October 04, 2018 11:16 AM UTC

Oh Yes Colorado, They Blew Off Deborah Ramirez

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• by: Colorado Pols

Colorado Public Radio’s Nathaniel Minor confirms what attorneys for Boulder domestic violence counselor Deborah Ramirez have been warning for days, that the FBI investigation into Ramirez’s allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was very far from thorough:

An attorney for Deborah Ramirez, a Boulder woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct while they attended Yale more than three decades ago, says the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not allow its agents to fully investigate her claims.

William Pittard, a Washington D.C.-based lawyer representing Ramirez, wrote a scathing three-page letter to FBI director Chris Ray Thursday. In it, Pittard write that agents interviewed Ramirez last Sunday in Boulder. She answered a “host of detailed questions,” them provided agents with a list of more than 20 additional witnesses that could have corroborated her claims.

But the FBI never permitted its agents to contact those witnesses, Pittard wrote.

“We are deeply disappointed by this failure,” he wrote. “We can only conclude that the FBI—or those controlling its investigation—did not want to learn the truth behind Ms. Ramirez’s allegations.” [Pols emphasis]

The apparent lack of due diligence by the FBI in following up with witnesses identified by Ramirez is similar to complaints from attorneys representing Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of attempted forcible sexual assault. Because Dr. Ford testified last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the FBI reportedly hasn’t even followed up with either her or with Judge Kavanaugh. In Ramirez’s case, we have numerous corroborating witnesses who were never contacted at all. And yet:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday there’s no corroboration of sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in a supplementary FBI report submitted to the Senate.

This seems like a ridiculously obvious question, but how can anyone assert there is “no corroboration” when the witnesses the alleged victim identified who can corroborate the accusation weren’t even contacted? How can anyone with basic critical thinking skills accept this as a satisfactory answer? This is the same Charles Grassley who dismissed compelling evidence that emerged this week indicating Kavanaugh lied under oath about his foreknowledge of the allegations from Deborah Ramirez.

With all of this in mind, it does appear that this investigation, though carried out by career law enforcement whose motives are above reproach, was designed to fail. You don’t demand corroboration, then prevent investigators from obtaining that corroboration, unless you never wanted it to begin with.