US President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Monday launched an aggressive campaign against allegations of sexual misconduct, vowing on national television to clear his name while appearing to claim his virginity at the time of the accusations as a defense.
With pressure mounting to put Kavanaugh’s nomination on hold for the FBI to investigate his past — a day after a second woman came forward with allegations against him — Trump stood firmly behind his embattled nominee, accusing Democrats of working hard to “destroy a wonderful man.”
The claims, dating back to the conservative judge’s high school and college days, threaten to derail what was seen as an all-but-certain confirmation to the lifelong post on the top court.
Instead, he now faces an explosive Senate showdown against the first of his accusers, university professor Christine Blasey Ford, who is set to testify against him tomorrow.
With his future and reputation on the line, Kavanaugh stepped up his defense, saying “I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not ever. I’ve always treated women with dignity and respect.”
He also sought to present an image of himself as a strait-laced student devoted to his studies and sports, and declared he was a virgin for much of his youth, apparently as a strategy of defense.
“I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school or for many years thereafter,” he told Fox News, appearing alongside his wife Ashley.
“I’m not going to let false accusations drive us out of this process,” he added, repeatedly calling for a “fair process.”
Trump later tweeted to throw his full weight behind his candidate.
“The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which have never been seen before!” Trump wrote.
Kavanaugh’s accuser Ford finally on Sunday committed to be questioned in a public hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which is weighing Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Ford alleges that a drunken Kavanaugh and another boy shut her in a room and tried to tear her clothes off at a high school beer party in suburban Washington about 1982, when she was 15 and he 17.
Just hours later, The New Yorker dropped a new bombshell, reporting that a second woman was accusing the Washington appeals court judge of sexual misconduct, while they were students at Yale University about 1983 or 1984.
Deborah Ramirez, 53, says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a party, thrusting his genitals in her face and causing her to touch them without her consent, the magazine said.
With emotions running high, dozens of protesters were removed from the US Capitol for unlawfully demonstrating against the judge’s confirmation outside the office of Senator Susan Collins, a Republican.
The allegations have left some Republican senators — especially two women who have spoken out in the past about sexual abuse of women — under pressure to weigh the accusers’ stories.
Kavanaugh argues that no witnesses have yet come forward to corroborate either woman’s account. Both accusers have acknowledged memory lapses, which could weaken their claims.
Democrats say that is all the more reason to halt the nomination process and let the FBI, which carries out background investigations for candidates to high positions.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese