https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_...lt_allegations
Sexual assault allegations
Christine Blasey Ford
In early July 2018, Kavanaugh's name was on a shortlist of nominees for the Supreme Court. Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University, contacted a The Washington Post tipline and her local congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-California) with accusations that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when she was in high school.[8][210] On July 30, 2018, Ford wrote to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) to inform her of her sexual assault accusation against Kavanaugh.[211] Ford requested that her accusation be kept confidential.[212] Following a September 12 report in The Intercept,[8][210][213] Feinstein confirmed that a complaint had been made against Kavanaugh by a woman who had requested not to be identified. Feinstein stated that the woman and Kavanaugh were both in high school when the woman accused Kavanaugh of trying to force himself on her while she was being physically restrained.[214][215] On the same day, Feinstein stated that she had forwarded the woman's accusation to federal authorities.[216][217]
On September 16, Ford went public and said that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her when she was 15 and he was 17.[218][219] She stated that in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and Mark Judge, one of Kavanaugh's friends from Georgetown Prep, corralled her in a bedroom at a house party in Maryland and turned up the music that was playing in the room. According to Ford, Kavanaugh pinned her to the bed, groped her, ground against her, tried to pull off her clothes, and covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream.[220] Ford said she was afraid that Kavanaugh might inadvertently kill her during the attack,[221] and believed he was going to rape her.[222] Ford stated that she escaped when Judge jumped on the bed, knocking them all to the floor.[218][223]
Kavanaugh issued the following statement through the White House: "I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time."[217][216] Republicans criticized the decision to withhold "a vague, anonymous accusation for months" before releasing it on the "eve of [Kavanaugh's] confirmation" as an attempt to delay the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings.[224][225] Kavanaugh released a statement on the evening before the scheduled testimony of Ford and Kavanaugh before the Senate Judicial Committee. He said that due to the serious nature of the allegations, both he and Ford deserved to be heard. He also stated, "I am innocent of this charge."[226]
The Washington Post reported that it had reviewed a portion of the therapist's notes from a 2012 couples therapy session involving Ford and her husband that relate to the alleged event and its psychological effects upon her. In 2012, Ford and her husband were going through a major renovation of their home in which she insisted on having a second front door and which her husband could not understand.[227][228] The therapist's notes, parts of which were released on September 16, 2018, state that Ford was assaulted by four students "from an elitist boys' school" (Ford stated the therapist was in error and there were only two boys in the room with her[229]), who eventually became "highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington", and do not name Kavanaugh. Ford's husband recalled that in the couples therapy session, while talking about the attack, she "used Kavanaugh’s last name". Notes from another session a year later show that Ford had previously described a "rape attempt" while in her "late teens". In her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ford said she could not remember whether she gave the therapist's notes to The Washington Post or merely summarized them for the reporter.[230][231]
Ford also took a polygraph test that was paid for by her attorneys and administered by a former FBI agent.[232] The test concluded she was being truthful when she said that a statement that summarized her accusations was accurate.[221][233] On September 14 , The Senate Judiciary Committee released a letter that was signed by 65 women. The women stated that they had known Kavanaugh "for more than 35 years" and asserted that during the time they had known him, Kavanaugh had "behaved honorably and treated women with respect".[234] Twenty-four women—who attended the Holton-Arms School with Ford—sent a letter to Congress expressing support for her.[235] Over 1,000 alumnae of Holton-Arms School signed a letter stating that Ford's accusation was "all too consistent with stories we heard and lived" while attending the school;[236] some of the alumnae delivered the letter personally to Senator Shelley Moore Capito, Republican from West Virginia, who is herself an alumna of the school.[237]
On September 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee invited Kavanaugh and Ford to provide testimony about the allegation. Kavanaugh agreed to testify on September 24.[238] Ford requested that the FBI investigate the matter first, but Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley declined the request, and gave Ford a deadline of September 21 to inform the Committee whether she intended to testify. Grassley added that Ford was welcome to appear before the Committee either privately or publicly.[239] On September 20, Ford's attorney opened negotiations with the Committee to reschedule the hearing under "terms that are fair and which ensure her safety".[240] A bipartisan panel from the Judiciary Committee and Ford's representatives agreed to a hearing after September 24.[241]
On September 17, President Trump commented for the first time on the initial sexual assault allegation against Brett Kavanaugh, saying, "Judge Kavanaugh is one of the finest people that I've ever known. He's an outstanding intellect, an outstanding judge, respected by everybody. Never had even a little blemish on his record. The FBI has, I think, gone through a process six times with him over the years, where he went to higher and higher positions. He is somebody very special."[242] On September 20, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump again strongly endorsed Kavanaugh, stating, "Brett Kavanaugh is one of the finest human beings you will ever have the privilege of knowing or meeting." Trump also addressed the Democrats' demand for an FBI probe by asking why the FBI was not notified of the alleged attack 36 years ago.[243] Trump later responded on Twitter to Ford's claims, arguing that Ford would have informed law enforcement of the incident at the time if it had truly taken place. Trump wrote that Ford's statement was an "assault" made by "radical left wing politicians" intended to undermine his presidency.[244][245]
Ford stated that Leland Ingham Keyser, a lifelong friend, was present at the party where the alleged assault took place. On September 22, Keyser stated through her attorney that she did not know Kavanaugh and had no memory of the party nor sexual assault. The attorney did confirm that Keyser was a friend of Ford's,[246] and Keyser told The Washington Post that she believed Ford's assertions.[247][248]
On October 4, the White House announced that it had found no corroboration of Ford's allegations after reviewing the FBI's latest probe into Kavanaugh's past.[249] Her attorneys tweeted that "Those directing the FBI investigation were not interested in seeking the truth."[250]
Between September 10 and 16, 2018, Kavanaugh had the highest opposition (42%) of any of the eleven Supreme Court nominees Gallup has polled about since Robert Bork in 1987.[251][252] A YouGov/The Economist poll on September 23–25 found 55% of Republicans thought he should be confirmed even if the allegations of sexual assault were true, compared to 28% of the whole sample and 13% of Democrats.[253]
Deborah Ramirez
Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer of The New Yorker published a piece with an additional sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh on September 23. Deborah Ramirez, who attended Yale University with Kavanaugh, alleged Kavanaugh exposed himself to her and thrust his penis against her face after they had both been drinking at a college party during the 1983–1984 academic year. Kavanaugh said, "This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen."[254] The New York Times interviewed several dozen of her classmates in an attempt to corroborate her story, and could find no firsthand witnesses to the alleged assault, but several classmates recalled that they had heard about it in the subsequent days and believed Ramirez.[255] According to the New York Times, "Ramirez herself told the press and friends that, initially, she was not absolutely certain it was Kavanaugh who assaulted her, but after corresponding with friends who had secondhand knowledge of the incident, and taking time to refresh her recollection, stated that she was certain Kavanaugh was her assailant."[256]
Julie Swetnick
Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing Stormy Daniels in her suit against Donald Trump, stated in a tweet on September 23 that he represented a woman who had "credible information" regarding Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge. Avenatti asserted that his client would be willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[257][258][259] On September 26, Avenatti revealed the woman to be Julie Swetnick, a former government employee, who declared in a sworn statement that she went to high school parties involving Kavanaugh and Judge and that it was common at such parties for boys to prey on girls, sometimes by spiking or drugging the drinks so that the girls could not resist.[260][261] Kavanaugh described her allegations as "ridiculous" and the allegation as a whole, made by Avenatti, a "farce".[11] The Wall Street Journal reported that it had contacted "dozens" of her former classmates and colleagues, but failed to reach anyone with knowledge of her allegations and that none of her friends have come forward publicly to support her claims.[262] Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley referred both Swetnick and Avenatti to the Justice Department for criminal investigation regarding claims that the two engaged in "conspiracy, false statements and obstruction of Congress."[263]
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