Hirono on Kavanaugh: ‘It all goes to how he behaves when he is drunk’
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) on Tuesday expressed concerns she has about reports and anecdotal testimony that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was “aggressive” when he was drunk in high school and college.
“The portrayal of himself as practically a choir boy is very much contradicted by his roommate, for example, in college, as well as people who knew him in high school,” Hirono said in an appearance on CNN’s “New Day.”
“It all goes to how he behaves when he’s drunk,” she continued. “His very aggressive behavior, belligerent behavior, when he’s drunk. For someone to say ‘I never did any of this’ when it’s contradicted by people who knew him, one has to wonder.”
{mosads}The FBI is looking into allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.
Christine Blasey Ford alleged that he pinned her to a bed and groped her during a high school party in the 1980s, and Deborah Ramirez has accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself to her during a college party that same decade.
A third accuser, Julie Swetnick, has claimed in a signed declaration that Kavanaugh was part of a group of high schoolers in the 1980s who intoxicated women so they could be “gang raped.”
Kavanaugh has adamantly denied all of the allegations.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Kavanaugh admitted that he liked to drink beer in high school and college, and sometimes drank too much. However, he insisted that he never drank to the point of blacking out.
Multiple former classmates of Kavanaugh’s have defended his character following his testimony, but additional ex-classmates have suggested that the judge misled the committee about his drinking habits.
The New York Times reported Monday that Kavanaugh was involved in a bar fight in 1985, while he was in college. A police report showed that Kavanaugh was questioned by police after he was accused of throwing ice on someone, but he was not arrested.
Hirono, who serves on the Judiciary Committee and has called for President Trump to withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination, called the latest report “very relevant,” and suggested that Kavanaugh’s temperament and portrayal of his drinking habits should factor into his confirmation.
“This is why we need an FBI investigation because there are a lot of allegations, and the reports really are about how he behaves when he’s drunk,” Hirono said.
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