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| New Evidence, New Accuser and New Doubts Threaten Kavanaugh on Eve of Hearing | New Evidence, New Accuser and New Doubts Threaten Kavanaugh on Eve of Hearing |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WASHINGTON — A whirlwind of new accusations, previously unseen evidence, charges and countercharges on Wednesday threatened to consume the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the eve of an extraordinary hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that will likely determine the fate of President Trump’s second Supreme Court nominee. | WASHINGTON — A whirlwind of new accusations, previously unseen evidence, charges and countercharges on Wednesday threatened to consume the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the eve of an extraordinary hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee that will likely determine the fate of President Trump’s second Supreme Court nominee. |
| Judge Kavanaugh is expected to take the witness stand on Thursday afternoon, following the testimony of his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. But he and his allies found themselves fending off charges of sexual misconduct from two other women on Wednesday, with perhaps the most explosive accusations coming forward with the help of Michael Avenatti, the firebrand lawyer who already represents a pornographic film actress going after the president. | Judge Kavanaugh is expected to take the witness stand on Thursday afternoon, following the testimony of his first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford. But he and his allies found themselves fending off charges of sexual misconduct from two other women on Wednesday, with perhaps the most explosive accusations coming forward with the help of Michael Avenatti, the firebrand lawyer who already represents a pornographic film actress going after the president. |
| Democrats seized on the latest accusations to call on Judge Kavanaugh to withdraw, and they pummeled Republicans with requests for outside investigations of the claims. Republicans, fuming over what they view is increasingly craven partisan attacks, vowed to push ahead with a committee vote scheduled for Friday. | Democrats seized on the latest accusations to call on Judge Kavanaugh to withdraw, and they pummeled Republicans with requests for outside investigations of the claims. Republicans, fuming over what they view is increasingly craven partisan attacks, vowed to push ahead with a committee vote scheduled for Friday. |
| And at a news conference at the United Nations, Mr. Trump said he would be watching closely on Thursday. He acknowledged his own views have been shaped by the women who have accused him of sexual assault and harassment. | And at a news conference at the United Nations, Mr. Trump said he would be watching closely on Thursday. He acknowledged his own views have been shaped by the women who have accused him of sexual assault and harassment. |
| “I view it differently than someone sitting home watching television where they say, ‘Oh, Judge Kavanaugh, this or that,’” Mr. Trump said. “It’s happened to me many times. I’ve had many false charges.” | “I view it differently than someone sitting home watching television where they say, ‘Oh, Judge Kavanaugh, this or that,’” Mr. Trump said. “It’s happened to me many times. I’ve had many false charges.” |
| [Read our story debunking 5 viral rumors about Kavanaugh’s accusers.] | |
| But even before Wednesday’s hearings, it was clear that Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation is in jeopardy. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and a key swing vote, told colleagues in a private meeting on Wednesday that she was troubled by the latest accusations. Holding a printout of the accuser Julie Swetnick’s declaration, she asked why the committee was not issuing a subpoena for Judge Kavanaugh’s friend, Mark Judge, who has appeared in two separate accusations, according to an official familiar with the meeting. | But even before Wednesday’s hearings, it was clear that Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation is in jeopardy. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and a key swing vote, told colleagues in a private meeting on Wednesday that she was troubled by the latest accusations. Holding a printout of the accuser Julie Swetnick’s declaration, she asked why the committee was not issuing a subpoena for Judge Kavanaugh’s friend, Mark Judge, who has appeared in two separate accusations, according to an official familiar with the meeting. |
| Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, responded that Mr. Judge would almost certainly hire a lawyer and defy testimony and others sought to reassure her the claims were being taken seriously. | Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, responded that Mr. Judge would almost certainly hire a lawyer and defy testimony and others sought to reassure her the claims were being taken seriously. |
| But in expressing such concerns, Ms. Collins joined two other wavering Republican senators, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, more than enough to sink the confirmation. | But in expressing such concerns, Ms. Collins joined two other wavering Republican senators, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, more than enough to sink the confirmation. |
| Judge Kavanaugh participated in yet another private interview with Judiciary Committee staff, denying charges leveled by Ms. Swetnick, who said that in the 1980s, she witnessed Judge Kavanaugh and Mr. Judge try to get teenage girls “inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped.’” | Judge Kavanaugh participated in yet another private interview with Judiciary Committee staff, denying charges leveled by Ms. Swetnick, who said that in the 1980s, she witnessed Judge Kavanaugh and Mr. Judge try to get teenage girls “inebriated and disoriented so they could then be ‘gang raped.’” |
| Judge Kavanaugh said he did not know Ms. Swetnick and called her claims “ridiculous and from the ‘Twilight Zone.’” | Judge Kavanaugh said he did not know Ms. Swetnick and called her claims “ridiculous and from the ‘Twilight Zone.’” |
| But after days of blanket denials of any bad behavior, he did strike a note of contrition even as he maintained his innocence on sexual assault. He planned to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that he sometimes drank too much and “was not perfect” in high school. | But after days of blanket denials of any bad behavior, he did strike a note of contrition even as he maintained his innocence on sexual assault. He planned to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that he sometimes drank too much and “was not perfect” in high school. |
| “I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now,” Mr. Kavanaugh planned to tell the committee, according to prepared remarks released by the committee on Wednesday. “But that’s not why we are here today. What I’ve been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior.” | “I drank beer with my friends, usually on weekends. Sometimes I had too many. In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now,” Mr. Kavanaugh planned to tell the committee, according to prepared remarks released by the committee on Wednesday. “But that’s not why we are here today. What I’ve been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior.” |
| [Read Judge Kavanaugh’s written testimony.] | [Read Judge Kavanaugh’s written testimony.] |
| Other, potentially consequential disclosures relating to Dr. Blasey’s claims were quickly overshadowed in the churn. They included the release by the Senate Judiciary Committee of handwritten calendar notations from Judge Kavanaugh’s high school days that laid out the party-hopping lifestyle of a pampered prep schooler, as well as affidavits from Dr. Blasey’s friends and husband and a copy of the polygraph test administered in August at the advice of her lawyers indicating no deception. | Other, potentially consequential disclosures relating to Dr. Blasey’s claims were quickly overshadowed in the churn. They included the release by the Senate Judiciary Committee of handwritten calendar notations from Judge Kavanaugh’s high school days that laid out the party-hopping lifestyle of a pampered prep schooler, as well as affidavits from Dr. Blasey’s friends and husband and a copy of the polygraph test administered in August at the advice of her lawyers indicating no deception. |
| Allies of Dr. Blasey and Judge Kavanaugh assembled letters attesting to their integrity. Protesters prepared for rallies. And shadowy threats flooded the phone lines and inboxes of nearly every key player in the drama. | Allies of Dr. Blasey and Judge Kavanaugh assembled letters attesting to their integrity. Protesters prepared for rallies. And shadowy threats flooded the phone lines and inboxes of nearly every key player in the drama. |
| On the Senate floor, Mr. Flake delivered a fiery speech chastising both parties for prejudging the women’s claims — and Mr. Trump for dismissing Dr. Blasey altogether because she did not report a sexual assault as a 15-year-old. | On the Senate floor, Mr. Flake delivered a fiery speech chastising both parties for prejudging the women’s claims — and Mr. Trump for dismissing Dr. Blasey altogether because she did not report a sexual assault as a 15-year-old. |
| “How uninformed and uncaring do we have to be to say things like that, much less to believe them?” Mr. Flake said of the president he has often condemned. “Do we have any idea what kind of message that sends, especially to young women?” | “How uninformed and uncaring do we have to be to say things like that, much less to believe them?” Mr. Flake said of the president he has often condemned. “Do we have any idea what kind of message that sends, especially to young women?” |
| The polygraph report, which concluded “No Deception Indicated,” previewed previously undisclosed details that could bolster Dr. Blasey’s own case before the committee, particularly in rebutting a central piece of the defense by Judge Kavanaugh and Republican allies who have asserted that she must be misremembering the identity of her assailant. In an interview in August with the former F.B.I. agent conducting the test, Dr. Blasey said that, in fact, she “had met Kavanaugh before at previous parties and she briefly dated one of his friends.” | The polygraph report, which concluded “No Deception Indicated,” previewed previously undisclosed details that could bolster Dr. Blasey’s own case before the committee, particularly in rebutting a central piece of the defense by Judge Kavanaugh and Republican allies who have asserted that she must be misremembering the identity of her assailant. In an interview in August with the former F.B.I. agent conducting the test, Dr. Blasey said that, in fact, she “had met Kavanaugh before at previous parties and she briefly dated one of his friends.” |
| But potentially most troubling for Judge Kavanaugh was a declaration from Ms. Swetnick. | But potentially most troubling for Judge Kavanaugh was a declaration from Ms. Swetnick. |
| [Read about Julie Swetnick’s allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.] | [Read about Julie Swetnick’s allegations against Judge Kavanaugh.] |
| “Please let me know immediately whether your client will agree to an interview by committee investigators today,” the Republican’s chief nominations counsel, Mike Davis, wrote in an email to Mr. Avenatti, obtained by The New York Times. “We can do a telephone interview anytime this afternoon or evening.” | “Please let me know immediately whether your client will agree to an interview by committee investigators today,” the Republican’s chief nominations counsel, Mike Davis, wrote in an email to Mr. Avenatti, obtained by The New York Times. “We can do a telephone interview anytime this afternoon or evening.” |
| But the committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, told reporters that he did not expect the accusations would amount to anything. | But the committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, told reporters that he did not expect the accusations would amount to anything. |
| “We have had accusation after accusation, accusation, very few of them, if any, corroborated,” Mr. Grassley said. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another Republican on the committee, said he would “not be a participant in wholesale character assassination that defies credibility.” | “We have had accusation after accusation, accusation, very few of them, if any, corroborated,” Mr. Grassley said. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another Republican on the committee, said he would “not be a participant in wholesale character assassination that defies credibility.” |
| A lawyer for a third woman, Deborah Ramirez, who went public this week with an account of collegiate sexual misconduct, wrote to the committee saying that his client would be “willing to cooperate” and tell her story under certain terms. | A lawyer for a third woman, Deborah Ramirez, who went public this week with an account of collegiate sexual misconduct, wrote to the committee saying that his client would be “willing to cooperate” and tell her story under certain terms. |
| Ms. Ramirez told The New Yorker that during a drinking party when they were students at Yale, Judge Kavanaugh exposed himself to her. Ms. Ramirez was initially reluctant to characterize the judge’s role, but said that after six days of assessing memories, she was confident that he was the one who took down his pants. | Ms. Ramirez told The New Yorker that during a drinking party when they were students at Yale, Judge Kavanaugh exposed himself to her. Ms. Ramirez was initially reluctant to characterize the judge’s role, but said that after six days of assessing memories, she was confident that he was the one who took down his pants. |
| Judge Kavanaugh has denied the charges made by Dr. Blasey, a California research psychologist, since her story first became public this month, but his written testimony released on Wednesday suggested that the tone of his defense may be shifting. | Judge Kavanaugh has denied the charges made by Dr. Blasey, a California research psychologist, since her story first became public this month, but his written testimony released on Wednesday suggested that the tone of his defense may be shifting. |
| Mr. Kavanaugh will condemn sexual assault as “morally wrong” and contrary to his Catholic values. But he will dismiss accusations by Dr. Blasey and two other women that have emerged in recent days as “last-minute smears, pure and simple” meant to block his confirmation to the court. | Mr. Kavanaugh will condemn sexual assault as “morally wrong” and contrary to his Catholic values. But he will dismiss accusations by Dr. Blasey and two other women that have emerged in recent days as “last-minute smears, pure and simple” meant to block his confirmation to the court. |
| “I am not questioning that Dr. Ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in some place at some time,” he plans to say. “But I have never done that to her or to anyone.” | “I am not questioning that Dr. Ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in some place at some time,” he plans to say. “But I have never done that to her or to anyone.” |
| In advance of that testimony, the Judiciary Committee released calendar pages from the summer of 1982 that could complicate his self-drawn portrait of a diligent student obsessed mainly with sports and reaching the top of his class. | In advance of that testimony, the Judiciary Committee released calendar pages from the summer of 1982 that could complicate his self-drawn portrait of a diligent student obsessed mainly with sports and reaching the top of his class. |
| At the same time, lawyers for Dr. Blasey gave the committee four affidavits — one from Dr. Blasey’s husband and three from friends — stating that she had told them in recent years that Judge Kavanaugh had assaulted her in high school. | At the same time, lawyers for Dr. Blasey gave the committee four affidavits — one from Dr. Blasey’s husband and three from friends — stating that she had told them in recent years that Judge Kavanaugh had assaulted her in high school. |
| Neither the calendars nor the affidavits prove or disprove the cases that Dr. Blasey or Judge Kavanaugh have sought to advance, but Democratic senators are likely to use the calendars to question how truthful Judge Kavanaugh has been about his younger days. And although the affidavits suggest that Dr. Blasey’s story has been consistent, Republicans are more likely to focus on the lack of contemporaneous evidence that could corroborate her story. | Neither the calendars nor the affidavits prove or disprove the cases that Dr. Blasey or Judge Kavanaugh have sought to advance, but Democratic senators are likely to use the calendars to question how truthful Judge Kavanaugh has been about his younger days. And although the affidavits suggest that Dr. Blasey’s story has been consistent, Republicans are more likely to focus on the lack of contemporaneous evidence that could corroborate her story. |
| Judge Kavanaugh intended to use the calendar, a green 1982 Northwestern Mutual Audubon wall calendar, as a part of his defense that he did not assault Dr. Blasey nor had any memory or record of a party like the one she described. No such entry exists to note a gathering that summer that exactly corresponds with Dr. Blasey’s memory. | Judge Kavanaugh intended to use the calendar, a green 1982 Northwestern Mutual Audubon wall calendar, as a part of his defense that he did not assault Dr. Blasey nor had any memory or record of a party like the one she described. No such entry exists to note a gathering that summer that exactly corresponds with Dr. Blasey’s memory. |
| But the calendars from May, June, July and August do contain notations that could be seen as helpful to her. He did “go to Judge’s,” an apparent reference to Mr. Judge, the friend of Judge Kavanaugh’s whom Dr. Blasey identified as participating in the assault. On July 1, 1982, he was to go to a friend’s house for “skis” with Mr. Judge and “P.J.” — possibly “brewskis” with Patrick J. Smyth, a classmate of Judge Kavanaugh’s at Georgetown Preparatory School, identified by Dr. Blasey as P.J., another student attending the gathering where she says she was assaulted. | But the calendars from May, June, July and August do contain notations that could be seen as helpful to her. He did “go to Judge’s,” an apparent reference to Mr. Judge, the friend of Judge Kavanaugh’s whom Dr. Blasey identified as participating in the assault. On July 1, 1982, he was to go to a friend’s house for “skis” with Mr. Judge and “P.J.” — possibly “brewskis” with Patrick J. Smyth, a classmate of Judge Kavanaugh’s at Georgetown Preparatory School, identified by Dr. Blasey as P.J., another student attending the gathering where she says she was assaulted. |
| Dr. Blasey has said that she did not tell anyone about the assault at the time out of fear that she might get in trouble. But the affidavits, all signed this week, suggest that Dr. Blasey had told some of the people closest to her, including her husband, about the episode at various points in recent years. | Dr. Blasey has said that she did not tell anyone about the assault at the time out of fear that she might get in trouble. But the affidavits, all signed this week, suggest that Dr. Blasey had told some of the people closest to her, including her husband, about the episode at various points in recent years. |
| Russell Ford, Dr. Blasey’s husband, said that his wife shared the details of the assault in a 2012 couple’s therapy session. | Russell Ford, Dr. Blasey’s husband, said that his wife shared the details of the assault in a 2012 couple’s therapy session. |
| “She said that she had been trapped in a room and physically restrained by one boy who was molesting her while the other boy watched,” he said. | “She said that she had been trapped in a room and physically restrained by one boy who was molesting her while the other boy watched,” he said. |
| The details are consistent with the account that Dr. Blasey shared with a Democratic senator this summer and The Washington Post earlier this month. Mr. Ford said that his wife mentioned Judge Kavanaugh’s name again in 2017, when Mr. Trump announced Justice Neil M. Gorsuch would be his nominee for the court. | The details are consistent with the account that Dr. Blasey shared with a Democratic senator this summer and The Washington Post earlier this month. Mr. Ford said that his wife mentioned Judge Kavanaugh’s name again in 2017, when Mr. Trump announced Justice Neil M. Gorsuch would be his nominee for the court. |
| Dr. Blasey has said that her therapist took notes during the session, but her lawyers said on Wednesday that they did not plan to release her medical records because of privacy concerns. | Dr. Blasey has said that her therapist took notes during the session, but her lawyers said on Wednesday that they did not plan to release her medical records because of privacy concerns. |
| In another affidavit, Keith Koegler, one close friend, says that Dr. Blasey mentioned the assault to him in the summer of 2016, around the time that the news was awash with the story of a Stanford student, Brock Turner, who raped an unconscious woman. Dr. Blasey told him that she had been assaulted by a man who was now a federal judge. | In another affidavit, Keith Koegler, one close friend, says that Dr. Blasey mentioned the assault to him in the summer of 2016, around the time that the news was awash with the story of a Stanford student, Brock Turner, who raped an unconscious woman. Dr. Blasey told him that she had been assaulted by a man who was now a federal judge. |
| Shortly after Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement from the court in July, Dr. Blasey wrote an email to Mr. Koegler saying that her assailant was a “favorite for SCOTUS,” short for Supreme Court of the United States. When Mr. Koegler inquired who, she said it was Brett Kavanaugh. | Shortly after Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement from the court in July, Dr. Blasey wrote an email to Mr. Koegler saying that her assailant was a “favorite for SCOTUS,” short for Supreme Court of the United States. When Mr. Koegler inquired who, she said it was Brett Kavanaugh. |