DragonI

Susan Collins’s Standard of Proof on Sexual Assault

The Maine senator said that allegations should be judged on whether they are “more likely that not,” instead of whether they are beyond a reasonable doubt.

www.theatlantic.com|David A. Graham

1. Republican Men had one of their Women do their dirty work because they know 21st century Americans can’t stomach their 1950′s testosterone filled misogyny. 
2. The Kochs and Koch Network oligarchs owe Collins BIGLY. They’re on their way to achieving their goal of a Permanent Republican Majority. All 3 branches.
3. Her speech was approx. 45 min. long. So she didn’t write it last night. So when did she?
4. Susan Collins used selective facts, ignoring Kavanaugh’s angry vengeful tirade and lies with her own eyes and ears. Character and temperament are no longer qualifications for Republicans.
5. She never mentioned the 2,400+ law professors, 45 million churchgoers or even a former Republican Supreme Court Justice-among others who said he was unfit. All demanding his name be withdrawn.
6. Republicans including Republican women don’t believe women. They won’t do a thing but they will send their “thoughts and prayers”
7. The burden of proof is on women. Knowing that boys will be boys, it must have been your fault. “My boy would never do that”
8. Women, flip the script. Fight back and leave an indelible impression. Now the burden of proof is on the boys.

Citing the lack of corroboration of Ford’s account as well as lacunas in her own recollection, Collins said she did not believe the “more likely than not” standard had been met.

Although she did not use the phrase, the standard that Collins offers appears to be the same as “the preponderance of the evidence,” which is the burden of proof required in civil trials—as opposed to the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard in criminal cases. This is also the standard that many colleges now use in evaluating sexual-violence claims under Title IX. Obama-era guidance required schools to use a preponderance-of-evidence standard, though the Trump Education Department has granted schools greater leeway, instructing that “findings of fact and conclusions should be reached by applying either a preponderance of the evidence standard or a clear and convincing evidence standard.”

We know that rape and sexual assault are less likely to be reported to the police than other forms of assault. On average, an estimated 211,000 rapes and sexual assaults go unreported every year. We must listen to survivors, and every day we must seek to stop the criminal behavior that has hurt so many.

Since the hearing, I have listened to many survivors of sexual assault. Many were total strangers who told me their heart-wrenching stories for the first time in their lives. Some were friends I have known for decades, yet with the exception of one woman who had confided in me years ago, I had no idea that they had been the victims of sexual attacks.

- full transcript from Time

Opinion | We knew Trump was incredibly corrupt. Turns out he may also be an epic tax cheat.

Blockbuster revelations charge hundreds of millions of dollars in tax evasion.

www.washingtonpost.com

They demonstrate that not only has Trump been lying for years about the enormous amount of money he was given by his father, but also Fred Trump, Donald Trump and Donald’s siblings were engaged in what amounted to a years-long conspiracy to commit tax fraud:

“He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings.“

• He ran scams like Trump University to con struggling people out of their money.
• He lent his name to pyramid schemes.
• He bankrupted casinos and still somehow made millions while others were left holding the bag.
• He refused to pay vendors.
• He exploited foreign workers.
• He used illegal labor.
• He discriminated against African American renters.
• He violated Federal Trade Commission rules on stock purchases.
• He did business with the mob and with Eastern European kleptocrats. His properties became the go-to vehicle for Russian oligarchs and mobsters to launder their money.