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Here are all the sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh

Ellen Cranley   

Here are all the sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh
Thelife6 min read

Brett Kavanaugh

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

  • Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations.
  • Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez are accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault in high school and college, and there are signs of at least one more accuser to come.
  • He has categorically denied the allegations, and plans to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about them on Thursday.

Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, is facing allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that have all surfaced in the past week.

Two of the accusations are from Kavanaugh's time in high school and college, and there are signs of at least one more to come. He has denied the allegations.

Though the Trump administration has repeatedly waved off the claims and defended Kavanaugh, congressional lawmakers are split on how to proceed. Republicans want to get Trump's Supreme Court pick confirmed, but Democrats are calling for an FBI investigation into the new allegations.

Christine Blasey Ford says Kavanaugh assaulted her in high school

Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, was the previously anonymous author of a July letter to California Rep. Anna Eshoo and Sen. Dianne Feinstein that said Kavanaugh assaulted her at a Bethesda, Maryland party when the two were in high school.

On September 16, the Washington Post published an article that identified Ford as the accuser and detailed her claims that a "stumbling drunk" 17-year-old Kavanaugh pinned her down, forced himself on her, and stifled her screams while his friend allegedly watched.

"I thought he might inadvertently kill me," Ford said of Kavanaugh during the alleged attack. "He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing."

The Post corroborated Ford's account with an interview with her husband, a lie detector test from her lawyer, and notes from therapy sessions that include mention of a "rape attempt" by students from an "elitist boys school" who would become "highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington."

Part of Ford's account alleged Kavanaugh's friend Mark Judge was in the room for the attack, and that she was able to get away after Judge jumped on them. Judge, now a conservative writer, said he didn't remember "any of that stuff going on with girls."

Deborah Ramirez alleges an incident of sexual misconduct in college

A week after the Post published Ford's account, The New Yorker published an article detailing an allegation from Ramirez, a former Yale University classmate of Kavanaugh's, who said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm-room party during his freshman 1983-84 school year.

Ramirez said she was reluctant to come forward because she was drinking at the time of the incident and admits her memory has gaps, but can recall key details.

"I remember a penis being in front of my face," she told the New Yorker. "I knew that's not what I wanted, even in that state of mind."

Ramirez also said she has a vivid memory of another student yelling nearby, "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie's face."

Though several classmates could not recall the incident, one told The New Yorker he was 100% sure he heard Kavanaugh exposed himself, in addition to independently identifying many of the same details.

A male student Ramirez identified as having egged Kavanaugh on told the New Yorker he remembered the incident as a "big deal" that had been "on my mind all these years when his name came up." He also recalled Kavanaugh as "relatively shy" but a heavy drinker, who would become "aggressive and even belligerent" when drunk.

As of Monday morning, over 600 Yale alumnae signed a letter in support of Ramirez.

Kavanaugh's denies the allegations

Kavanaugh categorically denied Ford and Ramirez's accounts in separate statements.

After Ford came out, he said:

"This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes-to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday. I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity."

In response to Ramirez's allegations, he said:

"This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name - and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building - against these last-minute allegations."

Brett Kavanaugh Trump

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on July 9.

After Ford's allegations were published, 65 women who knew Kavanaugh in past schooling and work signed a letter that touted how he has "always treated women with decency and respect." Six former Yale classmates were quoted in The New Yorker story alongside Ramirez's account to defend Kavanaugh and deny the claims.

During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh answered Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono's question under oath, swearing he had never "committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature" as a legal adult.

On Monday afternoon, Kavanaugh sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking Democrat Feinstein calling the allegations "smears" that "debase our public discourse."

"They are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country," Kavanaugh wrote. "Such grotesque and obvious character assassination - if allowed to succeed - will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service."

Michael Avenatti says he has a 3rd accuser

Attorney Michael Avenatti tweeted Sunday that he has evidence that Kavanaugh, Judge, and others would target women at house parties in the early 1980s with alcohol and drugs "in order to allow a 'train' of men to subsequently gang rape them."

Avenatti said in the tweet he was representing "a woman with credible information" alongside a screenshot of an email detailing the allegations to Mike Davis, the chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Avenatti told Politico later that day he represented a group of people who could corroborate allegations involving Kavanaugh and Judge, including one victim and witnesses. Avenatti clarified that his client was not Ramirez.

Avenatti, who also represents the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump, said he "will be demanding the opportunity to present testimony" to the Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing Kavanaugh's nomination proceedings.

He has not yet provided additional public information on his possible accuser or her alleged claims against Kavanaugh.

Police say they're not investigating a possible 4th allegation

The Montgomery County Sentinel reported Monday morning that investigators were looking at a possibly fourth woman's allegation of sexual misconduct from Kavanaugh's senior year in high school.

But the department said in a Monday afternoon statement they had not received a request for any such investigation.

Lawmakers are split on next steps

Ford is scheduled to testify with Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

But now Senate Democrats are requesting an FBI investigation, and Feinstein called Sunday night for Thursday's hearing to be canceled and Kavanaugh's confirmation delayed.

Congressional Republicans spoke out Sunday before the report of Ramirez's allegations to support Ford's testimony, but were largely cautious of her account's significance to Kavanaugh's overall chances at confirmation.

The Trump Administration has repeatedly defended Kavanaugh through the weekend, with Trump calling him a "fantastic man" and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway painting the allegations as "a vast left-wing conspiracy."

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