Kavanaugh in memo pushed graphic sex questions for Clinton

WASHINGTON Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh suggested that attorneys preparing to question President Bill Clinton in 1998 seek graphic details about the president’s sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

The questions are part of a two-page memo in which now-Judge Kavanaugh advised Independent Counsel Ken Starr and others not to give the president “any break” during upcoming questioning unless he resigned, confessed perjury or issued a public apology to Mr. Starr. — He suggested Mr. Clinton be asked whether he had phone sex with Ms. Lewinsky and whether he engaged in other specific sexual acts that he vividly described.

Judge Kavanaugh worked on Mr. Starr’s team investigating Mr. Clinton. He said it may not be “our job to impose sanctions on him, but it is our job to make his pattern of revolting behavior clear—piece by painful piece.”

The memo was released Monday by the National Archives and Records Administration as lawmakers seek more details about Judge K av an aug h’ s credentials to serve onthe nation’s highest court.

In the subject line, Judge Kavanaugh asks, “Slack for the President?”

Judge Kavanaugh goes on to answer the question with a resounding no.

Hesaid he had tried to bend over backward to be fair to Mr. Clinton and to think of reasonable defenses for his behavior, but in the end, became convinced there were none. “The idea of going easy on him at the questioning is thus abhorrent to me,” Judge Kavanaugh wrote.

He also accused Mr. Clinton of committing perjury, turning the Secret Service upside-down, and trying to disgrace Mr. Starr and the independent counsel’s office with “a sustained propaganda campaign that would make Nixon blush.”

Judge Kavanaugh in the memo states, “The president has disgraced his Office, the legal system, and the American people by having sex with a 22year-old intern and turning herlife into a shambles.”

The release from the Archives comes before confirmation hearings for Judge Kavanaugh, scheduled for the week after Labor Day. Judge Kavanaugh has been making courtesy calls to senators and met Monday for about an hour with the senior Democratic member of the committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hopes to have Judge Kavanaugh confirmed to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy before the new court session begins Oct. 1.

After leaving Mr. Starr’s investigative team, Judge Kavanaugh went on to serve in the administration of President George W. Bush and as a circuitcourt judge.