Despite criticisms over the Senate Judiciary Committee’s choice of an outside female lawyer to question both Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his original accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, many prominent inside Democrats and lawyers have expressed satisfaction with the selection.
Arizona sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell is slated to question the two witnesses during a Committee hearing on Thursday.
Ford, with the backing of numerous Democrat operatives, has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they attended a party as teenagers.
Several lawmakers and members of the mainstream media expressed outrage over Mitchell’s involvement, alleging Republicans had outsourced the responsibility to a woman, something they described as “sexist and cowardly.”
Republicans countered saying that giving this opportunity to a woman would allow Ford more comfort in answering questions that are expected to be personal and potentially painful.
Grassley: The goal is to de-politicize the process and get to the truth, instead of grandstanding and giving senators an opportunity to launch their presidential campaigns. I’m very appreciative that Rachel Mitchell has stepped forward to serve in this important and serious role
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 26, 2018
Arizona Democrats and lawyers from the Grand Canyon State, meanwhile, have quietly heaped praise on Mitchell.
Phoenix defense attorney Tracey Westerhausen, who self-proclaims to be a lifelong Democrat and has actually faced Mitchell in the courtroom over 30 times, said the prosecutor is the ideal choice for the task at hand.
“She is a very nuanced and wise prosecutor,” Westerhausen told the Washington Post. “She doesn’t pigeonhole defendants. In my experience, she is a very pointed questioner of adverse witnesses. But she is also very fair.”
A former boss of Mitchell’s, Cindi Nannetti, added that “She does not play politics when it comes to anything involving her work.”
“She is one of the finest prosecutors in the country.”
Tracey Westerhausen, a Phoenix defense attorney who has opposed Rachel Mitchell in 30 cases over 20 years, calls her a pointed questioner of adverse witnesses, but also very fair.#Kavanaugh#Basta
.@SenateDemshttps://t.co/0JaRnm3AA8— Monty Boa (@MontyBoa99) September 26, 2018
That hasn’t stopped the left from trying to smear her reputation as well.
Everyone’s favorite fake “conservative blogger” at the Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin, chimed in trying to link Mitchell to Sheriff Joe Arpaio – a patently dishonest assertion.
Only this crowd of clueless old white guys wold pick someone from Sheriff Joe’s operation. I was saying no self-respecting lawyer would take the job of giving cover to GOP cowards. I was right.
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) September 26, 2018
A good fourteen hours after she posted that false information she posted a little-seen correction.
“To be clear,” she wrote. “The county Atty represents the sheriff’s office but she did not. She works in sex crimes division.”
To be clear, Jennifer, you’re an idiot. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch took Rubin to task for such an uneducated statement.
2,900 tweets and counting for a tweet maligning someone with patently false information.
Mitchell works for the Maricopa County Attorney, not Maricopa County Sheriff. https://t.co/yXyhpZknEf
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) September 26, 2018
In reality, Mithcell worked for Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. It seems likely that Rubin and her little liberal mind saw the word Maricopa and immediately had flashbacks to Arpaio.
In fact, Mitchell actually investigated Arpaio’s department in 2011 due to allegations that the office wasn’t properly investigating sex crimes.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has praised Mithcell for stepping “forward to serve in this important and serious role.”
“The goal is to de-politicize the process and get to the truth,” he said, something Rubin and the media have little interest in attaining.
