kozinski, did you ever witness him engaging in inappropriate behavior? Please explain any such incident(s).
c. Did you ever see Judge Kozinski mistreat a law clerk or law clerk candidate? Please explain any such incident(s).
d. Did Judge Kozinski ever use demeaning language when discussing women?
e. Did anyone ever raise concerns with you about Judge Kozinski’s behavior? Who? When?
f. Did your clerkship spot with Judge Kozinski become available when another student resigned or was fired from his clerkship with Judge Kozinski? If so, please explain your understanding of the circumstances around the former clerk’s departure.
g. It has been reported that Judge Kozinski had a sexually explicit email list, called the Easy Rider Gag List. Did you ever receive an email from this list? If it is necessary to refresh your recollection, please review your email accounts before answering this question.
h. Have you conducted a search of your email accounts and/or correspondence with Judge Kozinski in an effort to provide an accurate response to the preceding question? If not, why not?
i. Judge Kozinski also had a personal website with explicit postings. When did you first become aware of Judge Kozinski’s personal website?
j. At any time, did you provide information related to an inquiry regarding JudgeKozinski’s behavior?
Whoa. Did Kavanaugh get the clerkship because a woman resigned or was fired in relation to Kozinski’s behavior? Or a male clerk who spoke out? Was Kozinski’s preferred clerk on his ‘sexually explicit’ email list? Was he aware of Kozinski’s personal ‘explicit’ website? It’s unlikely Sen. Coons is asking these questions without already knowing some or all of the answers. If Sen. Coons can prove that Kavanaugh was indeed aware of Kozinski’s behavior, it would seem that Kavanaugh again perjured himself before the United States Senate.
Democrats may not be able to stop this confirmation, but they are building a very solid case for impeaching Judge Kavanaugh in the future. Mother Jones already outlined five other apparent instances of perjury.
You can see Sen. Coons’ full list of questions for Judge Kavanaugh below.
9.9.18 QFRs for Kavanaugh by dailykos on Scribd