Police questioned Brett Kavanaugh after 1985 bar altercation, according to report
Brett Kavanaugh was involved in an altercation at a bar when he was an undergraduate student at Yale and was accused of throwing ice at another patron, according to a police report obtained by The New York Times.
He and four other men were questioned by New Haven Police after the incident in 1985 but he was not arrested.
The details emerged as the FBI began questioning witnesses as part of its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
Mr Kavanaugh has also denied all the accusations against him while accusing Democrats of a political "hit”.
At the same time, Democrats have stepped up their attacks on Donald Trump’s nominee for the highest court on the land, calling into question his impartiality after what they said was a “partisan” defence during a public hearing last week.
His college days are under fresh scrutiny after the hearing in which he repeatedly said he enjoyed drinking beer but had never suffered memory loss as a result of drinking too much.
According to The New York Times, the altercation happened at a bar called Demery’s. A friend of Mr Kavanaugh’s threw a glass at a 21-year-old man, leaving the victim “bleeding from the right ear”. He needed treatment at a hospital, said the report.
Elements of the incident were first described in a statement issued by Chad Ludington, one of Mr Kavanagh’s classmates.
“On one of the last occasions I purposely socialised with Brett, I witnessed him respond to a semi-hostile remark, not by defusing the situation, but by throwing his beer in the man’s face,” said Mr Ludington.
It reportedly happened after a UB40 concert when he and his friends went to Demery’s and spotted someone who resembled Ali Campbell, the lead singer of the reggae group.
When the man noticed the group, he used an expletive and asked them to stop staring, Mr Ludington said, at which point Mr Kavanaugh “threw his beer at the guy”.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Friday in favour of Mr Kavanaugh's nomination, but a full Senate vote on confirmation was delayed for a week after President Donald Trump bowed to pressure from moderate members of his Republican Party for the FBI probe.
On Monday, the president said the FBI would have free rein to interview any witnesses it deemed necessary. He added he did not want the probe to become a “witch hunt” and that it should be completed quickly.
Meanwhile, Democrats have broadened their attacks on the nominee.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democrats' leader from New York, accused Mr Kavanaugh of delivering a "partisan screed" during the Judiciary Committee hearing last week. "The harsh fact of the matter is that we have mounting evidence that Judge Kavanaugh is just not credible," he said.
