EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University professors are available to comment on:
• Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, are expected to testify
• Rod Rosenstein’s meeting with President Trump tomorrow at the White House
• President Trump’s speech Tuesday at the United Nations.
Alvin Tillery is an associate professor of political science and director of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern. His research and teaching interests are in the fields of American politics and political theory. His research in American politics focuses on American political development, racial and ethnic politics and media and politics. He can be reached at (mobile) 574-514-5758 or [email protected].
Quote from Professor Tillery on the Kavanaugh hearing:
“The Republican Party’s decision to hire an outside attorney to question Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford at their hearing on the sexual misconduct allegations made against Judge Kavanaugh is completely beyond the traditional norms of the Senate. Given the Republican Party’s lack of gender diversity, and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s fraught history on these issues stemming from their mishandling of Anita Hill's testimony in 1991, the optics of having the outside attorney might be better than their all white panel doing the questioning.
“At the same time, the decision to hire the outside lawyer sends a clear message to America that the Republican Party in the Senate does not believe that they have the ability to treat Dr. Ford with sensitivity and to take her claims seriously. If this is the message that comes out of the hearing tomorrow, the Republicans might pay a real cost at the polls during the midterms.”
Harry Kraemer is a clinical professor of strategy at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He is the author of two bestselling leadership books: “From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership” and “Becoming the Best: Build a World-Class Organization Through Values-Based Leadership.” He can be reached by contacting Molly Lynch at 773-505-9719 or [email protected].
Quote from Professor Kraemer on the Kavanaugh hearing
“We should not take an extreme position one way or another or rush a vote by the end of the week. The decision to add Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, where you hold the position for life, doesn't require an immediate decision and we need to take the time to objectively hear from the women who have accused him to articulate their views. While he's innocent until proven guilty, there should be an investigation before a vote happens. Ethically, we owe that to the accusers, to the citizens of the United States and to our Founding Fathers who created the Supreme Court. We need to investigate if Kavanaugh has the intellect, objectivity and character to be a justice, and the character here is what's in question.”
Maryam Kouchaki is an associate professor of management and organizations at Kellogg School of Management. Kouchaki is an organizational psychologist who seeks to understand everyday moral encounters, particularly at work. She can be reached by contacting Molly Lynch at 773-505-9719 or [email protected].
Quote from Professor Kouchaki on the Kavanaugh hearing:
“Asking Kavanaugh about the details is not going to be very helpful since we have shown in our research that it is very likely that he has obfuscated his memory of the events. We call it unethical amnesia, where we found that individuals recall their past unethical behaviors (versus past ethical, positive or negative behaviors) with less vividness and clarity. People tend to forget their unethical actions or remember them with less clarity over time compared to other types of behaviors.”
Juliet Sorensen is director of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and the Harry R. Horrow Professor in International Law. From 2003-2010, Sorensen was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, focusing on fraud and public corruption. She can be reached at (office) 312-503-1482 or [email protected].
Quote from Professor Sorensen on Rosenstein:
“What ultimately matters is who will succeed Rod Rosenstein in overseeing the special counsel investigation. This is the question regardless of the manner in which Rosenstein leaves the Justice Department. It is true that under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, Trump has more legal leeway to hand pick a successor if Rosenstein resigns than if Trump fires him, but what matters -- irrespective of the method of appointment -- is whether that successor allows the Russian investigation to proceed with independence and integrity.”
Ian Hurd is a professor of political science in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University. Author of the recent book “How to Do Things With International Law” (Princeton University Press), Hurd’s work focuses on public international law, the theory and practice of international organizations and international relations theory. He has published on organization theory and international institutions, the politics of legitimacy at the United Nations, U.N. reform, labor standards and the International Criminal Court. He can be reached at [email protected] or (mobile) 847-769-7114.
Quote from Professor Hurd on Trump’s speech at the U.N.:
“America’s falling status in world affairs is the big news at the United Nations this week. World leaders laughed at Trump’s boasts about his greatness and are leaving the U.S. behind to work together on climate, nuclear proliferation, human rights and more. The Trump foreign policy team has taught the rest of the world that the U.S. today isn’t capable to stable leadership in world affairs. The idea that the U.S. is the ‘leader of the free world’ is stone-cold dead.
“Donald Trump and John Bolton believe that ‘globalization’ is something that the rest of the world imposed on the U.S. This is the opposite of the truth. The open flow of capital and goods across borders is largely an American project, begun after World War II and put into overdrive by Ronald Reagan and the GOP in the 1980s. It has helped concentrate wealth in the pockets of a global elite at the expense of the many. The idea that this is an unwelcome constraint on American sovereignty is indeed laughable.”
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