Yale professor reportedly told students Kavanaugh prefers law clerks who look 'like models'

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh talks with Zina Bash, one of Kavanaugh's former law clerks, during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 5, 2018.

• A Yale law professor reportedly advised female students on their appearances to bolster their chances of becoming Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh's law clerks.
• Amy Chua, who has endorsed Kavanaugh and referred to him as a "mentor for women," instructed female law students prepping for interviews with him on how to be "model-like", The Guardian reported Thursday.
• There's no substantial evidence Kavanaugh hired law clerks because of their physical appearances.
• Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination is currently in jeopardy amid allegations he sexually assaulted a woman when they were teenagers at a high school party.

A Yale law professor reportedly advised female students on their appearances to bolster their chances of being hired by Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh as law clerks.

Amy Chua last year privately told a group of law students it's "not an accident" his clerks often "looked like models," The Guardian reported Thursday.

Chua, who has endorsed Kavanaugh and referred to him as a "mentor for women," reportedly instructed female law students prepping for interviews with him on how to be "model-like."

Such advice apparently made the students uncomfortable and in some cases led them to avoid pursuing clerkships with Kavanaugh, sources told The Guardian.

As a federal judge on the DC circuit court of appeals, clerking for Kavanaugh was a coveted spot, and many went on to clerk for Supreme Court justices, as well. In July, 18 of his female former law clerks sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee supporting Kavanaugh's confirmation.

"In our view, the Judge has been one of the strongest advocates in the federal judiciary for women lawyers," the women wrote in the letter.

Jed Rubenfeld, Chua's husband who's also a professor at Yale, reportedly told at least one student Kavanaugh likes clerks with a "certain look."

But there's no substantial evidence Kavanaugh hired law clerks because of their appearances, and one student who claimed to be advised in this manner told The Guardian that it's possible Chua and Rubenfeld were "making observations but not following edicts from him."

"I have no reason to believe he was saying, 'Send me the pretty ones,' but rather that he was reporting back and saying, 'I really like so and so,' and the way he described them led them to form certain conclusions," the student added.

Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination is currently in jeopardy amid allegations he sexually assaulted a woman when they were teenagers at a high school party. He has denied accuser Christine Blasey Ford's allegations.

Chua has reportedly canceled her classes at Yale this semester and is currently ill and in the hospital, according to an email her husband sent to the Yale Law School community.

Meanwhile, Rubenfeld is presently the subject of an investigation at Yale over his conduct toward female students, The Guardian learned. Rubenfeld confirmed to newspaper that the university informed him it's conducting an "internal review" of allegations against him, but the school would not comment on the matter.

A Yale Law School official also told The Guardian it would look into the claims Chua coached female students to look "model-like," and claimed to have no prior knowledge of the alleged practices.