GoFundMe to Help Brett Kavanaugh Family Raises $500,000

A GoFundMe page organized to help Brett Kavanaugh’s family raised more than $500,000 as of September 30, 2018.

You can access the page here.

There are also two GoFundMe pages to help Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, including paying for her security costs; neither page is accepting donations anymore, but you can learn about them later in this article. Kavanaugh’s family, Kavanaugh himself, and Blasey Ford have all received death threats since Blasey Ford, a California professor, accused Kavanaugh of groping her without consent when they were both in high school. He denies the accusations.

The page to help Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s family was created by a North Carolina man named John Hawkins, who is the founder of Right Wing News. A GoFundMe spokeswoman has said the platform is working with the creator of the page to make sure the funds get to the intended place.

Kavanaugh did not create the page, and it’s not clear whether he or his family would or could accept the money due to judicial ethics rules; the site says that, if he can’t, the organizer is hoping his family will donate the money to a charity of their choice.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Brett Kavanaugh Family Page Calls Kavanaugh a ‘Good Man’ Who Has Been ‘Dragged Through the Mud’

GettySupreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on September 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The man who created the page initially wrote the following:

Like many decent people from both parties, I have been disgusted by the unsubstantiated 36 year old smears aimed at Brett Kavanaugh. We live in a country where innocent until proven guilty is supposed to mean something; yet Brett Kavanaugh’s reputation is being dragged through the mud while his family is facing non-stop death threats.

This is a horrible way to treat a good man who has dedicated his life to public service. So many unethical people are giving unprovable 36 year old accusations the same weight as 6 FBI background checks, hundreds of hours of hearings and testimony under oath. It is disgraceful.

What I’d like to do is raise money for Brett Kavanaugh’s family to use for security or however they see fit. All of the money collected will go to Brett Kavanaugh’s family or alternately, if they refuse to accept it, to a charity of their choice. I have already reached out to a contact who should be able to put me in touch with Brett Kavanaugh’s family. If he can’t do it, I have plenty of other contacts who should be able to make it happen. I will update this page after I have talked with his family.

I hope you will show your support for a good man who has been treated very, very badly.

He later posted several updates. They are as follows:

Update: I have heard some people say that Brett Kavanaugh is rich and so his family doesn’t need the money. That’s actually not correct. According to Market Watch, “Brett Kavanaugh may become the ‘poorest’ Supreme Court justice .”

Update #2: Some people have asked who I am and how they know that the Kavanaugh family will get the money. My name is John Hawkins. You can read about me here on Right Wing News. My identity has been verified by both Twitter and Facebook. I do weekly columns at PJ Media and have a book out. I am not someone who can fade into the background, so when I tell you that the Kavanaugh family will decide what happens to the money, that is what will happen. I have also been in regular contact with a representative of GoFundMe. All funds will be held by GoFundMe until the family has been contacted and a clear plan has been agreed upon.

Update #3: I’ve reached out to Kavanaugh’s family through three different people and I also called his office and spoke to a secretary about this today. I will let everyone know after I have gotten in touch with them.

Update #4: I have a well connected contact who says he can get me in touch with Kavanaugh’s team. When I have guidance from Kavanaugh’s family, I will update. Also, congrats on taking this fund raiser over $50,000 while Judge Kavanaugh was giving his powerful testimony during the hearing. I’m proud of the success we’ve had and the support we’ve shown for the judge’s family.

Update #5: I have continued reaching out to the judge’s family through different sources, but haven’t yet had any luck reaching them. It has occurred to me that they may not want to be reached until after the judge’s confirmation vote, which would be very understandable. In any case, I will continue reaching out to the judge’s family until I get an answer from them. Last but not least, with everything Judge Kavanaugh is being put through, it is fantastic to see so many people publicly showing their support for his family.

Update #6: The original goal was $100,000. I upped that to $125,000 and then $150,000. After that, I went up to $250,000 and it looks like we’re about to blow past that number as well. It is amazing to see so many good people supporting the family of a good man who has been treated so poorly and I am sure they will be very excited when they see all the support that they’ve gotten.

Update #7: I have continued reaching out to Brett Kavanaugh’s family via multiple sources including his office and his lawyer. I have yet to hear back. As I noted earlier, he may just have too much going on right now to deal with this and we may not get an answer until after the vote. I have also consulted with a lawyer about whether his family has the option of taking this money. The first one told me that he did have that option, but we did not end up working together because his fee was way out of my price range. So, I have reached out to another campaign finance lawyer recommended by a friend and am waiting for a 2nd opinion. If there are any lawyer fees, those fees will come out of my pocket, not out of the fund. All of the money provided by GoFundMe will go to the Kavanaugh family or a charity of their choice. When I know more, I will make sure to update the page. Additionally, if you have any questions that aren’t answered here, you can reach me at rightwingnews -at- gmail.com or on Twitter .

The campaign has been shared by 96,000 people on Facebook. The page has filled with comments in support of Kavanaugh. Examples: “I believe Brett Kavanaugh” and “I too am so mad I could spit. He deserves to be a Supreme Court Justice. What the Democrats have done is so wrong. We have to vote for Republicans in November” and “I’m for honesty and decency and Judge Kavanaugh has both!!!!!!!!!!”

There Were Also GoFundMe Pages for Blasey Ford

GettyProfessor Christine Blasey Ford.

Two GoFundMe sites have together raised more than $700,000 to help Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in the wake of her accusations against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. However, both pages have now stopped receiving donations.

The two campaigns that have generated the most media coverage are called “Help Christine Blasey Ford” and “Cover Dr. Blasey’s security costs.”

“We are working directly with all campaign organizers and guarantee the funds raised will be transferred directly to the Ford family,” Katherine Cichy, a GoFundMe spokeswoman, told ABC News and The New York Times of those two pages.

As of September 30, 2018, the “Help Christine Blasey Ford” GoFundMe account had raised more than $528,000. However, the page is no longer accepting donations. It had an original goal of $150,000. The page has suggested donations to other efforts, such as the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network; for a scholarship fund in Blasey Ford’s name (that page has raised more than $25,000); and for the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.

Christine Blasey Ford.

The “Cover Dr. Blasey’s Security Costs” page is also no longer accepting donations. However, it raised more than $209,000.

The original message on the page read:

Due to death threats, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford (who uses “Dr. Blasey” professionally) and her family have had to leave their residence and arrange for private security. Let’s create a fund to cover her security expenses, to do just a bit to make it easier for women in her position to come forward despite great risks. If we raise more than Dr. Blasey needs, extra funds will go to women’s organizations and/or into an account to cover similar costs incurred in comparable situations.

I do not know Dr. Blasey personally but will contact her via her former high school, Holton Arms, to inform her of this fundraising appeal and to make arrangements to transfer funds to Dr. Blasey.

I am a professor of law at Georgetown University who has raised money formally and informally for other causes over the years. My reason for starting this fundraiser is to make concrete the power of collective action in providing security, and therefore support, for Dr. Blasey’s willingness to contribute to a thorough, fair vetting of a nominee for Supreme Court Justice.