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Brett Kavanaugh testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee over sexual-assault allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford.
- In a statement released Sunday, a Yale classmate of Brett Kavanaugh's said he was "deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterization by Brett himself of his drinking at Yale."
- "On many occasions I heard Brett slur his words and saw him staggering from alcohol consumption, not all of which was beer," the Supreme Court nominee's former classmate said. "When Brett got drunk, he was often belligerent and aggressive."
- The FBI has interviewed Deborah Ramirez, a Yale classmate of Kavanaugh's who said he exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s. Kavanaugh has denied Ramirez's allegation.
A Yale classmate of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's said he was "deeply troubled by what has been a blatant mischaracterization by Brett himself of his drinking at Yale" during Kavanaugh's defense against sexual assault allegations in the media and at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Charles "Chad" Ludington, who now teaches at North Carolina State University, said that he was a friend of Kavanaugh's at Yale and that Kavanaugh was "a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker."
"On many occasions I heard Brett slur his words and saw him staggering from alcohol consumption, not all of which was beer," Ludington said. "When Brett got drunk, he was often belligerent and aggressive." While saying that youthful drinking should not condemn a person for life, Ludington said he was concerned about Kavanaugh's statements under oath before the committee.
"Brett was a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker," Luddington, who said he drank with Kavanaugh wrote.
"On one of the last occasions I purposely socialized with Brett, I witnessed him respond to a semi-hostile remark, not by defusing the situation, but by throwing his beer in the man's face and starting a fight that ended with one of our mutual friends in jail," Luddington continued.
Luddington further attacked one of the key points in Kavanaugh's defense of himself and denial of allegations - that he had never lost memory while drinking.
"I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking, and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth," Luddington wrote.
FBI investigates Kavanaugh
Win McNamee/Pool
FBI agents have interviewed one of the three women who have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct as Republicans and Democrats quarrel over whether the bureau has enough time and freedom to conduct a thorough investigation before a high-stakes vote on his nomination to the nation's highest court.
The White House insisted it was not "micromanaging" the new one-week review of Kavanaugh's background, but some Democratic lawmakers claimed the White House was keeping investigators from interviewing certain witnesses. President Donald Trump, for his part, tweeted that no matter how much time and discretion the FBI was given, "it will never be enough" for Democrats trying to keep Kavanaugh off the bench.
And even as the FBI explored the past allegations that have surfaced against Kavanaugh, another Yale classmate came forward to accuse the federal appellate judge of being untruthful in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the extent of his drinking in college.
In speaking with FBI agents, Deborah Ramirez detailed her allegation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s when they were students at Yale University, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of a confidential investigation.
Kavanaugh has denied Ramirez's allegation.
The person familiar with Ramirez's questioning, who spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said she also provided investigators with the names of others who she said could corroborate her account.
But Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who says Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers, has not been contacted by the FBI since Trump on Friday ordered the agency to take another look at the nominee's background, according to a member of Ford's team.
Kavanaugh has denied assaulting Ford.
Speaking to the issue of the scope of the FBI's investigation, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said the White House counsel, Don McGahn, who is managing Kavanaugh's nomination, "has allowed the Senate to dictate what these terms look like and what the scope of the investigation is."
"The White House isn't intervening," Sanders said. "We're not micromanaging this process. It's a Senate process. It has been from the beginning, and we're letting the Senate continue to dictate what the terms look like."
The White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, said the investigation would be "limited in scope" and would "not be a fishing expedition," adding that the FBI was "not tasked to do that."
Sen. Jeff Flake, the Arizona Republican who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, requested an investigation last Friday - after he and other Republicans on the panel voted along strict party lines in favor of Kavanaugh's confirmation - as a condition for his subsequent vote to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.
Another Republican committee member, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that testimony would be taken from Ramirez and Kavanaugh's high-school friend Mark Judge, who has been named by two of three women accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
"I think that will be the scope of it," Graham said. "And that should be the scope of it."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, called on the White House and the FBI to provide the written directive regarding the investigation's scope. In a letter Sunday, she also asked for updates on any expansion of the original directive.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said Sunday she was confident in the investigation and "that the FBI will follow up on any leads that result from the interviews." Collins supports the new FBI investigation and is among a few Republican and Democratic senators who have not announced a position on Kavanaugh.
Republicans control 51 seats in the closely divided 100-member Senate and cannot afford to lose more than one vote on confirmation.
Collins and Flake spoke throughout the weekend.
Senate Republicans discussed the contours of the investigation with the White House late Friday, according to a person familiar with the call who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had gathered Judiciary Committee Republicans in his office earlier. At that time, the scope of the investigation was requested by Flake, Collins, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, McConnell's spokesman Don Stewart said.
Murkowski is not on the committee but also has not announced how she will vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation.
Republicans later called the White House to discuss the scope of the investigation, the person said.
McConnell's office declined to elaborate Sunday on which allegations would be investigated, reiterating only that it would focus on "current credible allegations." Stewart said the investigation's scope "was set" by the three GOP senators Friday and "has not changed."
But Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, a Judiciary Committee member, doubted how credible the investigation would be, given the time limit.
"That's bad enough, but then to limit the FBI as to the scope and who they're going to question, that - that really - I wanted to use the word farce, but that's not the kind of investigation that all of us are expecting the FBI to conduct," she said.
Trump initially opposed such an investigation as allegations began mounting but relented and ordered one on Friday. He later said the FBI had "free rein."
"They're going to do whatever they have to do, whatever it is they do - they'll be doing things that we have never even thought of," Trump said Saturday as he departed the White House for a trip to West Virginia. "And hopefully at the conclusion everything will be fine."
He revisited the "scope" question later Saturday on Twitter, writing in part, "I want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion."
Sanders said Trump, who has vigorously defended Kavanaugh but also raised the slight possibility of withdrawing the nomination should damaging information be found, "will listen to the facts."
At least three women have accused Kavanaugh of years-ago misconduct. He denies all the claims.
The third woman, Julie Swetnick, accused Kavanaugh and Judge of excessive drinking and inappropriate treatment of women in the early 1980s, among other accusations. Kavanaugh has called her accusations a "joke." Judge has said he "categorically" denies the allegations.
Swetnick's attorney, Michael Avenatti, said Saturday that his client had not been contacted by the FBI but was willing to cooperate with investigators.
Ford also has said Judge was in the room when a drunken Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. Judge has said he will cooperate with any law-enforcement agency that will "confidentially investigate" sexual-misconduct allegations against him and Kavanaugh. Judge has also denied misconduct allegations.
Sanders spoke on "Fox