The friend of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh alleged to have been in the room during an alleged sexual assault more than 30 years ago sent a new statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee after he was discussed in hearings Thursday.
[Click here for complete Kavanaugh coverage]
In a letter addressed to Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member of the committee, Mark Judge said he did not want to comment publicly on Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation.
“As a recovering alcoholic and a cancer survivor, I have struggled with depression and anxiety. As a result, I avoid public speaking,” states the letter, signed by Judge.
Judge came up repeatedly during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Thursday as Ford told her story and senators asked why he had not been questioned about the night she described.
“Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school, but we have not spoken directly in several years. I do not recall the events described by Dr. Ford in her testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today,” his letter states. “I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.”
Ford told the panel Thursday that she was pushed into a bedroom during a high school gathering in 1982, and that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and tried to remove her clothes. She said she was able to get away when Judge jumped on them.
Kavanaugh forcefully denied Ford’s accusation during the hearings Thursday.
The committee is expected to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination Friday.
