Bob Schwartz

As expected, the small accommodation and reasonableness following the Kavanaugh hearing are almost certainly an illusion.

The White House has not just limited the scope of the FBI investigation; it is essentially managing it. Trump and Trump-servile Republicans are more committed than ever to getting Kavanaugh immediately on the Supreme Court—despite his clearly lying, not just about a sexual assault, but about his life. He also exhibited temperament unsuitable for any judge, let alone a Supreme Court Justice: angry, belligerent, evasive, weirdly emotional, and particularly defensive about his drinking. Besides rambling on about how much he liked beer, he rudely asked not one but two United States Senators what they drink. At times, it seemed less like a hearing and more like an intervention for a functioning alcoholic.

The Republicans don’t care. There are going to be plenty of legal questions and cases involving Trump and his associates coming before the Supreme Court. It is essential that Trump have someone fighting for him not just at the Court but on the Court. Nothing can stand in the way of that.

Kavanaugh is tainted, thanks to his own behavior, and will remain so if and as long as he sits on the Court. He is in his fifties, those who knew him, worked with him, and socialized with him are in their fifties or younger. For decades, revelations will keep coming out about the real Brett Kavanaugh. As angry as that may make him—and us—he will have the ultimate advantage if he is on the Court, as one of the nine most powerful people in America—with lifelong tenure.

The bigger point is that this has been a preview of what Trump, his executive staff—including the Justice Department and the FBI—and the Republicans will do as soon as the cascade of indictments and the report come from Mueller. If you thought last week was crazy, fasten your seatbelts—it’s going to be a wild and bumpy ride.