Kavanaugh to Give Senate Calendars From 1982 to Back Up Denial - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh has calendars from the summer of 1982 that he plans to hand over to the Senate Judiciary Committee that do not show a party consistent with the description of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, according to someone working for his confirmation.

The calendars do not disprove Dr. Blasey’s allegations, Judge Kavanaugh’s team acknowledged. He could have attended a party that he did not list. But his team will argue to the senators that the calendars provide no corroboration for her account of a small gathering at a house where he allegedly pinned her to a bed and tried to remove her clothing.

The calendar pages from June, July and August 1982, which were examined by The New York Times, show that Judge Kavanaugh was out of town much of the summer at the beach or away with his parents. When he was at home, the calendars list his basketball games, movie outings, football workouts and college interviews. A few parties are mentioned but include names of friends other than those identified by Dr. Blasey.

The challenge for senators trying to confirm or refute the accusation against Judge Kavanaugh is that Dr. Blasey has said she does not recall the specific date or location of the house where the alleged incident occurred. She has said she believes it was during the summer of 1982, and she remembers wearing a bathing suit with other clothing on top of it, suggesting the party might have taken place after a swim outing at a local country club.

Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey plan to testify before the Judiciary Committee on Thursday as it considers whether to endorse his nomination to the Supreme Court. Dr. Blasey’s allegation of sexual assault when they were both teenagers has upended his seemingly likely path to confirmation and set the stage for a public test of credibility when the two appear separately before the senators.

Dr. Blasey, 51, a university professor in California who is also known by her married name, Ford, told The Washington Post that she and Judge Kavanaugh were at a house in Montgomery County in the Maryland suburbs with just a handful of other teenagers at the time. She said that a “stumbling drunk” Judge Kavanaugh corralled her into a bedroom, groped her on a bed, tried to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she was wearing over it, and covered her mouth when she tried to scream. He has categorically denied the allegation.

If the episode took place during the summer of 1982 as Dr. Blasey said she believes, that would mean she would have been 15 and Judge Kavanaugh was 17. At the time, Judge Kavanaugh was a student at the all-boys Georgetown Preparatory School, and Dr. Blasey was at the all-girls Holton-Arms School, two private schools in the Maryland suburbs whose students sometimes socialized together.

Dr. Blasey said another boy, Mark Judge, was in the room at the time and jumped on top of them in the bed, sending them all tumbling. She was able to free herself and escape the house, she said. Mr. Judge has told the Judiciary Committee that he remembered no such incident and had never seen Judge Kavanaugh behave in such a way.

The only other two people identified as being in the house at the time, but not the bedroom, have also said in recent days that they did not recall the incident. Patrick J. Smyth said he did not remember such a party or see any improper conduct by Judge Kavanaugh. Leland Keyser, a former classmate of Dr. Blasey’s at Holton-Arms, said she did not know Judge Kavanugh or remember being at a party with him.

Debra Katz, a lawyer for Dr. Blasey, noted that her client had not told anyone about her story for years.

“It’s not surprising that Ms. Keyser has no recollection of the evening as they did not discuss it,” Ms. Katz said. “It’s also unremarkable that Ms. Keyser does not remember attending a specific gathering 30 years ago at which nothing of consequence happened to her. Dr. Ford of course will never forget this gathering because of what happened to her there.”

Judge Kavanaugh will offer the calendars to the Senate committee as part of his defense. Sensitive to the potential backlash over questioning the credibility of a woman alleging sexual misconduct, Judge Kavanaugh’s advisers said he will not challenge her account of being assaulted but will argue that it was not him. Some of Judge Kavanaugh’s supporters have also claimed that it is a case of mistaken identity.

The calendar pages are one-month pages with each day in a small box. Unusual for a teenager, Judge Kavanaugh seemed to keep track of his days even during summer vacation. The pages show typical teenage activities from the era, including “beach week” after the end of the school year and nights at the theater to see “Grease II,” “Rocky III” and “Poltergeist” with friends.

Judge Kavanaugh was gone many weekends with his parents in St. Michaels, Md., and one weekend in Connecticut with his grandmother, according to the calendars. He listed an interview for Yale University, where he would eventually enroll, and the start of football camp in August, when he stayed in the dorms at Georgetown Prep. He also played summer league basketball.

His friend, Mr. Judge, is mentioned, but the others from that night are not. “Go to Judge’s,” he wrote in July 28. A few parties are listed and with them the names of several friends he apparently went with.

Nothing from the calendars indicates whether he might have met Dr. Blasey. Judge Kavanaugh has told friends and advisers that he does not remember her. But senators are likely to question him on his drinking and partying during that era.

His friend, Mr. Judge, wrote a memoir called “Wasted: Tales of a Gen-X Drunk,” describing a culture of blackout drinking at that time. He mentions a “Bart O’Kavanaugh” who threw up in a car and “passed out on his way back from a party.”

Dr. Blasey told The Post that she did not tell anyone about the incident at the time. She mentioned to her husband, whom she married in 2002, that she had been the victim of sexual assault and talked about it in detail with a therapist in 2012.

Portions of the therapist’s notes shown to The Post say she remembered being attacked by four students “from an elitist boys’ school” who went on to become “highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington,” although they do not mention Judge Kavanaugh by name. The mention of four rather than two was an error by the therapist, she said.