Coming forward

Yale classmate recalls Kavanaugh as frequent, heavy drinker

FBI agents interviewed one of the three women who have accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct as Republicans and Democrats quarreled over whether the bureau would have enough time and freedom to conduct a thorough investigation before a high-stakes vote on his nomination to the nation’s highest court.

The White House insisted it was not “micromanaging” the new one-week review of Kavanaugh’s background, but some Democratic lawmakers claimed the White House was keeping investigators from interviewing certain witnesses. President Donald Trump tweeted that no matter how much time and discretion the FBI was given, “it will never be enough” for Democrats trying to keep Kavanaugh off the bench. And even as the FBI explored the past allegations that have surfaced against Kavanaugh, another Yale University classmate came forward to accuse the federal appellate judge of being untruthful in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the extent of his drinking in college.

As the fresh review unfolded, the prosecutor who was brought in by Republicans to handle questioning at last week’s hearing outlined in a new memo why she did not believe criminal charges would be brought against Kavanaugh if it were a criminal case rather than a Supreme Court confirmation process. Rachel Mitchell wrote that she did not believe a “reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee.”

Mitchell argued that that there were inconsistencies in accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s narrative and said no one has corroborated Ford’s account. Ford, a California college professor, was not questioned as part of a criminal proceeding but in the confirmation process.

In speaking to FBI agents, Deborah Ramirez detailed her allegation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s when they were students at Yale University, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of a confidential investigation. Kavanaugh has denied Ramirez’s allegation.

AP PHOTO People line up at the Supreme Court on the first day of the new term, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday. Amid the political chaos of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, the high court’s work begins with only eight justices on the bench, four conservatives and four liberals.