Brett Kavanaugh who drinks at Yale is the subject of renewed attention

In high school, Kavanaugh was a junior basketball player, member of a secret society, Truth and Courage, and a member of one of Yale's brotherhoods, Delta Kappa Epsilon, known on campus for his nonsense and his culture. alcohol. But Kavanaugh maintained that even though he liked beer, he did not drink to the point of fainting. And he has repeatedly denied having sexually assaulted anyone yet.

Kavanaugh's alcohol consumption and the issue of his excessive degree became a key issue for Democrats in the Judiciary Committee last week and a possible credibility test for the Senators vote on his confirmation. Both, Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of having pushed her into a room, and attempting to take off her clothes at a party in the 1980s, and Deborah Ramirez, who claimed that Kavanaugh had been exposed to college year, said Kavanaugh was under the influence of alcohol when the alleged incidents occurred.

Kavanaugh said at the hearing that he had been drinking beer not only at the university, but also at the high school, where he was 18 years old. But he disputed that he became drunk, unable to remember events under the influence of alcohol.

"I drank beer with my friends – almost everyone did it – sometimes I had too many beers – sometimes others did it – I liked beer. I still love beer, "Kavanaugh said. "I have not drunk beer to the point of blackening myself and I have never sexually assaulted anyone, there is a clear line between drinking beer, which I gladly do and kissing. sexually someone, a violent crime. "

Classmates who remember that Kavanaugh was a heavy drinker also came forward, just as the FBI reopened his in-depth investigation of the judge.

"I've known Brett since the beginning of the first year, he was always one of the boys who drank beer and I drank beer with him." I love beer. No problem to drink beer at the university. Liz Swisher, a former classmate of Kavanaugh's, said last week on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time".

"He drank a lot, he was a party animal, he liked to bang beer, he played alcohol games, he was drunk drunk, he was more interested in impressing boys than impressing them." I've never seen him sexually aggressive but he was definitely drunk, "added Swisher.

Lynne Brookes, Ramirez's former roommate, also spoke of the Cuomo show to challenge Kavanaugh's testimony by saying that a number of her Yale classmates were "extremely disappointed" by Kavanaugh's characterization.

"There is no doubt in my mind that at Yale, he was a big gambler, often drunk to excess, and there had to be a number of nights he did not remember," said Brookes.

"In fact, I've witnessed the night he was caught in this fraternity, and he was tripping in a ridiculous costume saying some really stupid things." And I can almost guarantee that he does not remember that night, "added Brookes. .

The question of whether the FBI will examine Kavanaugh's alcohol consumption as part of his further investigation is not clear. James Roche, one of Brett Kavanaugh's first-time roommates in Yale, tweeted Monday that the FBI had never contacted him "for any background checks."

"I guess college behavior was not a topic of interest – they did not find Debbie's story because they were not looking for it." Roche said referring to Ramirez's allegations.

Previously, Roche had declared in a statement that Kavanaugh "became aggressive and warlike when he was very drunk".

President Donald Trump sided with Kavanaugh, but he seemed to move away from Monday's scenario when he said he was "surprised at Kavanaugh's voice" about his beer consumption.

"He had a bit of trouble," said Trump. "He talked about things that happened when he drank."

Elderly classmates supported Kavanaugh by saying that even though they might have been drinking with Kavanaugh, they had never seen him in a state where he was unaware of his acts.

Dwayne Oxley, who had lived on the same floor as Kavanaugh for several years at Ezra Stiles College, said he "had never seen [Kavanaugh] in a state where he was not in control. "

Chris Dudley, a close friend of Kavanaugh who was in the same fraternity and kept in touch with him, said that Kavanaugh was never aggressive or belligerent when he drank.

"He was not that kind of person," Dudley told CNN.

On Monday, the White House released joint statements from Dudley and Yale's former companion, Dan Murphy, refuting any claims that Kavanaugh was drinking until he lost consciousness.

"I have never seen Brett lose consciousness or be able to remember the events of the day before, and I have never seen Brett act aggressively, hostile or sexually aggressive toward women," Murphy said in a statement.

At least one former brother of the fraternity claims that the information that Delta Kappa Epsilon is a magnet for men who want to drink excessively is out of proportion.

"The notion that [Kavanaugh] is part of a party fraternity is not the case, "said Christopher Munnelly who was a few years behind Kavanaugh and who graduated in 1990.

Munnelly told CNN that at that time, Delta Kappa Epsilon did not even have a fraternity house.

"You can not have a homeless pet," Munnelly said. "The notion that [Kavanaugh] was part of a party fraternity is not the case. "

The issue of Kavanaugh's drinking has become a test of credibility for some lawmakers, a question not just of who Kavanaugh was when he was young but who answered the committee's questions last week.

In a particularly tense exchange on Thursday, Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar asked Kavanaugh if he had ever woken up and was unable to remember what had happened. Kavanaugh turned Klobuchar's question.

"You talk about, you know the power outage, I do not know, have you?" he asked later, apologizing for handing the question to the senator.

"I was really stunned by the way he acted at this hearing," Klobuchar told CNN on Sunday. "One idea here is that he just drank more than he said during that time, and he did not remember what had happened, so I was just trying to make it happen."