I wanted to flag some key details of this developing story. The Judiciary Committee staffer who was forced to resign today over an earlier sexual harassment allegation is more than just an embarrassment for the committee. It runs a bit deeper than that. Garrett Ventry was seconded to the Committee by CRC Public Relations, a well-connected right wing PR firm which works for The Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network (the campaign style group that runs ads and mobilization for Federalist Society-selected candidates).

If that name sounds familiar, it should. CRC Public Relations is the same firm that ran Ed Whelan’s effort to exonerate Kavanaugh with his nonsensical Twitter thread accusing a random high school classmate of attempting to rape Professor Blasey Ford.

We still have more questions than answers about Ed Whelan’s bizarre twitter thread that accused another Kavanaugh classmate of attacking Prof. Blasey Ford and roiled the already embattled nomination. So for those who didn’t see or would like to read through it again for clues to what happened, here’s the whole thing.

Eliana Johnson has a new piece out in Politico on the full dimensions of the Ed Whelan twitter debacle. There are a number of really damaging details, each of which require a lot more answers. Let me hit the key points.

Top GOP senate candidate says Blasey Ford accusation no big deal since it didn’t lead to intercourse. “Again, it was supposedly an attempt or something that never went anywhere.” Story here from Cam Joseph.

Let me do a quick follow-up to the zany Ed Whelan self-immolation twitter thread. About two hours ago, Whelan denied to The Washington Post that he’d communicated with Kavanaugh, McGahn or “anyone at the White House” about his theory. I would suggest that Whelan’s words should be closely parsed because I’m skeptical that what he claims here is true.

Let me try to bring you up to date on a genuinely bizarre turn of events tonight which could end up being very damaging to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

As I noted below, around 6 p.m. this evening Ed Whelan, a key player in D.C.’s conservative judicial establishment, posted a lengthy twitter thread in which he made a highly conjectural argument that the accusation against Brett Kavanaugh is actually a case of mistaken identification and that Prof. Blasey Ford’s alleged attacker was actually a classmate of Kavanaugh’s named Chris Garrett.

I’m really not sure quite how to capture what just happened. But a major, major player in the conservative/Federalist Society legal establishment in DC just posted a lengthy Twitter thread in which he accuses another alum of Kavanaugh’s high school of assaulting Professor Blasey Ford. (After making the argument he falls back and says he doesn’t know whether the other guy is guilty. But the entire thread is intended to say that he is the culprit and that Kavanaugh is the victim of a wrongful identification.)

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I’m glad this is getting some attention. Let me quickly walk you through it.

As I noted here, Senate Republicans are pursuing a fairly clear strategy now: bluff Professor Blasey Ford into not appearing on Monday, thus allowing them to move on to a vote and rapid confirmation. But last night Mike Davis, chief counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee – in practice, Chuck Grassley’s chief confirmation process lawyer – got a little too aggressive on Twitter and made the strategy a bit too explicit

A quick note on this new book by Greg Miller of The Washington Post. It’s called “The Apprentice.” I haven’t read it yet. I can’t have. It’s not out until October 2nd. But I’ve read the first excerpt published in the Post and several descriptions of its scope and emphasis. It sounds like the book, the reporting, I’ve been waiting to read, likely much more significant in its substance than the Woodward book that has gotten so much attention.