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AP: Only 25 Percent of 1,152 People Think Kavanaugh Told the Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

 

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 27: U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 27, 2018 in Washington, DC. Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of Medicine, has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her during a party in 1982 when they were high school students in suburban Maryland.

We’ve been here before, attempting to divine the true thoughts and feelings of the hundreds of millions of Americans on contentious topics by poll watching. The Associated Press on Friday chimed in to say that 25 percent of 1,152 people don’t believe Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh told the whole truth when responding to allegations made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The findings of the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research were as follows: 1 in 4 people surveyed think Kavanaugh was “completely honest”; 39 percent of respondents thought Kavanaugh was “mostly honest but was hiding something”; 31 percent thought he was “largely lying” and 25 percent thought he was “totally truthful.”

The main conclusion of the poll was that the opinions about Kavanaugh had less to do with the gender of respondents and more to do with political affiliation.

A few of poll respondents even elaborated on their opinions of Kavanaugh.

Ricky Richards, 59, didn’t take issue with Kavanaugh’s “anger,” although many critics cited his committee room manner as disqualifying and not befitting of a Supreme Court justice.

“He was angry, but he handled himself better than I would have,” Richards said. Richards hails from Texas. On the other hand, Richards regarded Ford’s testimony before the committee as “purely scripted.”

Barbara Heath, a 60-year-old Democrat from Ohio, saw it differently. She thought Kavanaugh was “so defensive” and was thereby “covering up a lot of things.”

The AP said that 43 percent of those interviewed “disapproved” of Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the highest court in the land, while only 35 percent of those “approved.”

The interviews took place from Oct. 11-14, and were conducted in English and Spanish online and by phone.

[Image via Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images]

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Matt Naham is the Senior A.M. Editor of Law&Crime.