New calls for Kavanaugh to withdraw after second misconduct claim by classmate

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., wrote a letter to President Trump urging him to direct the FBI to investigate sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Ramirez has called on the FBI to investigate her claims, as have Democratic Senate lawmakers – who first learned about the accusations last week, along with Senior Republican staffers.

But what I suspect she has done for many women is trigger an excavation of all the things that they had buried and tried to minimise because they wanted to forget and rebuild, because they were young, and because it was such a long time ago, and because really, how can you bring your old irrecoverable teenage pain and demand that it be salved now, after all these years? During the incident at the “drunken dormitory party”, which happened during their freshman year, the future judge also allegedly forced her to touch his penis without her consent, the New Yorker revealed. Grassley agreed to several items, including postponing the hearing by three days, ensuring Ford’s safety, and not having Kavanaugh in the same room during her testimony.

The unusual release by the office attacks certain aspects of the New Yorker story.

“We’re not going to turn over to the other side how many witnesses to call”, Graham added.

U.S. President Donald Trump has defended his Supreme Court nominee and questioned why Ford did not report the incident to police. Chuck Grassley, and asked that the new allegation be referred to the FBI for investigation.

“Ramirez acknowledged that there are significant gaps in her memories of the evening…”

“I remember a penis being in front of my face”, she said. In a single tweet Friday, Trump broke his silence to cast doubt on Ford’s story in ways Republicans had been carefully trying to avoid. Trump has called her allegation into question, writing on Twitter on Friday that “if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents”.

But the allegations have knocked the White House and its conservative allies – who fear that their chance to remake the court is slipping away – on their heels.

“This 35-year-old, uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats created to tear down a good man”, White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement.

Kavanaugh, who faces similar claims from California professor Christine Blasey Ford, vehemently denies the accusations. In the case of Judge Kavanaugh, an obviously thin, groundless accusation with no proof whatsoever seems all that’s needed to destroy an exemplary man’s character and reputation.

“I don’t know who or what to believe any more”, the senator said.

He also rejected her proposal that she testify after Mr Kavanaugh.

The latest denial, issued on September 22 by the lawyer for Leland Keyser-one of the four witnesses named by accuser Christine Ford-comes days before Ford is expected to offer her account to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a September 27 hearing.

And Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), said the president should call for the FBI to investigate if he wanted to “get to the bottom” of Blasey’s account.

The list of talking points demonstrating “very serious veracity issues” with the article, written by Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer, includes the lack of witnesses placing Kavanaugh at the party, Ramirez’s one-time best friend knowing nothing of the story, and the six days it apparently took Ramirez to feel “confident enough of her recollections” to talk to reporters.

A woman who attended Yale with Brett Kavanaugh is accusing him of sexual assault. The magazine says she described the incident in an interview after being contacted by the magazine.

Instead of focusing on an improving economy, Republicans, especially those running in competitive suburban House districts, have grappled with the fallout of ongoing chaos in Washington, with Kavanaugh’s stalled nomination just the latest exhibit.

“This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen”, said Kavanaugh. The letter also requests that committee staff join a phone call Saturday afternoon to continue negotiations over Ford’s appearance.

Democratic senators were expected to ask their own questions.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation appears to turn mostly on the support or opposition of three Republican senators: Jeff Flake of Arizona, who is on the Judiciary panel that Republicans control 11-10; Susan Collins of ME and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.