The Summer of ‘82

It happened in the summer of 1982. That’s how Christine Blasey Ford, in a choked voice, recalled the traumatic episode that she went through at age 15. According to her, another teenager named Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the room of a house where a group of young people had gathered.

This happened more than 30 years ago, before Blasey Ford shaped a distinguished career as a psychology professor and many years before her presumed attacker became a renowned judge and ended up as President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Supreme Court justice.

Three decades later, the two of them testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. For Blasey Ford, that party ended in a nightmare, when, according to her testimony, Kavanaugh and the other teenager forcefully surrounded and scuffled with her. What struck the most terror in her was the moment when Kavanaugh allegedly covered her mouth and she feared she would suffocate to death. Then, in the heat of the struggle, she managed to escape. Her attackers just laughed before they forgot about their prey.

Ever since this accusation came to light – which has been joined by two other accusations from women who claim to have been victims of the judge’s sexual abuse – Kavanaugh has denied any inappropriate behavior. Trump’s nominee claims that they’re “last-minute smears.”

But Judge Kavanaugh is a public figure aspiring to an important lifetime position: one of the nine justices of the highest judicial institution in the nation. In the United States, where an interview for an important position in a company is accompanied by a process in which a candidate’s background is reviewed, the examination of Kavanaugh’s past deserves the deepest consideration. With this shadow hanging over him, an independent investigation must get to the bottom of the matter.

Kavanaugh bitterly pities himself and insists that he’s the victim, but what does Blasey Ford gain by recounting the alleged rape attempt she suffered when she was a minor? That night, shamed and shocked, she didn’t say anything to her parents. Over time, her closest friends, husband and the psychologist who attended to her in 2012 found out. The presumed victim told the judicial committee: “My responsibility is to tell you the truth.”

Are there good reasons not to believe Blasey Ford’s powerful testimony? Days before the hearing, Trump tried to discredit her. The person defending Kavanaugh’s integrity is the same man who bragged about grabbing women by the “pussy.” In the book that journalist Bob Woodward just published, Trump is quoted defending himself from those who have accused him of sexual abuse: “You’ve got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women.” Trump’s bad reputation isn’t doing the judge any favors.

In her testimony, Blasey Ford remembered that summer of ’82: “This is how I met Brett Kavanaugh, the boy who sexually assaulted me.” Bad memories can be buried, but not erased.