NBC host Megyn Kelly fired off an incendiary series of tweets Monday night in which she not only trashed Julie Swetnick’s claims of sexual misconduct by Brett Kavanaugh, but also derided Swetnick for having not made a detailed, written contemporaneous account of Kavanaugh’s alleged abuse, as she said she did when harassed by Fox News boss Roger Ailes.
The tirade immediately sparked speculation that Kelly, who has notably failed to live up to sky-high expectations at NBC, could be eyeing a move back to a more conservative home like Fox News.
Kelly began her attack by accusing defenders of Swetnick, whom she accused of having “credibility issues,” of attempting to “shame” those who embraced “due process” and questioned her account.
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When Kelly was reminded that she probably wanted to be believed when she made allegations of harassment against Ailes, who she says physically assaulted her behind the locked door of his office, she used the question as a springboard to outline how flawed Swetnick’s account is.
Swetnick claimed on NBC last night that she did contact Montgomery County, Maryland, police after the alleged incident with Kavanaugh.
Commentators were quick to express their disbelief at Kelly’s attempts to contrast her own experience with that of Kavanaugh’s accusers. Kelly used their criticism to launch into further criticism of Swetnick before outlining how masterfully she had handled her own situation.
Undaunted, Kelly continued, firing off perhaps her most incendiary tweet of all, in which she fell back on the most reliable retort of those who seek to belittle sex-crime accusers; the self-evident assertion that some women falsely claim to be the victim of sex crimes.
Kelly has, to the general amazement of those who assumed she would be a voice for scrupulous fairness, spent much of the last week defending Kavanaugh and has retweeted many messages bolstering his case and rubbishing Swetnick.
Last night’s tweet storm echoes comments made last week in which she said, while discussing Swetnick, “Most women tell the truth, not all do.”
Correction: This article previously referred to Swetnick as having accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her. That accusation was leveled by Deborah Ramirez. The article has been updated to reflect that.
