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UPDATE: September 21, 2018, 9:33 a.m. EST Ed Whelan deleted the Twitter thread on Friday after serious backlash. On Friday morning, he tweeted the following : "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." The original post appears below. This has to be a glitch in the simulation, right?  Ed Whelan, a former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and conservative lawyer, tried to use Zillow to prove Brett Kavanaugh's innocence and ended up going down a deep, deep rabbit hole of a conspiracy theory.  SEE ALSO: #DearProfessorFord: Actresses support Brett Kavanaugh's accuser ahead of hearings Kavanaugh, Trump's pick to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat, was accused of sexual assault by former classmate Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Although Kavanaugh's nomination was met with resistance, calls for him to step down intensified when Ford publicly stated that he assaulted her during a high school party. Although many people jumped to defend Kavanaugh, Whelan went way deep. Let's walk through Whelan's Twitter thread and attempt to unpack this mess.  "Dr. Ford may well have been the victim of a severe sexual assault by someone 36 years ago," Whelan writes on Twitter. "Her allegations are so vague as to such basic matters as when and where that it is impossible for Judge Kavanaugh to *prove* his innocence."  Using addresses found in a yearbook and details provided to the Washington Post , Whelan laid out four locations on Google Maps.  Then, he says he was able to locate a possible house where the alleged assault happened on Zillow, which shows the floor plan of the house.  Here is a house that is barely a half-mile from the Columbia Country Club. Street address: 3714 Thornapple Street, Chevy Chase. pic.twitter.com/RgRdv0gzyQ - Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018 According to Whelan, Kavanaugh's classmate Chris Garrett lived in that home at the time.  Using the floor plan, Whelan reasons that Dr. Ford's account of her assault matches up with the house's layout. Then he says that because of the way the house is laid out, "someone leaving the house down the stairs and out the front door wouldn't be seen from the family room." He's casting doubt here, and suggesting it could have been anyone.   Whelan then casts more doubt by implying Chris Garrett was possibly responsible. He uses a screenshot of a sleazy Facebook interaction to prove that Garrett was friends with Mark Judge, who was allegedly in the room at the party in question.  Whelan even goes as far as to post side-by-side photos of the two men, claiming they look alike and could be easily confused. Spoiler alert: they both look like doughy bros as teenagers, and as doughy middle-aged bros now.  "Kavanaugh categorically denies being at the gathering and committing the assault," Whelan writes. "Beyond his countless character witnesses from then and now, Judge and Smyth have informed the Senate Judiciary Committee that they recall no such gathering at which Kavanaugh was present."  But then Whelan backpedals in an effort to not get sued by Garrett for, you know, publicly accusing him of assaulting Dr. Ford: Which is lawyer speak for ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. "It is regrettable that private citizens are being drawn into this," he concludes his conspiracy thread, as if he didn't just drag a private citizen into this. "If the matter had been handled as it should have been, the Committee would have investigated the matter over the summer and resolved it privately to everyone's satisfaction without the smearing of Kavanaugh and the dragging the names of others into the public eye." Ford dismissed Whelan's Twitter thread in a statement to the Washington Post : His wild rollercoaster of a thread shot up to Twitter's trending list on Thursday evening and became the butt of the internet's jokes.  brb, using zillow to prove there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll - Kevin Robillard (@Robillard) September 20, 2018 DO YOU KNOW HOW TO USE ZILLOW pic.twitter.com/RM3g3apJou - Alex Halpern, official angry librarian (@HalpernAlex) September 20, 2018 ah we've reached the evil doppelganger I found on Zillow portion of the confirmation hearings https://t.co/YIDC3rrdbi - Jeff Hanneken (@jeffjh14) September 20, 2018 "Now see, if you look at the Zillow photos..." pic.twitter.com/zcjFhSsNth - Eric Fidler (@EricFidler) September 20, 2018 Using the Ed Whelan strategy, I can now proudly claim that Charles Manson had nothing to do with Sharon Tate's murder... it was for sure 1970s Kenny Loggins. pic.twitter.com/RHbHDtnDhq - Brendan Smith (@blacksab67) September 21, 2018 To be clear, I have no idea whether Ed Whelan is QAnon, and I therefore do not state, imply or insinuate that Ed Whelan is QAnon. But they sure do sound alike, and probably live within the same general area. https://t.co/sQaF3d61An - Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) September 20, 2018 Law & Order: Zillow Floor Plan Unit pic.twitter.com/q2kUQFRgfy - pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) September 20, 2018 But Whelan seems pretty adamant that he's cracked this case.  "Bottom line: I believe that a fair assessment of this evidence powerfully supports Judge Kavanaugh's categorical denial," he insists on Twitter.  Nobody tell him about the Denver airport, guys.  WATCH: Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Jeff Bridges 'come together' to promote student activism

The Chinese government has called on the US to “correct the mistake” and withdraw new sanctions on the Chinese military over deals with Russia or “bear responsibility for the consequences”. The Trump administration imposed sanctions on the Chinese military on Thursday for buying fighter jets and missile systems from Russia, in breach of a sweeping US sanctions law punishing Moscow for meddling in the 2016 US election. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: “China expresses strong indignation at these unreasonable actions by the US side and has already lodged stern representations.”  Speaking to reporters in Beijing, he said the move seriously harmed bilateral relations and military ties.  “We strongly urge the US side to immediately correct the mistake and rescind the so-called sanctions, otherwise the US side will necessarily bear responsibility for the consequences,” he said, without giving details. China has “normal” military exchanges and cooperation with Russia, aimed at protecting regional peace and stability, which is not against international law or aimed at any third party, Geng added. China will continue to work with Russia to promote strategic cooperation at an even higher level, he said. The US State Department said on Thursday it would immediately impose sanctions on China’s Equipment Development Department (EDD), the military branch responsible for weapons and equipment, and its director, Li Shangfu, for engaging in “significant transactions” with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms exporter. The sanctions are related to China’s purchase of 10 SU-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018, the State Department said. They block the Chinese agency, and Li, from applying for export licenses and participating in the US financial system. It also adds them to the Treasury Department’s list of specially-designated individuals with whom Americans are barred from doing business. The US also blacklisted another 33 people and entities associated with the Russian military and intelligence, adding them to a list under the 2017 law, known as the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA. CAATSA also seeks to punish Russia for its aggression in Ukraine and involvement in Syria’s civil war. At a glance | Sanctions against Russia Doing significant business with anyone on the US blacklist can trigger sanctions like those imposed on China. Some of those added to the list, which now contains 72 names, were indicted in connection with Russian interference in the 2016 US election, a US official said. President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order intended to facilitate implementation of the sanctions. A federal special counsel is leading a criminal investigation of Russian interference in the US election, and any possible cooperation with Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump has insisted there was no collusion with Russia. Moscow denies any effort to meddle in US politics. One US administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions imposed on the Chinese agency were aimed at Moscow, not Beijing or its military, despite an escalating trade war between the United States and China. “The ultimate target of these sanctions is Russia. CAATSA sanctions in this context are not intended to undermine the defense capabilities of any particular country,” the official told reporters on a conference call. “They are instead aimed at imposing costs upon Russia in response to its malign activities,” the official said. In Moscow, Russian member of parliament Franz Klintsevich said the sanctions would not affect the S-400 and SU-35 deals. “I am sure that these contracts will be executed in line with the schedule,” Klintsevich was quoted as saying by Russia’s Interfax news agency. “The possession of this military equipment is very important for China.” Security analysts in Asia said the move was largely symbolic and would only push Moscow and Beijing closer together. “The imposition of US sanctions will have zero impact on Russian arms sales to China,” said Ian Storey, of Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. “Both countries are opposed to what they see as US bullying and these kind of actions will just push Beijing and Moscow even closer together,” he said, adding that Moscow needed Chinese money and Beijing wanted advanced military technology. Collin Koh, a security analyst at Singapore’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the sanctions would do little to counter the evolving research and development relationship between China and Russia. China relies less on large big-ticket purchases from Russia, but Chinese defence industries are seeking expertise from Russia and former-Soviet states to plug knowledge gaps, he said. The Trump administration is pursuing strategies to clamp down on China and faces growing pressure to respond strongly to US intelligence agency reports that Russia is continuing to meddle in US politics. Members of Congress, including many of Trump’s fellow Republicans, who passed the sanctions bill nearly unanimously, have repeatedly called on the administration to take a harder line against Moscow. Administration officials said they hoped the action against EDD would send a message to others considering buying the S-400. US officials have been discussing the issue particularly with NATO ally Turkey, which wants to buy the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries. Washington has expressed concern that Turkey’s planned deployment of the S-400s could pose a risk to the security of some US-made weapons and other technology used by Turkey, including the F-35 fighter jet. US officials have warned that Turkey's purchase of the system could contravene CAATSA. “We hope that at least this step will send a signal of our seriousness and perhaps encourage others to think twice about their own engagement with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors,” another US official said.