Texts suggest Kavanaugh asked friend to defend him before New Yorker published accuser's story
Text messages obtained by NBC News suggest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh spoke with at least one Yale classmate about Deborah Ramirez before The New Yorker published an article that included her accusation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party when they were college freshmen.
The texts are between Kerry Berchem and Karen Yarasavage, college friends of Kavanaugh and Ramirez. One of the messages from Yarasavage states that Kavanaugh asked her to go on the record refuting Ramirez's allegation, NBC News reports. She said she spoke to both "Brett" and "Brett's guy," and Berchem said Yarasavage also told her she sent a photo from her 1997 wedding to Kavanaugh's team; the photo shows Ramirez, who was a bridesmaid, and Kavanaugh, a groomsman.
In additional texts obtained by NBC News, Yarasavage said she did not refute Ramirez's claim, but did not have any knowledge of the incident, and Berchem wrote that Ramirez steered clear of Kavanaugh during the wedding and "clung to me." Berchem told NBC News she has been trying to get these text messages to the FBI, as part of their investigation into Kavanaugh, but no one has contacted her yet.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During his Senate Judiciary Committee testimony last week, Kavanaugh declared under oath that the first time he heard of Ramirez's accusation was when The New Yorker published the account on Sept. 23. A spokesman for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said "the texts from Ms. Berchem do not appear relevant or contradictory to Judge Kavanaugh's testimony."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published