Yale classmate accuses Kavanaugh of ‘mischaracterization’ of drinking
WASHINGTON — A Yale classmate of Judge Brett Kavanaugh accused him Sunday of a “blatant mischaracterization” of his drinking while in college, saying that he often saw Kavanaugh “staggering from alcohol consumption.”
The classmate, Chad Ludington, who said he frequently socialized with Kavanaugh as a student, said in a statement that the judge had been untruthful in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee when he had denied any possibility that he had ever blacked out from drinking.
Ludington, a professor at North Carolina State University, said Kavanaugh had played down “the degree and frequency” of his drinking, and the judge had often become “belligerent and aggressive” while intoxicated. Other former classmates have made similar claims.
“It is truth that is at stake, and I believe that the ability to speak the truth, even when it does not reflect well upon oneself, is a paramount quality we seek in our nation’s most powerful judges,” Ludington said, adding that he planned to “take my information to the FBI.”
It is illegal to lie to Congress. But it was unclear whether the FBI would add Ludington’s accusations to the background investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, which has been limited in scope and time by the White House and Senate Republicans.
Before Ludington’s statement, Democrats in Washington reacted with anger Sunday as the narrow scope of the new FBI background inquiry became clear, warning that it threatened to become a sham.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said on ABC’s This Week that any investigation that limits whom the FBI can interview and which leads agents can follow would be a “farce.”
The White House agreed Friday to order the FBI to conduct a “limited” one-week supplemental background check of Kavanaugh after some Republicans joined Democrats in demanding an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct.
White House officials have asked the FBI to interview four witnesses. No evidence has emerged that the White House has forbidden any investigative steps, and President Donald Trump has said he wants agents “to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion.”