'I made it all up': One of Brett Kavanaugh's accusers admits to fabricating her sexual-assault claim, investigators say
- Senate Judiciary Committee investigators said that a woman who claimed to be the author of an anonymous sexual assault allegation against Justice Brett Kavanaugh had "fabricated" her story.
- Republican Sen. Grassley of Iowa said his committee had investigated the allegations made by Judy Munro-Leighton, a Kentucky woman who claimed she was the author of an anonymous letter that detailed graphic sexual-assault allegations.
- The "Jane Doe" in the letter claimed that Kavanaugh and his friend "sexually assaulted and raped me in his car," but provided no timeframe of the incident, and no return address.
- Investigators were able to find Munro-Leighton due to her "relatively unique name," and determined she was an "activist ... decades older than Judge Kavanaugh."
- Munro-Leighton, who had never met Kavanaugh in person, "admitted, contrary to her prior claims, that she had not been sexually assaulted by Judge Kavanaugh and was not the author of the original 'Jane Doe' letter,'" Grassley's office said.
- Grassley urged the FBI and attorney general to give "utmost consideration" to the case, but added that Munro-Leighton's fabricated allegations should not discount sexual assault claims that were made in "good faith."
Senate Judiciary Committee investigators concluded that a woman who claimed to be the author of an anonymous sexual assault allegation against Justice Brett Kavanaugh had "fabricated" her accusation, according to a letter from Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley.
In the letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Republican Sen. Grassley of Iowa said his committee had investigated the allegations made by Judy Munro-Leighton, a woman who claimed she was the author of an anonymous handwritten letter that detailed the graphic sexual assault allegations.
The anonymous, undated letter Munro-Leighton referenced was received by Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California in September, and was publicly released with Kavanaugh's testimony on the Committee's website on September 26. The "Jane Doe" in the letter claimed that Kavanaugh and his friend "sexually assaulted and raped me in his car," but provided no timeframe of the incident, and no return address.
"Jane Doe will get no media attention," Munro-Leighton wrote in an email, according to Grassley's office. "But I am deathly afraid of revealing any information about myself or my family."
Investigators were able to find Munro-Leighton due to her "relatively unique name," and determined she resided in Kentucky. According to their findings, they deduced that she was what they described as a "left-wing activist," who is "decades older than Judge Kavanaugh."
After being interviewed by investigators on Thursday, Munro-Leighton, who had never met Kavanaugh in person, "admitted, contrary to her prior claims, that she had not been sexually assaulted by Judge Kavanaugh and was not the author of the original 'Jane Doe' letter,'" Grassley's office said.
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"No, no, no. I did that as a way to grab attention," Munro-Leighton said to investigators. "I am not Jane Doe ... but I did read Jane Doe's letter. I read the transcript of the call to your Committee ... I saw it online. It was news."
Munro-Leighton, who said she called Congress multiple times to oppose Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, also admitted she "just wanted to get attention" and that her actions were "just a ploy."
"I was angry, and I sent it out," Munro-Leighton said of her sexual assault allegation.
Grassley urged the FBI director and attorney general to give the case his "utmost consideration," but added that Munro-Leighton's fabricated allegations should not discount sexual assault claims that were made in "good faith."
"The Committee is grateful to citizens who come forward with relevant information in good faith, even if they are not one hundred percent sure about what they know," Grassley said. "But when individuals intentionally mislead the Committee, they divert Committee resources during time-sensitive investigations and materially impede our work."
"Such acts are not only unfair; they are potentially illegal," Grassley added. "It is illegal to make materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements to Congressional investigators."
The accusation from the anonymous letter was one of many that were leveled against Kavanaugh, who would eventually replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Numerous people came forward with accounts of their past experiences with Kavanaugh, which ranged from sexual misconduct to habitual drinking.