WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 07: United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh poses for an official portrait in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building on October 7, 2022.
Getty Images | Alex Wong
A new documentary examines allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and questions the depth of the FBI’s 2018 investigation.
“Justice,” from filmmaker Doug Liman, debuted Friday night at the Sundance Film Festival to a sold-out theater surrounded by armed guards.
The film, made in strict secrecy, focuses on allegations made by Kavanaugh’s Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez detailed in a New Yorker article in 2018. Ramirez claims that during a gathering with friends when he was a student in 1983, Kavanaugh pulled down his pants . and punched him. Kavanaugh has denied the claims. “Justice” also plays a taped tape of a tip given to the FBI by another Yale classmate, Max Stier, describing a similar incident that the FBI never investigated.
Stier’s report was previously detailed in 2019 by New York Times reporters Robin Pogebrin and Kate Kelly as part of their book “Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation.” But the details are under scrutiny. After the story was posted online but before it appeared in the print edition, the Times revised the story to add that the book reported that the woman allegedly involved in the incident declined to be interviewed, and that friends said she did not remember it. occurrence.
Stier was not immediately interviewed for the film and declined the filmmakers’ requests to comment on its content. An unnamed person whose voice was manipulated for anonymity provided Stier’s tapes to the filmmakers.
Kavanaugh was sworn in as the 114th justice of the US Supreme Court in October 2018 after a narrow 50-48 call following a heated debate over sexual misconduct. He denied allegations by Christine Blasey Ford, who said he assaulted him when he was young.
Many of the people referenced in the film, from Kavanaugh himself to some of Ramirez’s friends who were allegedly there, also declined to speak or respond.
“Justice” was particularly critical of the FBI investigation that followed the hearing. Through a FOIA request, the filmmakers discovered that 4,500 tips submitted to the tipline had not been investigated.
One of Ramirez’s friends from Yale who was interviewed for the film provided a text message in which a mutual friend admitted to being contacted by “Kavanaugh’s people” and engaged in a narrative that Ramirez did not remember correctly.
Blasey Ford appeared in the new footage only in the first few moments of “Justice,” asking Liman, the filmmaker known for “Swingers” and “The Bourne Identity,” why he made this film – a question he did not answer.
In a Q&A after the film, Liman said he was only angry after watching his testimony in 2018. The making of the film, which he financed himself, was shrouded in secrecy. Everyone has signed a nondisclosure agreement, Liman said, and he also has a code name for those who agree to participate. He said people were “scared” and those who came forward were “heroes”.
Much of the focus is on telling Ramirez’s story — where he came from, how he ended up at Yale and what he’s become. A number of academics specializing in trauma, as well as lawyers, help explain why memories of traumatic events are reliable and how these gaps can be used by prosecutors.
The surprise inclusion of “Justice” in the festival was announced on Friday, the first day of the festival, but it quickly became one of the most anticipated films in the slate of over 100. Most part of the reason for something like “Justice” to debut at Sundance is to drum up buzz and secure distributors . As with many of the lawyers in the film, the stakes are whether Kavanaugh will swear an oath.
Asked what audiences expect when they see “Justice,” Liman said, “I think the project ends with the movie and what happens after that is out of my control.”
Standing next to him, his producer Amy Hardy said he disagreed. Hardy said he hoped it would spark outrage and lead to “a real investigation with the power of a subpoena.”