The Latest on the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh (all times local):
7:25 p.m.
A former Yale University classmate of Brett Kavanaugh’s says he is “deeply troubled” by what he says has been a blatant mischaracterization by Kavanaugh of his drinking at Yale.
Charles “Chad” Ludington now teaches at North Carolina State University. He says in a statement released Sunday that he was a friend of Kavanaugh’s at Yale and sometimes drank with him.
Ludington described Kavanaugh as “a frequent drinker, and a heavy drinker.” He says that on many occasions he heard Kavanaugh slur his words and saw him stagger from alcohol consumption, and was often belligerent and aggressive when drunk.
Ludington says he plans to speak to the FBI, which has reopened its background investigation of Kavanaugh in light of allegations of sexual misconduct brought against the Supreme Court nominee.
___
5:45 p.m.
Deborah Ramirez, who’s accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were students at Yale, has spoken with FBI agents as part of the bureau’s investigation of the Supreme Court nominee.
That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who couldn’t discuss the confidential investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
In an interview with agents on Sunday, Ramirez detailed her allegation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s. The person familiar with the matter said Ramirez also provided the agents with names of others who she said could corroborate her account.
President Donald Trump ordered the FBI on Friday to reopen Kavanaugh’s background investigation after several women accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
___
10:10 a.m.
Senior Trump administration officials say the White House isn’t “micromanaging” a new FBI background check of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Republican senators and the White House have agreed to the investigation after California professor Christine Blasey Ford testified at a Senate hearing that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona sough the investigation and asked that it be limited in scope and last no more than a week.
Kavanaugh has denied Ford’s allegation.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and senior adviser Kellyanne Conway denied during TV interviews Sunday that the White House is directing the process.
Sanders says the White House counsel has allowed the Senate to dictate the terms and scope of the investigation.
Trump had opposed another background review for Kavanaugh.
___
12:35 a.m.
A lawyer for the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were students at Yale says she has agreed to cooperate with an FBI investigation.
Deborah Ramirez’s lawyer, John Clune, says agents want to interview her. Ramirez has said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the early 1980s. Two other women have accused the appeals court judge of sexual misconduct.
President Donald Trump has ordered the FBI to reopen Kavanaugh’s background investigation. While the scope of the investigation remains unclear, Trump says the FBI “has free rein” and that he wants agents to interview whomever they deem appropriate.
