The man identified as the witness in an alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in the 1980s is claiming he has “no memory” of the incident.
“I did not ask to be involved in this matter nor did anyone ask me to be involved,” Mark Judge, a former high school friend and classmate of Kavanaugh, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The only reason I’m involved is because Dr. Christine Blasey Ford remembers me as the other person in the room during the alleged assault.”
Ford told the Washington Post on the record Sunday about an alleged incident between herself and Kavanaugh during a high school party in the early 1980s. Ford claimed Kavanaugh held her on her back on a bed during a house party in Maryland. She accused Kavanaugh of groping her and said he tried to undress her. She said she was able to escape only after a friend interrupted them. Ford claims Judge was present and a witness to the incident.
Judge is pushing back against Ford’s story, claiming he has absolutely no memory of it and that he never saw Kavanaugh act in the manner Ford described.
“I have no memory of the alleged incident,” Judge said in a statement. “Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.”
[Related: Kavanaugh claims mistaken identity in sexual assault accusation]
Judge added that he has no further information and does not plan to testify before the committee.
The allegations immediately caused Democrats and some Republican senators to call for an investigation, or public testimony from both Ford and Kavanaugh, before having a final vote on his confirmation.
Kavanaugh and Ford, through her attorney, have said they are willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday that his staff has repeatedly reached out to Ford, but she has yet to confirm whether or not she plans to testify.
Kavanaugh was spotted at the White House both Monday and Tuesday in what is believed to be discussions between the White House counsel’s office and the nominee about the incident. Kavanaugh has said he is willing to testify and answer any questions the senators on the committee might have.
“I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity,” he said in his statement.
The nominee has denied Ford’s allegations, calling them patently “false.”
Grassley officially canceled the Judiciary Committee’s vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation Tuesday that was scheduled for later this week. There is a scheduled public hearing Monday to discuss the allegations.
