- Facebook executive Joel Kaplan allegedly "helped quarterback" Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, according to a new book from Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus.
- While Kaplan's ties to Kavanaugh were already known, Marcus claimed he played a substantial role in rallying support for Kavanaugh's nomination.
- After Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony accusing Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her, Kaplan allegedly consulted with the judge and his advisors on his remarks denying the incident.
- At the time, Kaplan's appearance at the contentious confirmation hearings drew sharp criticism among Facebook employees.
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Joel Kaplan, Facebook's vice president of global public policy, played a key role in pushing for the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, according to reporting in a new book "Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover," by Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus.
Kaplan's ties to Kavanaugh were already widely known, but Marcus' book sheds new light on the role he played in lobbying for Kavanaugh's nomination as well as rallying support for the judge during the confirmation hearing process.
The night before former Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his resignation, Kaplan called "influential conservative lawyers" to gauge their support for a possible Kavanaugh nomination.
Kavanaugh's nomination became hotly contested after Dr. Christine Blasey Ford alleged in testimony to Congress that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted at a party while they were high school-aged.
According to Marcus' reporting highlighted in The Daily Beast, Kaplan "stopped in briefly" to talk with Kavanaugh and his small team of advisers as they prepared remarks for Kavanaugh to deliver denying the allegations.
Kaplan had also sat in on Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings, which angered some Facebook employees who felt the appearance was inappropriate. In response, Facebook held a town hall to apologize to employees, saying Kaplan had mishandled the incident.
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