A 1998 memo written by Brett Kavanaugh proposed a series of tough, sexually explicit questions for President Bill Clinton to answer about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, shedding new light on the Supreme Court nominee’s moralistic outlook and his view of presidential power. In the weeks before Kavanaugh’s memo, Clinton attempted to avoid or limit Starr’s questioning — just as Trump is trying to do in Mueller’s Russia investigation. Some in Starr’s office, however, did not want to ask the president sexually explicit questions out of respect for the office, but Kavanaugh pushed back. It is not clear whether the Senate Judiciary Committee knew that he had proposed questions for Clinton, but the matter did not come up at the hearing. In the Minnesota Law Review article, Kavanaugh wrote that presidents should not be distracted by civil lawsuits or criminal investigations while in office.

Source: Washington Post August 20, 2018 15:33 UTC