Kavanaugh goes back and forth with Democratic senator about strange details in high-school yearbook, including references to beer and 'flatulence'

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh was asked to explain words in from his high school yearbook in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday.

• Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse went back and forth over details from his high-school yearbook in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday.
• They went over references to beer and "flatulence," among other things.
• Kavanaugh's yearbook page has been scrutinized and carefully analyzed for any details that might pertain to allegations he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford. 
• Kavanaugh dismissed many of the references on the yearbook page as youthful jokes and indiscretions. 

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Thursday went back and forth over details from his high-school yearbook in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, including references to beer and "flatulence."

Kavanaugh is accused of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford at a high-school party when they were teenagers in the early 1980s. In this context, his yearbook page has been scrutinized and carefully analyzed for any details that might pertain to the alleged incident.

Saul Loeb/Getty Images

Extracts of his high school yearbook are displayed as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Whitehouse on Thursday said that "one of the reasons, Mr. Kavanaugh, that we are looking at the yearbook is that it is relatively consistent in time with the events at issue here.

"And because it appears to be your words, is it, in fact, your words on your yearbook page?" he said.

Kavanaugh told the senator they were his words, but it was possible that editors changed them before the yearbook was published. 

Whitehouse then proceeded to ask Kavanaugh for clarification on various words on his yearbook page:

• The senator, for example, asked Kavanaugh to explain a reference to "The Beach Week Ralph Club."
• After high school students graduate in the Washington, DC, area, many head to Ocean City, Maryland, for what is known as "Beach Week." Whitehouse wanted to know to what "Ralph" alluded.
• "That probably refers to throwing up. I'm known to have a weak stomach and always have. In fact, the last time I was here you asked me about having ketchup on spaghetti, I always have had a weak stomach," Kavanaugh said.
• Kavanaugh dodged whether the vomiting was related to alcohol when asked by the senator, but at one point said to him, "I like beer. I don't know if you do. Do you like beer, senator? What do you like to drink?"

Whitehouse did not reply, and continued questioning Kavanaugh. 

At another point during the questioning, Whitehouse asked Kavanaugh for the meaning of "boofed," which was also referenced on the yearbook page. Kavanaugh said it was a slang term for "flatulence." 

"It refers to flatulence. We were 16," Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh dismissed many of the references on the yearbook page as youthful jokes and indiscretions. The Supreme Court nominee unequivocally denies the sexual misconduct allegations he faces. 

Read Business Insider's full coverage of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing:

• Watch live updates of the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing here
• 'I am terrified': Ford details her sexual-assault allegation in gut-wrenching opening statement
• 'I will not be intimidated into withdrawing': Kavanaugh defiant in prepared remarks for Senate hearing
• Ford says the strongest memory she has of Kavanaugh's alleged sexual assault was 'the uproarious laughter'
• Ford says she decided to come forward after reporters were sitting outside of her house and showing up in her classroom where she taught
• Here is the polygraph test Ford took following her sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh
• Meet Mark Judge, Kavanaugh's high-school friend and the other man who's becoming central to the allegations
• Here are all the allegations against Kavanaugh
• How the Ford-Kavanaugh hearing compares to the 1991 Anita Hill hearing
• Meet Rachel Mitchell, the woman questioning Ford about her Kavanaugh allegations
• Meet Brett Kavanaugh, 'the Forrest Gump of Republican politics'