By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
His Supreme Court nomination stalled and possibly in danger, Brett Kavanaugh on Monday took the extraordinary step of sitting down with Fox News to address the allegations of sexual assault against him. “I’m not going to let false accusations drive us out of this process. And we’re looking for a fair process where I can be heard and defend the—my integrity, my lifelong record,” he told host Martha MacCallum as his wife Ashley sat next to him, visibly upset and mostly silent. “My lifelong record of promoting dignity and equality, starting with the woman who knew me when I was 14 years old. I’m not going anywhere.”
The Fox studio—sparsely appointed, warmly lit, with three chairs casually arranged for MacCallum, Kavanaugh, and his wife—should have provided a relaxed environment for Kavanaugh to rebut Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who says Kavanaugh assaulted her at a high-school party 36 years ago. Instead, Kavanaugh appeared deeply uncomfortable as his Fox News interlocutor offered a friendlier version of the Senate grilling he’ll face on Thursday, when both he and Ford will be called to testify. ”I was never at any such party,” he responded. “The other people who are alleged to be present have said they do not remember any such party.” At another point, he claimed that he was a virgin in high school and “many years after,” as though it were exculpatory. When asked whether he would welcome an F.B.I. investigation into his decorum, he dodged, continuing to call for a chance “to be heard.”
Prior to Ford’s allegation, Kavanaugh’s confirmation looked assured: despite the objections of Democrats, a Republican majority in the Senate seemed to guarantee his ascendance to the nation’s highest court. The calculus changed, however, when Ford’s allegations—previously anonymous—were made public in The Washington Post. The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow and Jane Meyer subsequently reported on a second accuser, Deborah Ramirez, who claimed that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her while the two were at Yale.
The two allegations have prompted an unprecedented media blitz on Kavanaugh’s behalf, and by Kavanaugh, himself. Never before has a Supreme Court nominee given such an interview during the confirmation process. But Kavanaugh appears determined to defend himself fully and vociferously. “I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process,” he wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Monday, previewing his testimony on Thursday. “The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out. The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last-minute character assassination will not succeed.”
The MacCallum interview provided a preview of Kavanaugh’s broader strategy, too. Republicans, including Kavanaugh, apparently see Ramirez as the weaker of the two allegations, and have not hesitated to cast doubt on her claim. “I’m not going to speculate about motives. I know I never did that,” Kavanaugh told Fox, refraining from commenting on The New Yorker’s story. But, he added, “The New York Times said they could not corroborate this story and said that the person making the accusation had been calling around last week to other classmates, indicating her uncertainty about whether I had ever done such a thing.“ Ford, on the other hand, they have largely treated as credible but deluded. “I am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone in some place,” Kavanaugh said. “But what I know is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone in high school or at any time in my life.”
Kavanaugh photographed before being sworn.
By Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images.
Senate Judiciary Committee members Senator Cory Booker and Senator Kamala Harris photographed as nominee Kavanaugh testifies on the second day of his confirmation hearing in DC, September 5, 2018.
By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
A protestor is removed from the confirmation hearing as Kavanaugh testifies..
By Win McNamee/Getty Images.
Demonstrators dressed as characters from The Handmaid’s Tale protest the nomination of Kavanaugh on Captiol Hill, September 5, 2018.
By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley welcomes Kavanaugh to the witness table.
By Win McNamee/Getty Images.
Kavanaugh’s copy of the constitution, which he brought with him to his confirmation hearing.
By Aaron P. Bernstein/Bloomberg/Getty Images.
