‘KAVANAUGH LIED ABOUT DRINKING’
Former classmate challenges judge’s testimony on his drinking habits
AONE-TIME classmate of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee said on Monday that Brett Kavanaugh was a habitual heavy drinker, challenging the judge’s Senate testimony to the contrary.
The comments came days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a Senate-requested probe into allegations by three women that a drunken Kavanaugh sexually abused them or engaged in sexual misconduct while they were students in the 1980s.
“I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth,” Chad Ludington said.
The North Carolina State University professor, who said he had contacted the FBI with his information, indicated in a statement on Sunday that Kavanaugh, 53, was “belligerent and aggressive” when he drank.
Earlier, Trump defended his pick but admitted that the appeals court judge has had a “bit of difficulty” with alcohol.
In a White House press conference, Trump sought to excuse excessive drinking by teenagers, while going beyond Kavanaugh’s own testimony on his past use of alcohol to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
“I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer,” Trump said.
“He’s had a little bit of difficulty. He talked about things that happened when he drank.”
He also questioned why investigators needed to examine Kavanaugh’s high school record.
“I think it’s very unfair to bring up things like this. I graduated from high school and while I did not drink, I saw a lot of people drinking.
“They drink beer and go crazy and they were in high school. Does that mean that they can’t do something they want to do in their life?”
He returned to the theme during a campaign rally in Tennessee, where he accused Democrats of being motivated by politics.
“They have been in a blind rage ever since they lost in 2016.”
In Thursday’s extraordinary hearing, Kavanaugh denied the sexual abuse allegations, and aggressively challenged suggestions he had a drinking problem at the time.
“I drank beer with my friends. Sometimes I had too many beers,” he told the panel.
“Yes, we drank beer. I liked beer. I still like beer,” he said.
“If every American who drinks beer or every American who drank beer in high school is suddenly presumed guilty of sexual assault, it will be an ugly, new place in this country.”
The New York Times reported that Kavanaugh was questioned but not charged by police after a 1985 bar fight in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was accused of throwing ice on a fellow patron.
A witness said a friend of Kavanaugh’s then threw a glass that hit the same patron in the ear, causing bleeding.
US media reported that the FBI had begun their interview of Mark Judge, Kavanaugh’s former best friend and a key figure in the misconduct allegations levelled by Christine Blasey Ford.
Judge’s interview started but “has not been completed”, his attorney said.
In last week’s hearing, Blasey Ford said Judge witnessed Kavanaugh’s alleged assault and jumped on top of them as it happened, sending all three tumbling and allowing her to escape.