Brett Kavanaugh's Latest Defense Against Sexual Assault Allegations? Virginity
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh appeared on Fox's The Story With Martha MacCallum on Monday to defend himself against two allegations of sexual misconduct that have emerged, including a claim that he assaulted his former classmate Christina Blasey Ford at a party when they were both in high school.
Kavanaugh appeared on MacCallum's show alongside his wife and addressed the accusations, claiming that they have to be false because he was still a virgin during his time at the elite Georgetown Prep.
"I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone," he said. "I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter…. The girls from the schools I went to and I were friends."
MacCallum pressed him, asking whether he was a virgin through all the years in question, to which Kavanaugh replied, "That’s correct." He added that he did not have sex until "many years after" graduating college.
Ford came forward earlier this month and alleged that in 1982, Kavanaugh drunkenly groped her at a party, covered her mouth, and tried to take off her clothes. On Sunday The New Yorker published a piece in which a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, claimed that "Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away."
Neither woman's accusation involves sexual intercourse.
Kavanaugh has disputed Ford's account and on Monday said he had never attended the party during which she said he attacked her.
“I was never at any such party," he told MacCallum. "The other people who alleged to be present have said they do not remember any such party. A woman who was present, another woman who was present who was Dr. Ford’s lifelong friend has said she doesn’t know me and never remembers being at a party with me at any time in her life.” He added that he will not withdraw from the nomination process: “I’m not going to let false accusations drive us out of this process, and we’re looking for a fair process where I can be heard and defend my integrity, my lifelong record," he said.
Ford and Kavanaugh are both expected to testify separately before the senate Judiciary Committee this Thursday. Ford, who is a college professor in California, had previously asked through her lawyers that the FBI to investigate her claim. The White House rejected calls for an investigation.
On Monday afternoon people across the country stood in solidarity with Ford and Ramirez by staging walkouts across the country. Others criticized Kavanaugh's decision to defend himself on Fox News and pointed out that the comment about his virginity does not prove anything about the allegations against him.
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