Classmates Who Endorsed Kavanaugh Now Say Claims Warrant Investigation
Several former classmates of Judge Brett Kavanaugh who just last month endorsed his nomination to the Supreme Court have now called for the Yale alumnus to be investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct.
Three of Kavanaugh’s former classmates at Yale Law School told The Washington Post this week that the recent allegations by Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez warrant a “fair and credible investigation.”
Blasey has accused Kavanaugh of pinning her to a bed and attempting to remove her clothes during a party when they were high school students in the 1980s. Ramirez alleged in an interview with The New Yorker on Sunday that Kavanaugh exposed himself and thrust his penis in her face at a party when they were students at Yale University during the 1983-84 school year.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, and both women have asked for the FBI to investigate their accusations.
“The confirmation process should be conducted in a way that fosters trust in the process and the Supreme Court, and that seriously considers allegations of sexual violence,” Kent Sinclair and Douglas Rutzen said in a statement to the Post on Tuesday. A third member of Yale Law School’s class of 1990, Mark Osler, told the Post that the circumstances around the allegations “need to be probed.”
All three men had signed an Aug. 27 letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that commended Kavanaugh as a man with a “considerable intellect, friendly manner, good sense of humor and humility.” Akhil Amar, a Yale law professor who taught Kavanaugh and also testified in support his appointment, said Monday that an investigation “is the best way forward.”
The Post noted that it reached out to more than 30 Yale alumni who knew Kavanaugh and wrote letters in support of his nomination, many of whom said they still support him.
But with the recent calls, the men join a growing chorus calling on federal investigators to look into the allegations against the judge as Republicans on the judiciary committee attempt to rush through his nomination. A coalition of Mormon women also called on lawmakers to “go slowly” on the nomination if they hoped to “truly respect women.”
President Donald Trump has remained steadfast in his support of Kavanaugh, and several GOP lawmakers have lambasted the allegations as a politically motivated “smear” campaign meant to delay the judge’s appointment to the nation’s highest court.
The president on Tuesday moved to discredit Ramirez, saying she had “nothing” and that she was “totally messed up” when the alleged event happened. The woman told The New Yorker that she was inebriated at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct but said she was confident in her recollection and hoped the FBI would investigate the claims.
“Oh, gee, let’s not make him a Supreme Court justice because of this,” Trump said sarcastically during the comments, made in New York City while he was there to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of an endorsement letter from Kavanaugh’s former classmates. The letter was dated Aug. 27.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
