New Kavanaugh allegation unlikely to prompt impeachment

WASHINGTON — As several Democratic presidential candidates called for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, newly disclosed allegations are reviving questions about the rush to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee at the height of the #MeToo movement.

The Senate confirmed Kavanaugh last October after emotional, widely watched hearings over an allegation of a sexual assault from his high school years. The vote provided a signature achievement for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, fulfilling a long-held Republican desire to pack the Supreme Court and much of the federal judiciary with conservatives.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that Kavanaugh faced a separate allegation from his time at Yale University and that the FBI did not investigate the claim. Still, many Democrats are reluctant to reprise the controversy that likely cost the party Senate seats in the midterm elections.

McConnell opened the Senate on Monday saying the new round of allegations against Kavanaugh “felt a little like Groundhog Day.” He called the Times report “yet another poorly sourced, thinly reported unsubstantiated allegation.”

While impeachment proceedings against Kavanaugh are extremely unlikely, the revelations raise fresh questions about the GOP rush to push Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

The latest claim in the Times is similar to one offered during Kavanaugh’s confirmation process by Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate who claimed Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a drunken party. Kavanaugh declined to comment Monday through the court’s press office, but in Senate testimony last year, he flatly denied all allegations of misconduct.

On Monday, The Associated Press learned that one Democratic senator had raised concerns to the FBI as agents were investigating.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked the FBI on Oct. 2 to speak with “one individual I would like to specifically refer you to for appropriate follow up,” according to a letter obtained by the AP.

The senator’s letter does not spell out the allegations, and the person’s name is redacted in the letter. But a person familiar with the letter confirmed Coons was referring to Max Stier, a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh’s who is the person cited in the newspaper story.

The senator’s letter to the FBI said the person had “information relevant to Ramirez’s allegations.”

The Times said that the female student in the latest claim declined to be interviewed and that friends said she doesn’t recall the episode. The newspaper said Sunday in an editor’s note that an earlier version of its story didn’t include that information.