KAVANAUGH DENIES ALLEGATION OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT IN SCHOOL
Supreme Court nominee rejects allegation dating back to high school years
Washington — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday denied an allegation of sexual misconduct from when he was in high school, seeking to defuse a potential threat to his confirmation as a handful of key senators remained silent on whether they would vote for him.
In a statement released by the White House, Kavanaugh said: “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”
Senate Republicans insist Kavanaugh’s confirmation remains on track. But the allegation has inflamed an already intense political battle over President Donald Trump’s nominee. It also pushes the #MeToo movement into the court fight, less than two months before congressional elections that have seen a surge of female Democratic candidates.
Washington — Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday “categorically” denied an allegation of potential sexual misconduct when he was in high school that has roiled the final days of an already contentious confirmation fight in the Senate.
The statement from Kavanaugh was his first response to news reports about a potential episode of sexual misconduct when he was in high school.
“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation,” Kavanaugh, now 53, said Friday in a statement distributed through the White House. “I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”
The sudden disclosure of the allegation against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick has only raised more questions, particularly about how the information had been handled as Kavanaugh’s confirmation steadily progressed through the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has not commented on the allegation, and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that he had not heard of it except through news reports.
But Republicans signaled Friday that they were prepared to press ahead with Kavanaugh’s confirmation, with the goal of installing him on the high court by the start of its session Oct. 1. The committee reiterated Friday afternoon that it would hold a panel vote on Sept. 20. Votes in the full Senate are expected the last week of September.
Meanwhile, Kavanaugh held what could be a pivotal phone call with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of two key undecided Republicans who could decide Kavanaugh’s fate. The phone call lasted about an hour, according to a spokeswoman, who offered no details about the conversation — including whether Collins asked about the allegation.
The developments snowballed after Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the committee, released a statement Thursday saying she had referred “information” about Kavanaugh to federal authorities. She did not detail the material she had, citing confidentiality concerns.
That information came via a letter that was first sent to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and subsequently passed on to Feinstein, people familiar with the matter said. Other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee first learned about the contents of the letter at a last-minute meeting on Wednesday evening.
A spokesman for Feinstein said Friday that the senator received the information through a third party.
“The senator took these allegations seriously and believed they should be public,” spokesman Tom Mentzer said. “However, the woman in question made it clear she did not want this information to be public. It is critical in matters of sexual misconduct to protect the identity of the victim when they wish to remain anonymous, and the senator did so in this case.”
The FBI does not plan to launch a criminal investigation and instead sent the material to the White House to be added to Kavanaugh’s background check file. The White House sent that updated material back to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the information is limited to senators and a tight circle of senior aides.