Second woman makes Kavanaugh sex misconduct claim

A second woman has stepped forward with an accusation of sexual misconduct by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, this time during his college years at Yale University, the New Yorker reported Sunday.

The magazine says Senate Democrats, who brought to light the claims of Christine Blasey Ford against President Donald Trump’s pick for the nation’s top court, are investigating an incident reported by Deborah Ramirez, 53, a former Yale student.

Kavanaugh denied the allegation, and the White House issued a statement saying it stands firmly behind his nomination.

The claim dates to the 1983-84 academic school year, when Kavanaugh was a freshman at Yale, the New Yorker reported. Ramirez said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a drunken dormitory party. The offices of at least four Democratic senators have received information about Ramirez’s allegation, the magazine reported on its website.

Ford and Kavanaugh are scheduled to testify before a Senate panel on Thursday about what she says was a sexual assault by him at a party when they were teenagers.

Kavanaugh said in the statement about the latest claim that “this alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple.”

Separately, Michael Avenatti, the lawyer best known for representing adult film star Stephanie Clifford, said on Twitter that he represents a woman “with credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh.” His client is not Ramirez, Avenatti tweeted.

“This 35-year-old, uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats designed to tear down a good man,” White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement. “This claim is denied by all who were said to be present and is wholly inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say.”