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On Thursday, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee announced they had referred a letter alleging sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI. The New Yorker reporters Ronan Farrow and Jane Meyer follow up on the letter, written by a woman living in California who was at a party with Kavanaugh when they were both in high school.
She remains anonymous, and declined an interview, but from other sources Farrow and Meyer report that she approached Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in July, when Kavanaugh was nominated. She described an assault in the early 1980s, when Kavanaugh was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School, in Bethesda, Maryland. She alleges that at a party they both attended, Kavanaugh held her down and tried to force himself on her. She says that he and a friend of his had both been drinking, and that the friend turned the music up to drown out her protests while Kavanaugh held his hand over her mouth, but that she was able to free herself from Kavanaugh. She "said that the memory had been a source of ongoing distress for her, and that she had sought psychological treatment as a result."
Kavanaugh responded to the allegations saying "I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time." His classmate gives a far less categorical denial: "I have no recollection of that." Could have happened, could have not, he just doesn’t recall.
Meanwhile, and totally not surprisingly, Republican Chuck Grassley was totally already prepared for this allegation to break, releasing a letter from 65 women who knew Kavanaugh in high school who say he "behaved honorably and treated women with respect." Clearly, Grassley knew this was coming and was ready to get the smear offensive against the woman launched. Because how else would he find 65 women who weren't raped by Kavanaugh nearly 40 years ago.