Conservative PR firm helped promote unfounded theory about Kavanaugh: report

Conservative firm CRC Public Relations helped lawyer and activist Ed Whelan through the process of promoting an unfounded theory about the sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, sources told Politico on Friday.

Whelan used Twitter to unveil, between Tuesday and Thursday, an unsubstantiated alibi for Kavanaugh in an attempt to exonerate him of the accusation from Christine Blasey Ford that he sexually assaulted her at a party while the two were in high school in the 1980s.

{mosads}Whelan identified another former classmate of Kavanaugh in a series of tweets, in which he shared floor plans, maps and other photographs to suggest that Ford may have confused Kavanaugh with the other student.

Ford roundly denied this assertion in a statement reported by The Washington Post.

“There is zero chance that I would confuse them,” she said.

Whelan has since deleted the tweets and apologized. 

I made an appalling and inexcusable mistake of judgment in posting the tweet thread in a way that identified Kavanaugh’s Georgetown Prep classmate. I take full responsibility for that mistake, and I deeply apologize for it. I realize that does not undo the mistake.

— Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 21, 2018

According to Friday’s Politico report, CRC aided Whelan in this process.

Two sources said that after failing to gain traction from reporters on his theory, Whelan worked with CRC’s president, Greg Mueller, to devise a strategy that would draw attention to it. This strategy involved teasing the reveal, tweeting: “By one week from today, I expect that Judge Kavanaugh will have been clearly vindicated on this matter.”

It is worth that noting that apart from mentioning this discussion about strategy, the report does not actually describe how the CRC assisted Whelan.

CRC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Hill.