Kavanaugh admits his high school days make him 'cringe,' but calls Ford's accusation a 'last minute smear'
- Brett Kavanaugh released the prepared remarks he is scheduled to deliver to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
- In his opening statement, Kavanaugh denies that he sexually assaulted anyone and claims that the allegations made against him are "last minute smears."
- He also addresses drinking in high school, an issue which has become central to the case, by saying he did things that made him "cringe" but he was largely focused on "academics, sports, church, and service."
- Kavanaugh will testify against Christine Blasey Ford's claims that he sexually assaulted her in high school, but there are other women accusing him of misconduct.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will tell the Senate Judiciary that he did things in high school that make him "cringe" now but that the sexual assault allegations made against him by are "last minute smears."
The committee has released the prepared remarks that Kavanaugh will make in his opening statement as he testifies on Thursday against sexual assault allegations leveled against him by Christine Blasey Ford.
Kavanaugh's behavior in high school, and the suggestion by those who were close to him that he was a heavy drinker, have become central to the question of his treatment of women during that time, even as he repeatedly states that he committed none of the sexual misconduct that he is accused of.
In the remarks, he wrote that, during his high school days, he spent most of his time "focused on academics, sports, church, and service."
"But I was not perfect in those days, just as I am not perfect today. 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. But that's not why we are here today."
"What I've been accused of is far more serious than juvenile misbehavior. I never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes."
Ford says that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her, and held his hand over her mouth as she screamed at a high school party in the 1980s.
Kavanaugh accused these allegations and those made against him by other women of being "false and uncorroborated" in his opening remarks.
"There has been a frenzy to come up with something-anything, no matter how far-fetched or odious-that will block a vote on my nomination. These are last minute smears, pure and simple," he wrote.
Kavanaugh again denied the allegations against him. "I am here this morning to answer these allegations and to tell the truth. And the truth is that I have never sexually assaulted anyone-not in high school, not in college, not ever."
Deborah Ramirez claimed that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her in the 1980s and Julie Swetnick says that Kavanaugh was present at parties where teenage girls were plied with drugs and alcohol so that they could be "gang raped" at high school house parties.
Kavanaugh wrote that sexual assault is "horrific," "morally wrong," and that allegations "must be taken seriously."
He also repeated his assertion that he will "not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process."
In her prepared remarks released on Wednesday, Ford described the effect the alleged attack had on her life, how she came to the decision to make her allegations public, and how that choice has impacted her family.
"I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty," she wrote.