Here Are Brett Kavanaugh's Wildest Senate Testimony Moments

The Supreme Court nominee wept as he denied Christine Blasey Ford's claim that he sexually assaulted her over 35 years ago.
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Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday gave emotional ― and eyebrow-raising ― testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee about Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her.

Blasey alleged that Kavanaugh pinned her down, groped her and attempted to remove her clothes during a small gathering when they were both high school students in the early 1980s.

This week, two additional women ― Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick ― publicly accused him of sexual misconduct. Ramirez alleged that Kavanaugh thrust his penis in her face during a party when they were freshmen at Yale University. Swetnick alleged she witnessed Kavanaugh and one of his friends at several high school parties getting “drunk” and “being overly aggressive with girls.”

Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, has vehemently denied the allegations. His weepy, defiant testimony Thursday offered a stark contrast to Blasey’s composed statements before the committee hours earlier.

Here are some of the wildest moments from Kavanaugh’s testimony on Thursday:

Kavanaugh broke down in tears while discussing the calendars he kept in high school

“I’ve submitted to this committee detailed calendars recording my activities in the summer of 1982,” Kavanaugh said. “Why did I keep calendars? My dad started keeping detailed calendars of his life in 1978.”

After becoming visibly emotional, the judge continued, “He did so as both a calendar and a diary. He’s a very organized guy, to put it mildly.”

He rattled off the names of several female friends as proof he never sexually assaulted anyone

“One feature of my life that has remained true to the present day is that I’ve always had a lot of close female friends,” Kavanaugh told the committee. “I’m not talking about girlfriends. I’m talking about friends who are women.”

“Maybe it was because I was an only child and had no sisters,” he added. “But anyway, we had no social media or text or email, and we talked on the phone. I remember talking almost every night, it seems, to my friends — Amy or Julie or Kristen or Karen or Suzanne or Mora or Megan or Nicky. The list goes on.”

He claimed the sexual assault allegations brought against him were part of a pro–Hillary Clinton plot

Kavanaugh channeled the man who nominated him to the highest court in the land, President Donald Trump, by claiming that the sexual misconduct allegations against him were part of a “political hit.”

“This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit,” Kavanaugh said, “fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups.”

He repeatedly dodged questions from committee Democrats about why he hasn’t asked Trump to open an FBI investigation into the allegations against him

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) suggested that Kavanaugh request an FBI investigation into the allegations if he truly cared about saving his reputation, but Kavanaugh danced around the request.

“I welcome whatever the committee wants to do, ’cause I am telling the truth,” Kavanaugh said.

But Durbin pressed him, saying, “I want to know what you want to do.”

“I’m telling the truth,” Kavanaugh said before Durbin asked him again what he wanted to do.

“I’m innocent,” Kavanaugh said. “I’m innocent of this charge. They don’t reach conclusions. You reach the conclusions.”

“You can’t have it both ways, Judge,” Durbin said. “You can’t say here at the beginning, ‘I welcome any kind of investigation.’”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) also questioned Kavanaugh about whether he would be willing to request an FBI investigation into the allegations, but Kavanaugh continued to demur.

“I’m here to answer questions about my yearbook or about any of my sports,” Kavanaugh said.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), too, attempted to obtain a simple “yes”or “no” from Kavanaugh on whether he would be willing to ask the White House to conduct such an investigation. But Kavanaugh again refused to directly answer the question.

He sassily threw questions he didn’t like back at the senators who asked them

When asked by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) if the phrase “Ralph Club” in his high school yearbook referred to throwing up from drinking too much alcohol, Kavanaugh became defensive.

“I like beer,” he responded. “I like beer. I don’t know if you ― do you like beer, Senator? What do you like to drink?”

He employed the same strategy later when Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked if he has ever drunk so much that he didn’t remember certain parts of the night before.

“You’re asking about blackout,” Kavanaugh replied. “I don’t know. Have you?”

After a short recess, Kavanaugh offered an apology to Klobuchar, which she said she accepted.

“I’m sorry I did that,” he told her. “This is a tough process.”

He explained the inside jokes written in his high school calendar, including the word “boofed,” which he said refers to “flatulence.”

Kavanaugh was asked to explain several phrases found in his high school yearbook and his responses were, at times, cringeworthy.

“That refers to flatulence. We were 16,” Kavanaugh said, explaining the word “boofed” to the senator.

“If we want to talk about flatulence at age 16 on a yearbook page, I’m game,” he added.

CORRECTION: This article previously stated that a reference to “Ralph Club” appeared in Brett Kavanaugh’s calendar. It appeared in his high school yearbook.

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