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A letter written by a young Brett Kavanaugh has shed new light on the judge’s university drinking habits

AN OLD letter written by a young Brett Kavanaugh has shed new light on his university days — and it doesn’t make him look good.
An old letter written by a young Brett Kavanaugh has shed new light on his university days — and it doesn’t exactly make him look good.Source:AFP

An old letter written by a young Brett Kavanaugh has shed new light on his university days — and it doesn’t exactly make him look good.Source:AFP

A LETTER written by a young Brett Kavanaugh has shed some new light on the embattled judge’s hazy university days.

In a copy of the 1983 letter, obtained by The New York Times, the then-18-year-old warned his friends that they could face eviction from their Maryland condo due to their drinking habits.

He wrote that whoever arrived first at the condo should “warn the neighbours that we’re loud, obnoxious drunks with prolific pukers among us. Advise them to go about 30 miles …’

He also wrote: “The danger of eviction is great and that would suck because of the money and because this week has big potential. (Interpret as wish.)”

Why, 35 years later, is this letter significant? Because the FBI is investigating claims made by Christine Blasey Ford that the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted her in the 1980s while drunk, and the extent of his university drinking habits have formed part of the probe.

On Thursday, Mr Kavanaugh told the Judiciary Committee that he drank a “moderate” amount in high school, but wasn’t excessive about it and had never blacked out.

Testimonies from several classmates and friends of Mr Kavanaugh around that time have told another story, depicting him as part of a group that celebrated a heavy drinking jock culture.
 

Brett Kavanaugh in his high school yearbook.
Brett Kavanaugh in his high school yearbook.Source:Supplied



A one-time classmate of Mr Kavanaugh said he was a habitual heavy drinker, challenging the judge’s Senate testimony to the contrary.

“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,” Chad Ludington told reporters yesterday.

The North Carolina State University professor, who said he had contacted the FBI with his information, indicated on Sunday in a statement that Mr Kavanaugh was “belligerent and aggressive” when he drank.

Other classmates said Mr Kavanaugh and his friends partook in binge-drinking rituals many weekends, to the point where they could barely stand.

Speaking of the latest letter, Mr Kavanaugh only said: “This is a note I wrote to organise ‘Beach Week’ in the summer of 1983.”
 

Dr Christine Blasey Ford has claimed the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted her in the 1980s.
Dr Christine Blasey Ford has claimed the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted her in the 1980s.
Source:AFP


One of the Judge’s old friends, Yale classmate Chris Dudley, said he was never aggressive when he drank. “He wasn’t that type of person,” Dudley told The Washington Post. “I went out with him all the time. He never blacked out. Never even close to blacked out.”

But a separate report published by The New York Times yesterday, which claimed Mr Kavanaugh has a history of alcohol-related violence during this period of his life, revealed that Dudley was involved in a bar fight with Mr Kavanaugh.

According to a 1985 police report obtained by the Times, Mr Kavanaugh got into a fight at a bar when he was an undergraduate student at Yale University.

A 21-year-old man accused Mr Kavanaugh of throwing ice on him “for some unknown reason”, and a witness reportedly said that a close of friend of his then hit the man in the ear with a glass.

The victim, Dom Cozzolino, was “bleeding from the right ear” and later treated at a local hospital, according to the police report.

The Times said it could not find any indication that anyone was arrested over the incident, including Mr Kavanaugh, but yesterday, CNN reported that Dudley was arrested and taken to jail over the glassing.

It’s not known whether Dudley was charged, and he is yet to comment on either report.

Another Yale classmate, Lynne Brookes, described an incident in which she allegedly saw both Dudley and Mr Kavanaugh intentionally interrupt a sexual encounter to “embarrass” a woman.

“I do remember one party in particular where both Brett and Chris Dudley were very drunk,” she told CNN. “And they thought it would be really funny to barge into a room where a guy and a girl had gone off together and embarrass that woman. Chris Dudley was the one who went in, under the egging on of Brett Kavanaugh, and they thought it was funny. The girl was mortified and I was furious.”
 



These reports are significant because Mr Kavanaugh has defended himself against claims that he drank excessively in his high school and university years.

“I drank beer with my friends,” he said. “Almost everyone did. Sometimes I had too many beers. Sometimes others did. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I did not drink beer to the point of blacking out,” he said.

Nearly a dozen classmates recalled him indulging in heavy drinking, with some saying it went beyond normal consumption, the Times reported.



DONALD TRUMP MOCKS FORD

Donald Trump has directly mocked Christine Blasey Ford for the first time since she alleged Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.

Speaking to a crowd in Southaven, Mississippi today, the US President imitated Dr Ford during her testimony, focusing on how she couldn’t remember how she got to the party where she claimed the Supreme Court nominee attacked her.

“I had one beer. Well, do you think it was — nope, it was one beer,” Mr Trump said, mimicking Dr Ford’s testimony last week to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“How did you get home?” he said, taking on the role of prosecutor.

“I don’t remember,” he said in Dr Ford’s voice, which was deeper.

“How’d you get there? I don’t remember. Where is the place? I don’t remember. How many years ago was it? I don’t know.

“What neighbourhood was it in? I don’t know. Where’s the house? I don’t know. Upstairs, downstairs — where was it? I don’t know — but I had one beer. That’s the only thing I remember.”

His comments were met with applause from the crowd.

Michael Bromwich, Ford’s lawyer, hit back at Mr Trump on Twitter, describing his actions as “a vicious, vile and soulless attack”.

“Is it any wonder that she was terrified to come forward, and that other sexual assault survivors are as well? She is a remarkable profile in courage. He is a profile in cowardice,” he wrote.

 

Donald Trump has directly mocked Christine Blasey Ford for the first time since she alleged Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.
Donald Trump has directly mocked Christine Blasey Ford for the first time
since she alleged Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her.
Source:AP



It’s a stark contrast to his position on Dr Ford just two days ago, in which he said she was a “good witness” and respected her position.

“With all of that you cannot say that we’ve done anything but be respectful, and I do. I respect her position very much. I respect her position very much,” he told reporters on Monday.

But he staunchly defended Mr Kavanaugh at the same time, saying his “life is shattered” and that the Democrats against him are “evil people” who want to “destroy people”.

“Think of your son. Think of your husband,” he said, adding that he had “many false allegations” against him.

“I don’t think you should lie to Congress and there are a lot of people over the past year who have lied to Congress,” he said. “For me, that would not be acceptable.”

Mr Trump said it was “a scary time for young men” who could become subject of false accusations. He suggested it was troubling that people were found “automatically guilty” and had to prove their innocence.

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

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