Christine Blasey Ford 'was not a friend': Brett Kavanaugh says he doesn't recall meeting his accuser, denies having seen sexual misconduct

Fox News

Judge Brett Kavanaugh is interviewed by Fox News host Martha MacCallum, September 24, 2018.

• Judge Brett Kavanaugh said he does not recall having any memorable interactions with Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old research psychologist and professor who accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s.
• "I may have met her," Kavanaugh said. "We did not travel in the same social circles."
• Kavanaugh suggested he did attend parties in high school, when the legal drinking age at the time was 18 years old, but denied having seen the sexual misconduct described by his accusers.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh said he does not recall having any memorable interactions with Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old research psychologist and professor who accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s.

"I may have met her," Kavanaugh said during an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum on Monday night. "We did not travel in the same social circles."

Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, added that Ford "was not a friend, not someone I knew," and that he "didn't remember being in any parties with her."

Ford alleged Kavanaugh was "stumbling drunk" during a small party while the two were in high school when he sexually assaulted her. She claimed he pinned her to a bed, groped her over her clothes, and covered her mouth with his hand when she started to scream.

Kavanaugh has categorically denied Ford's allegation, and those of others who accused him of sexual misconduct in the 1980s. Kavanaugh suggested he did attend parties in high school, when the legal drinking age at the time was 18 years old, but denied having seen or acted in a way described by his accusers.

"Yes, there were parties and the drinking age was 18," Kavanaugh said. "And yes, the seniors were legal and had beer there. And yes, people might have had too many beers on occasion. And people generally, in high school, I think all of us have probably done things. We look back on in high school and regret or cringe a bit."

"But that's not what we're talking about," Kavanaugh added. "We're talking about an allegation of sexual assault. I've never sexually assaulted anyone."

Leland Ingham Keyser, a longtime friend of Ford, defended Kavanaugh's claim that he was not present at the party mentioned in the allegation. In a statement through her attorney, Keyser said she "has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present, with, or without, Dr. Ford."

Ford has passed a lie-detector test and possesses contemporaneous notes from her therapist that describe a "rape attempt" from an "elitist boys' school."

Kavanaugh faces more allegations ahead of his and Ford's scheduled hearing on Thursday. On Sunday, Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale University classmate, alleged that Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a party in the 1980s, according to The New Yorker.

Kavanaugh and his wife, Ashley, said the wave of allegations against him have been "incredibly difficult" and "harder than we imagined." But the two of them expressed optimism and said they believed they were "on the right path."

"I'm not going to let false accusations drive us out of this process," Kavanaugh said. "I'm not going anywhere."