Update on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Investigation into Allegations Involving Supreme Court Nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh
WASHINGTON – For the last
week, the Judiciary Committee has been investigating Dr. Christine Blasey
Ford’s allegation that Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a
house party while in high school approximately 36 years ago.
Dr.
Ford first alerted the Ranking Member of her allegations in a letter dated July
30, 2018. The Ranking Member did not disclose the existence of this letter to
the Committee or the FBI until September 13, 2018—after Judge Kavanaugh’s
confirmation hearing and a full six weeks after she first received them.
The
Committee became aware of the substance of the allegations in media
reports
the next day. The Committee also learned from press reports that the
person raising the allegations also claimed that Mr. Mark Judge had been in the
room when the incident allegedly took place. Mr. Judge denied those
allegations in
interviews with the press. Judge Kavanaugh similarly denied the allegations
in a written statement.
The
Committee learned of Dr. Ford’s identity in a Washington
Post article on September
16, 2018. The Washington Post article reiterated the claim that Judge
Kavanaugh and Mr. Judge were both in the room when the alleged incident took
place. We also learned that Dr. Ford alleged that “there were four boys at the
party” and that her therapist’s notes referenced in the article also stated
that there were four boys at the party (and in the room where the assault took
place). Dr. Ford also “named two other teenagers who she said were at the
party” in addition to Judge Kavanaugh and Mr. Judge. The article claimed that
those two other individuals did not respond to the Post’s inquiries.
The
Committee did not learn of the actual contents of the letter until CNN
published a redacted version of the letter on September 17. We do
not know who leaked this letter to the press, notwithstanding Dr. Ford’s
request for confidentiality. Despite revelations of Dr. Ford’s identity,
the Ranking Member and Dr. Ford’s attorneys to date still have not publicly
released a copy of the original version of the letter or shared it more broadly
than the 21 members and senior staff of the Judiciary Committee. The Chairman
has repeatedly
called
for the public release of this hidden evidence.
In
the course of the Committee’s investigation, it also learned the identities of
the four other individuals Dr. Ford claimed were at the party when the incident
took place. They were not, however, all boys, as Dr. Ford apparently told her
therapist and the Washington Post. The four individuals Dr. Ford claimed
attended the party were Judge Kavanaugh, Mr. Judge, Mr. Patrick J. Smyth, and
Ms. Leland Ingham Keyser. The Committee reached out to each person and
asked for the opportunity to conduct a confidential interview.
Judge
Kavanaugh
submitted to an interview, where he reiterated his unqualified and categorical
denial of Dr. Ford’s allegations.
Mr.
Judge
submitted to the Committee a statement
through counsel on September 18 in which he stated: “I do not
recall the party described in Dr. Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw
Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.”
Mr.
Smyth
similarly provided
a statement to the Committee through counsel on September 19 in
which he said “I have no knowledge of the party in question; nor do I have
any knowledge of the allegations of improper conduct she has leveled against
Brett Kavanaugh.”
Ms.
Keyser
stated
to the Committee through her counsel last night that she “does
not know Mr. Kavanaugh and has no recollection of ever being at a party or
gathering where he was present, with, or without, Dr. Ford.” News reports
identify Ms. Keyser as a lifelong friend of Dr. Ford’s.
A
former schoolmate of Dr. Ford’s—Ms. Christina King Miranda—claimed on social
media posts on September 20 that “[t]his incident did happen, many of us heard
about it in school.” Hours later, the Committee reached out to Ms. Miranda and
asked her to participate in a confidential interview on Dr. Ford’s allegations
with Committee investigators. Shortly thereafter, however, she deleted
her posts and claimed
on National Public Radio that she “ha[d] no idea” whether the
incident “happened or not.” She further stated that she would not
participate in an interview with the Committee.
The
Committee asked Dr. Ford to participate in a confidential interview with
Republican and Democratic Committee staff the day after learning of her
identity. The Committee has reiterated that request over the last week.
The
Committee has therefore sought information from six individuals—five who were allegedly
present at the party when the incident took place, and one who claimed to have
secondhand knowledge of the incident. Four of those allegedly present at
the party have provided statements to the Committee—Judge Kavanaugh, Mr. Judge,
Mr. Smyth, and Ms. Keyser. Judge Kavanaugh has flatly denied the
allegations, and Mr. Judge, Mr. Smyth, and Ms. Keyser deny having knowledge of
any party matching Dr. Ford’s description. Ms. King subsequently recanted
her claim of secondhand knowledge and publicly refused to cooperate with the
Committee’s investigation.
Dr.
Ford is the only first-hand witness not to provide a statement to, or interview
with, the Committee. The Committee expects to hear from Dr. Ford at a hearing
on Thursday.
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