QUIZZING 2ND WOMAN
FBI contacts ex-classmate who claims Kav put private parts in her face
The FBI is reaching out to possible witnesses as it begins its supplemental probe of Brett Kavanaugh — including a second woman who went public with disturbing sexual misconduct allegations against him.
Agents contacted Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale University classmate of the embattled Supreme Court nominee who claims he shoved his genitals in her face at a party, her lawyer said Saturday.
"We can confirm the FBI has reached out to interview Ms. Ramirez and she has agreed to cooperate with their investigation. Out of respect for the integrity of the process, we will have no further comment at this time," attorney John Clune said in a statement.
The Washington Post first reported that the FBI began contacting people for the investigation hours after President Trump OK’d the renewed background check into Kavanaugh on Friday.
The new probe comes after Republica ns, led by Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), reversed course and agreed to delay a full Senate vote on Trump’s conservative choice to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Trump said Saturday the FBI has “free rein" to do "whatever they have to do."
“This could be a blessing in disguise,” Trump added, again expressing his support for Kavanaugh. “I think he’s going to be fine.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee has said the probe should be limited to “current credible allegations” and be finished by next Friday.
Kavanaugh aggressively denied the allegations against him and called the claims a “calculated and orchestrated political hit” designed to keep him from the nation’s highest court as he testified Thursday before the committee.
The first accuser to come forward, Christine Blasey Ford, told senators earlier the same day she was “100%” sure Kavanaugh, while drunk, pinned her to a bed, clamped a hand over her mouth and tried to rape her at a Maryland house party in 1982.
The FBI is also following up on details Ford gave during her testimony, The Post reported.
Ramirez, who had previously said she too would testify before the Senate, told The New Yorker earlier this month that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party during their freshman year at Yale. She was forced to touch his private parts as she pushed him away.
A third woman, Julie Swetnick, alleges that Kavanaugh was privy to repeated lewd behavior and sexual misconduct with women at parties in the early 1980s. In a sworn statement, Swetnick described raucous parties at which Kavanaugh and his friends spiked drinks with drugs or alcohol and then sexually assaulted women who became incapacitated.
Swetnick, a longtime federal employee who holds “active clearances” for her work with the Department of Treasury, U.S. Mint and Internal Revenue Service, is represented by lawyer Michael Avenatti.
The outspoken attorney is a fierce Trump critic considering a presidential run of his own in 2020. Avenatti also represents Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress who claims to have had an affair