First, Christine Blasey Ford came forward with her story of Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual misconduct during high school. Deborah Ramirez added to the dialogue with her own allegations during Kavanaugh’s college years. Now, Kavanaugh’s Yale roommate has come forward with more information about Kavanaugh’s college years —and the fact that he believes Ramirez.
The roommate, identified as James Roche on Twitter and by Axios, said in the statement, “Based on my time with Debbie, I believe her to be unusually honest and straightforward and I cannot imagine her making this up. Based on my time with Brett, I believe that he and his social circle were capable of the actions that Debbie described.”
The full statement details Kavanaugh’s “notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time.” Roche admits that he did not witness the incident cited by Ramirez, but believes it added up with the Kavanaugh he got to know as Yale. Roche noticed the Kavanagh became “aggressive and belligerent” when he drank, which he often did “excessively” to the point of becoming “incoherently drunk.”
The following is a statement from James Roche, Brett #Kavanaugh’s freshman roommate at Yale. pic.twitter.com/VfHUgPj3cV
— Peter Kauffmann (@PeterKauffmann) September 25, 2018
Ramirez detailed her experience to The New Yorker, and it is graphic. After meeting with a lawyer and going over her memories of the incident, she shared that “Kavanaugh had exposed himself at a drunken dormitory party, thrust his penis in her face, and caused her to touch it without her consent as she pushed him away.”
Kavanaugh denoted the allegation in a statement, and a White House spokesperson said that the 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.” Ramirez has identified other students at the party, but she requested that The New Yorker not name them and they have not come forward.
“I have shared this information with a small number of reporters who reached out to me directly because Debbie has a right to be heard and I believe her,” said Roche, “I will not be granting any more interview or answering any more questions at this time.”
Because of the accusations, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed the vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, and Ford is set to have a public hearing on Thursday, September 27, according to The Hill.