Trump’s top court pick hit by fresh allegations of abuse
WASHINGTON: A second woman has come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, US President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court.
In the new allegations, a 53-year-old woman who went to Yale University with Kavanaugh has said he exposed himself to her during a dormitory party, and made her touch him against her consent, The New Yorker magazine reported.
She has admitted to some gaps in her memory about the incident, which took place 35 years ago. But she has said that an FBI investigation “would be warranted”.
The first accuser, a professor in California, has also sought an FBI investigation into her allegations that a “stumbling drunk” Kavanaugh had groped her a party when they were in high school. She is slated to testify before the Senate judiciary committee on Thursday.
Kavanaugh has denied both allegations.
“This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name—and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building— against these last-minute allegations,” he said in a statement released by the White House on Sunday.
Trump is backing the nominee, and has said he is “with him all the way”.
Democrats are now calling for delaying Thursday’s testimony in light of the new allegation.
Separately, Michael Avenatti, the lawyer best known for representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump before he was elected president, tweeted that he represents a woman “with credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh”.
Avenatti, who has said he’s considering running for president as a Democrat, said on Twitter his client is not the former Yale student.