Gardner supports an investigation into claim

On the same day U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s office said he “absolutely supports” a Senate panel’s investigation of the second sexual misconduct allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a rally in Denver attempted to amp up the pressure on the Republican official.

The new allegation, which Kavanaugh has denied publicly, came from Deborah Ramirez, of Boulder, in an article published Sunday by The New Yorker.

The Colorado connection lit new fire under more than 100 attendees of the rally in downtown Denver, where activists organized by liberal and abortionrights groups called on Kavanaugh to withdraw — or for Gardner to vote no if the nomination comes to a vote.

“Every woman deserves the right to be heard. They deserve the right to have a federal investigation,” said Portia Prescott, a board member of the African American Initiative of Colorado Democrats, on the plaza outside the Byron G. Rogers Federal Building.

She said she feared what would happen if her 16yearold daughter was assaulted and faced “an established, privileged machine” fighting back against her claim. “I cannot sit silent, and I do not want Cory Gardner to sit silent,” Prescott told the crowd, then directed a comment to Gardner: “You represent Colorado, you represent women and we need to remove Kavanaugh from this process.”

The New Yorker maga zine on Sunday night reported that Ramirez, 53, recalled Kavanaugh exposing himself to her at an alcoholfueled dormitory party in the 19831984 academic year at Yale University, when Kavanaugh was a freshman. According to her account, Kavanaugh thrust his penis in her face and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.

Investigators from the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley, RIowa, have been in contact with Ramirez’s attorney — and that is the investigation for which Gardner expressed support.

“Senator Gardner was first made aware of these allegations when the New Yorker story was published Sunday evening,” Gardner spokesman Casey Contres said in an email Monday morning. “Investigators from Chairman Grassley’s staff immediately contacted Ms. Ramirez’s attorney to gather more information about what allegedly occurred.

The new allegation arose after the Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing Thursday for Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a woman who says he sexually assaulted her as a teenager.

Colorado’s other senator, Democrat Michael Bennet, said in a tweet Monday afternoon that he supports calls for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate both women’s claims before the Senate process proceeds.

Bennet announced Sept. 11 that he planned to vote against Kavanaugh’s nomination.