So maybe there was something to see after all (FBI turned over "relevant" tips on Brett Kavanaugh to Trump White House) (1 Viewer)

[GrandAdmiral]

I understand the FBI's argument, but damn, when you get so much you actually have to open a tip line to collect info. And it ends up the only people who gets this info are the ones who want it to go away. GTFOH

FBI says it got more than 4,500 tips on Kavanaugh, providing 'relevant' ones to White House

The FBI disclosed that it received more than 4,500 tips on a phone line in 2018 as part of a background investigation into then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and provided "relevant" ones to former President Donald Trump's White House counsel.

www.cnn.com

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

I don't respect the guy because he cried on TV not because he kept keepsakes from his childhood.
Also, neither of those things should prevent a guy from being on the SCOTUS.

Day-runner = instant disqualification.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

I got a like from Farb. My day is complete.

 

[Paul]

I got a like from Farb. My day is complete.

Most of the time you seem to have the head on the shoulders.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

It's the most convenient place to store it.

 

[insidejob]

She said that pursuant to a memo of understanding between the Justice Department and the White House in 2010, the FBI does not reopen background investigations unless it is "specifically instructed to do so by the requesting entity."

Sorry, but if there were 4500 tips that were considered to be legitimate, why couldn't Biden's office ask them to reopen the background investigation since the office of POTUS is the requesting entity in this case?

 

[MT15]

 

[DaveXA]

Those numbers don't strike me as all that disturbing or even unusual. I'm not sure what the issue is. There are bigger red flags than this imo. Also...a country club requiring a $92k initiation fee? That seems absurdly high though.

 

[CoolBrees]

I will wait to see what Technofog and Undercover Huber have to say before I weigh in on this

 

[MT15]

Those numbers don't strike me as all that disturbing or even unusual. I'm not sure what the issue is. There are bigger red flags than this imo. Also...a country club requiring a $92k initiation fee? That seems absurdly high though.

Six figures in credit card debt while making $220k/year? And then joining a country club with a $92k initiation fee, on top of its monthly fees, and two kids in private schools?

That doesn’t seem to be consistent with living within ones’ means to me, but maybe I’m out of touch.

 

[J-DONK]

Six figures in credit card debt while making $220k/year? And then joining a country club with a $92k initiation fee, on top of its monthly fees, and two kids in private schools?

That doesn’t seem to be consistent with living within ones’ means to me, but maybe I’m out of touch.

I always remember the baseball thing being fishy. He was probably the poorest guy in his social circle so why was he the point man? I always was under the impression the repayment was not immediate. That's why he had to report the debt. Why?

How does an appellate judge find time to go to that many games?

The whole thing come off as "It was baseball. I'm just a normal guy who likes baseball and beer." All the while handwaving the massive debt, and repayment that just so happened to coincide with a Republican president coming into office.

 

[Paul]

I always remember the baseball thing being fishy. He was probably the poorest guy in his social circle so why was he the point man? I always was under the impression the repayment was not immediate. That's why he had to report the debt. Why?

How does an appellate judge find time to go to that many games?

The whole thing come off as "It was baseball. I'm just a normal guy who likes baseball and beer." All the while handwaving the massive debt, and repayment that just so happened to coincide with a Republican president coming into office.

Guys, both the left and right do this.
As they use to say in the Army, rank has privileges.

 

[DaveXA]

I don't know, $100k in debt is peanuts for someone making $220k/year. I mean, it depends on what that debt is. Some people making $220k are several hundred thousand dollars in debt. Finance a house, auto, real estate, furniture, even just plain old credit card debt. I mean, at one point I was making roughly a third of what he's making and I was $60k in credit card debt and never missed a payment or defaulted. $100k is pretty meaningless without some context to it.

As for kids in private schools, the tuition varies wildly from school to school and it's not that hard to get favorable discounts depending on the connections you have with the school. I mean, I was a minister and got a very friendly rate from a private school for my kids when they were young. So, it depends.

I can't speak to the initiation fee because I don't know what the payment arrangements were..

All that said, I'm not a fan of Kavanagh. He's a SCOTUS justice and I don't see him going anywhere anytime soon. It is what it is.

Six figures in credit card debt while making $220k/year? And then joining a country club with a $92k initiation fee, on top of its monthly fees, and two kids in private schools?

That doesn’t seem to be consistent with living within ones’ means to me, but maybe I’m out of touch.

 

[MT15]

That doesn’t include his mortgage or car payments, Dave. That is solely credit card debt.

And we know it’s at least $100,000 in credit card debt because of the financial disclosure document, but rumor is it was closer to $200,000.

But the real issue isn’t that he had the debt, it’s that it got paid off all at once, right before his confirmation hearing. And we don’t know who paid it off or what they might expect in return.

 

[DaveXA]

That doesn’t include his mortgage or car payments, Dave. That is solely credit card debt.

And we know it’s at least $100,000 in credit card debt because of the financial disclosure document, but rumor is it was closer to $200,000.

But the real issue isn’t that he had the debt, it’s that it got paid off all at once, right before his confirmation hearing. And we don’t know who paid it off or what they might expect in return.

Yeah, the tweet didn't state that and I haven't read up on any of it. I don't know. The thing is, he went through the vetting process and all of this should have been covered then. Maybe it was and they decided it wasn't enough of a red flag to disqualify him from his nomination. Kavanaugh couldn't have done that on his own. The vetting process is independent of anything he does. So, I'd be surprised if they go back into all of that while he's a sitting justice.

Also, whether it's $100k or $200k of credit card debt still doesn't mean a whole lot if you're making $220k per year. That might not be all of his income either, depending on how his spouse reports her income. As for paying it off, who knows? Maybe they had money socked away for when they needed it.

It just seems to be moot at this point. This should have all be litigated when he was a nominee. Not after the fact, unless he actually lied to the background investigators about the source of the payments.

Some of this strikes me as sour grapes, which I get. He shouldn't have been the nominee. It just feels to me like this is an exercise in futility. I don't see anything coming of it. If it does, then good riddance.

 

[dtc]

I don't know, $100k in debt is peanuts for someone making $220k/year. I mean, it depends on what that debt is. Some people making $220k are several hundred thousand dollars in debt. Finance a house, auto, real estate, furniture, even just plain old credit card debt. I mean, at one point I was making roughly a third of what he's making and I was $60k in credit card debt and never missed a payment or defaulted. $100k is pretty meaningless without some context to it.

As for kids in private schools, the tuition varies wildly from school to school and it's not that hard to get favorable discounts depending on the connections you have with the school. I mean, I was a minister and got a very friendly rate from a private school for my kids when they were young. So, it depends.

I can't speak to the initiation fee because I don't know what the payment arrangements were..

All that said, I'm not a fan of Kavanagh. He's a SCOTUS justice and I don't see him going anywhere anytime soon. It is what it is.

You're not seeing the forest.

Why would a guy making 250k per year have 100k in credit card debt? If anything, he's a terrible credit risk.

IF a guy making 250 per year is 100k in debt to credit cards paying big interest why would he stroke a check for 90k for a country club initiation? How would he do that and where did the money come from? I mean if you're in such dire financial straits that you're running 100k in debt on a credit card, how do you pay a country club initiation fee?

 

[dtc]

Yeah, the tweet didn't state that and I haven't read up on any of it. I don't know. The thing is, he went through the vetting process and all of this should have been covered then. Maybe it was and they decided it wasn't enough of a red flag to disqualify him from his nomination. Kavanaugh couldn't have done that on his own. The vetting process is independent of anything he does. So, I'd be surprised if they go back into all of that while he's a sitting justice.

Also, whether it's $100k or $200k of credit card debt still doesn't mean a whole lot if you're making $220k per year. That might not be all of his income either, depending on how his spouse reports her income. As for paying it off, who knows? Maybe they had money socked away for when they needed it.

It just seems to be moot at this point. This should have all be litigated when he was a nominee. Not after the fact, unless he actually lied to the background investigators about the source of the payments.

Some of this strikes me as sour grapes, which I get. He shouldn't have been the nominee. It just feels to me like this is an exercise in futility. I don't see anything coming of it. If it does, then good riddance.

Dood. 200k in cc debt on 200k in income is not peanuts. The payment on that debt is probably 5,000 per month.

And, the point is the "vetting" you're saying should've been done wasn't because those who were supposed to be vetting him blocked any attempt to actually look at the facts. The call lines, the financial disclosures... the whole thing was rammed through by Republicans who refused to let the facts be reviewed.

 

[DaveXA]

Dood. 200k in cc debt on 200k in income is not peanuts. The payment on that debt is probably 5,000 per month.

And, the point is the "vetting" you're saying should've been done wasn't because those who were supposed to be vetting him blocked any attempt to actually look at the facts. The call lines, the financial disclosures... the whole thing was rammed through by Republicans who refused to let the facts be reviewed.

Well, the peanuts comment was more about peanuts relative to overall debt, and $100k which is peanuts. Now, $100k-$200k in revolving credit card debt is certainly not peanuts, but it's still serviceable. A credit card with $20k on it will typically have minimum payment of around $650-$700. Might be a little more or less depending on the card and interest rate. So, extrapolate that to $100k and that's around $3500/month. For someone who's take home pay is probably around $12k month, it's doable. If it's $200k, that would be tough to pull off but it's not really unheard of.

I hear you on the vetting aspect. But I'm not sure that anything can be done with it at this point. Like I said, if they manage to do another review or something which can stick, then good riddance. But this is Washington, a sitting justice going anywhere because of this sort of thing is rather unlikely. I think energy for tipping the scales in SCOTUS would be better spent elsewhere. I could be wrong, but I'd be surprised tbh.

 

[SystemShock]

. Also...a country club requiring a $92k initiation fee? That seems absurdly high though.

Let me tell you a story about the higher tax brackets