At least four Democratic senators have reportedly been given information about a new allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that dates back to when the judge was a freshman at Yale University.
Deborah Ramirez alleges Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a college party, put his penis in her face, and forced her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away, according to a report Sunday evening published by the New Yorker.
The report said Ramirez was initially hesitant to share the story with the publication because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident.
“I remember a penis being in front of my face,” she recalled. “I knew that’s not what I wanted, even in that state of mind.”
She said she remembers saying in response, “That’s not a real penis,” perhaps referring to a gag plastic penis that had been pointed at her by another male student earlier in the night.
Ramirez said she had been encouraged by other students to “kiss it.” She instead pushed the person away and touched the penis in the process.
Kavanaugh allegedly pulled up his pants and laughed.
“I can still see his face, and his hips coming forward, like when you pull up your pants,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez, who was raised a devout Catholic, said she felt “embarrassed and ashamed and humiliated.”
She is now wants the FBI to investigate her allegations. “I would think an FBI investigation would be warranted,” she said.
Kavanaugh denied the allegation, calling it a “smear.”
“This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name — and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building — against these last-minute allegations.”
The accusation revealed Sunday is the second against Kavanaugh, whose confirmation process was stalled after Christine Blasey Ford came out and alleged Kavanaugh drunkenly forced himself on her at a high school party in the early 1980s. At least two of the Democratic senators have begun investigating the accusation, according to the New Yorker.
Kavanaugh testified under oath at his confirmation hearing that he had never “committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of sexual nature” as an adult. The judge would have been 18 at the time Ramirez alleges he put his penis in her face.
Just before the New Yorker published its story, Michael Avenatti, porn star Stormy Daniels’ high-profile lawyer, implicated Kavanaugh in an alleged scheme in the early 1980s in which alcohol and drugs were used to take advantage of women at parties. Avenatti, who said he referred this “significant evidence” to the Senate Judiciary Committee, noted he is representing a woman who is not Ramirez.
The White House stood by Trump’s nominee Sunday night.
“This 35-year-old, uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats designed to tear down a good man. This claim is denied by all who were said to be present and is wholly inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say. The White House stands firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh,” spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement.
A classmate who declined to be identified in the story, citing the partisan battle over Kavanaugh’s nomination, said another student told him about the incident shortly after it happened. He said he’s “100 percent sure” he was told Kavanaugh exposed himself to Ramirez.
The classmate independently reiterated many of the details shared by Ramirez. He said Kavanaugh was often shy until he started drinking, then he became “aggressive and even belligerent.”
Several classmates told the publication they believed Ramirez’s story. Others defended Kavanaugh’s character and disputed Ramirez’s claims, saying they would have heard about it had it happened.
Ramirez continued to stay in touch with one of the male classmates who had egged on Kavanaugh during the incident. Years later, she attended his wedding and posed for a photo with Kavanaugh.
She said she stayed silent about the matter because she blamed herself for drinking too much.
She decided to share her story publicly in hopes that it would support the story of Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges Kavanaugh forced himself on her during a party in high school.
Ford is set to testify this week to the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegation against the judge. He has vehemently denied that accusation as well.
Senior Republican staffers learned of the new allegation last week and appeared concerned that it could sink his nomination, the New Yorker said. They then tried to move up the timing of a committee vote on Kavanaugh.
