A second allegation of sexual misconduct has emerged against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a development that has further imperiled his nomination to the US Supreme Court, forced the White House and Senate Republicans onto the defensive and fueled calls from Democrats to postpone action on his confirmation.
The new accusation landed late Sunday in a report from The New Yorker, just a few hours after negotiators had reached an agreement to hold an extraordinary public hearing on Thursday for Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who accuses him of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were teenagers. Kavanaugh denies the claim.
The second claim against Kavanaugh dates to the 1983-1984 academic year, which was his first at Yale University.
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Deborah Ramirez described the incident after being contacted by The New Yorker magazine. She recalled that Kavanaugh 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.
In a statement provided by the White House, Kavanaugh said the event “did not happen” and that the allegation was “a smear, plain and simple.”
A White House spokeswoman added in a second statement that the allegation was “designed to tear down a good man.”
US Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, called for the “immediate postponement” of any further action on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Republicans on the committee said they would investigate Ramirez’s accusation.
Taylor Foy, a Judiciary spokesman, complained that Democrats “actively withheld information” from the Republicans.
He said they appear “more interested in a political takedown” than a bipartisan process.
The New Yorker said it contacted Ramirez after learning of a possible involvement in an incident with Kavanaugh. It said that the allegation came to the attention of Democratic senators through a civil rights lawyer. The Democrats then began investigating.
Ramirez was reluctant at first to speak publicly “partly because her memories contained gaps because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident,” The New Yorker reported.
After “six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney, Ramirez said that she felt confident enough of her recollections” to speak publicly, the report said.
The Associated Press tried reaching Ramirez at her home in Boulder, Colorado. She posted a sign on her front door, indicating she has no comment.
Joining the maelstrom, Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in her legal fight with US President Donald Trump, claimed to represent a woman with information about high school-era parties attended by Kavanaugh and urged the Senate to investigate.
Avenatti said that he would disclose his client’s identity in the coming days and that she is prepared to testify before the committee, as well as provide names of corroborating witnesses.
The accusation from Ramirez raises the stakes further for a dramatic showdown on Thursday, as Kavanaugh and Ford testify in public about an incident she characterizes as attempted rape — and that he says simply never happened.
Kavanaugh’s nomination hangs precariously. A handful of senators in both parties remain undecided on his nomination. Defections among Republicans would likely block his path to the Supreme Court.
The White House is approaching Ford’s potential testimony with trepidation, nervous that an emotional performance might not just damage Kavanaugh’s chances, but could further energize female voters to turn out against Republicans in November. Still, the White House and Republicans have cast doubt on Ford’s allegations.
The Judiciary panel said it had talked to three other people who Ford has told the Washington Post were at the party where the alleged assault took place: Mark Judge, Patrick J. Smyth and Leland Ingham Keyser. All three told investigators that they had no recollection of the evening in question, the committee said.
The Post reported on Sunday that Keyser said in a brief interview at her home that she still believes Ford, even if she doesn’t remember the party.
As he builds a case for his innocence, Kavanaugh plans to turn over to the committee calendars from the summer of 1982. Those calendars, he says, do not show a party consistent with Ford’s description of the gathering in which she says he attacked her, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
The calendars list basketball games, movie outings, football workouts, college interviews, and a few parties with names of friends other than those identified by Ford, the Times said.
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