==Kavanaugh smear==
:{{Main article|Kavanaugh smear}}
''[[The New Yorker]]'' publicized in March 2012 that [[Brett Kavanaugh ]] was the most likely next nominee if a Republican were to win the election.<ref>https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/26/holding-court</ref> Within a few months, [[Christine Blasey Ford]] for the first time allegedly told her therapist that she had been fondled at a drinking party and felt threatened. The therapist notes however do not name Kavanaugh. In the Spring of 2018 [[President Donald Trump]] nominated Judge Kavanaugh to the [[Supreme Court]]. Ricki Seidman, who orchestrated the [[Clarence Thomas]] smear and acted as a Blasey Ford adviser, mapped out the plan to defame Kavanaugh in July 2018.<ref>"Over the coming days and weeks there will be a strategy that will emerge, and I think it’s possible that that strategy might ultimately defeat the nominee." Begins at 3:20. https://youtu.be/zRttpJxj59A</ref> Like the attack on Justice Thomas, outrageous last minute personal smears were intended to force the hearings into extra innings.
==Further reading==