Mark Judge, a high school friend of Brett Kavanaugh’s who Christine Blasey Ford said was present when Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her, said he will cooperate with the FBI if an investigation is opened.
On Thursday the country heard testimony from Blasey, who said Kavanaugh ― now a nominee to the highest court in the nation ― held her down on a bed, covered her mouth with his hand and attempted to forcibly remove her clothing while at a gathering in high school. She said Judge was in the room and engaged in “uproarious laughter” with Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh forcefully declared his innocence during his own testimony, at times yelling, crying and interrupting senators.
“If the FBI or any law enforcement agency requests Mr. Judge’s cooperation, he will answer any and all questions posed to him,” Judge’s lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, told CNBC in an email.
Judge previously declined to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee and is currently holed up at a friend’s house in Bethany Beach, Delaware, “recovering from alcoholism,” according to his lawyer. As HuffPost reporter Laura Bassett points out, Republicans could have subpoenaed him for questioning but decided to instead take his word for it that he recalls nothing of the alleged incident.
A Senate vote to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court could occur as early as Saturday. But on Friday, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) asked that the vote be delayed so the FBI could look into the claims against Kavanaugh. Fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she supports Flake’s proposal.
Kavanaugh has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by two other women. Deborah Ramirez said that at a college party, Kavanaugh exposed his penis and thrust it in her face. And Julie Swetnick said she was the “victim of one of these ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present” at a party in approximately 1982.