Brett Kavanaugh Accused Of Attempted Sexual Assault While In High School, Republicans Defend Supreme Court Pick

Brett Kavanaugh is facing an accusation of attempted sexual assault, although it doesn’t appear to have yet hurt his chances of becoming a Supreme Court justice at this time.

On Friday, The New Yorker reported that Kavanaugh, 53, tried to force himself on a woman in the 1980s when he was in high school at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland.

The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, alleged Kavanaugh held her down and covered her mouth at a party.

Kavanaugh has denied the claims. Several prominent Republicans like Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley quickly rushed to defend the judge. Grassley, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, presented a letter signed by more than 60 women acquainted with Kavanaugh.

“We are women who have known Brett Kavanaugh for more than 35 years and knew him while he attended high school between 1979 and 1983,” the letter read. “For the entire time we have known Brett Kavanaugh, he has behaved honorably and treated women with respect.”

The women added that Kavanaugh was a star student in high school who was also a very popular athlete.

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California Sen. Dianne Feinstein — the leading Democrat on the Judiciary Committee — revealed she had obtained a separate letter from the woman who accused Kavanaugh and that she sent it to federal investigators.

Many have started speculating that Grassley and his office released the letter from the 65 women because they were aware of the allegations against Kavanaugh well before it became public. However, Virginia Hume — one of the women who signed the letter — claimed Friday morning in a tweet that she had only learned of the accusation against Kavanaugh the night before.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, another member of the Judiciary Committee, tweeted this about the allegations and the letter Feinstein received.

Kavanaugh has drawn controversy since President Donald Trump nominated him earlier this year because of his stance on many issues including abortion rights, the Second Amendment and the ability to indict a sitting president. Kavanaugh also recently released a statement claiming he did not realize the man who tried to shake hands with him early in his confirmation hearings was the father of a Parkland, Florida, shooting victim. The moment drew shock from many media outlets.