Article III Project (A3P) Talkers: Ramirez Allegations

www.article3project.org

No Eyewitness Could Confirm Ms. Ramirez’s Allegation, No One Could Confirm Kavanaugh Was Even
Present, And She ‘Could Not Be Certain [He] Was The One’
THE NEW YORKER:“The New Yorkerhas not confirmed with other eyewitnesses that Kavanaugh was
present at the party.”(“Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of Sexual Misconduct, from
Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years,” The New Yorker, 9/23/2018)
THE NEW YORK TIMES:“The New Yorker did not confirm with other eyewitnesses that Judge
Kavanaugh was at the party. The Times had interviewed several dozen people over the past week in
an attempt to corroborate her story and could find no one with firsthand knowledge.Ms. Ramirez
herself contacted former Yale classmates asking if they recalled the incident and told some of them
that she could not be certain Mr. Kavanaugh was the one …” (“Christine Blasey Ford Reaches Deal to
Testify at Kavanaugh Hearing,” The New York Times, 9/23/2018)
CBS’ JOHN DICKERSON:“Jane, the corroborating witness, which you said has all the details, including
Kavanaugh’s name, where did that witness come from, where did that witness get the information
about this from, if that person doesn’t know Ramirez?”
THE NEW YORKER’s JANE MAYER:“He remembers it from—he was in the same dorm, same little building
on Yale’s Old Campus. And he remembers it clearly. I asked him—”
DICKERSON:“Did he see it?”
MAYER:“No. As I’ve said, he heard it from someone who was there.”(CBS’ “CBS This Morning,”
9/24/2018)
“She was at first hesitant to speak publicly, partly because her memories contained gaps because she
had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident.”(“Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation
of Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years,” The New Yorker, 9/23/2018)
“After six daysof carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney, Ramirez said that
she felt confident enough of her recollections …” (“Senate Democrats Investigate a New Allegation of
Sexual Misconduct, from Brett Kavanaugh’s College Years,” The New Yorker, 9/23/2018)
“The Ramirez accusation has been floating around several news outlets in the past week, including
NBC, NYer, New York Times, & the Washington Post per five sources.”(New York Magazine’s Yashar Ali,
@yashar, Twitter, 9/23/2018)

Senate Judiciary Committee (Sep 2018) -- Ramirez Allegations

• The Committee worked tirelessly to pursue any and all substantive leads. In the course of the
investigation, staff members spoke with 35 individuals, a task that required extensive work
during nights and weekends. More than 20 Committee staffers contributed to the investigative
efforts. The Committee never received any evidence that would corroborate the claims made by
Dr. Ford, Ms. Ramirez, Ms. Swetnick, or anybody else.
• In response to the allegations from Ms. Ramirez, the Committee contacted Ms. Ramirez’s
counsel 7 times seeking evidence to support the claims made in TheNew Yorker. Ms. Ramirez
produced nothing in response. Ms. Ramirez’s counsel refused the Committee’s request for an
interview. Committee staff nevertheless pursued the investigation. Staff interviewed 5
 witnesses with relevant information. Committee staff also investigated the public statements of
3 other individuals and found they had no knowledge of the alleged event.
• Prior to the September 27 hearing, Committee staff conducted a transcribed telephone
interview with Judge Kavanaugh, subject to penalty of felony. He denied Ms. Ramirez’s
allegations. Minority staff attended the interview under protest and refused to participate.
• The Supplemental Background Investigation confirmed what the Senate Judiciary Committee
concluded after its investigation: there is no corroboration of the allegations made by Dr. Ford
or Ms. Ramirez.
• In the executive summary released by Sen. Grassley’s office, the FBI said it decided to reach out
to 11 people to try to corroborate the allegations by Ford and Ramirez. The bureau ultimately
interviewed 10 people, according to the summary. The FBI also interviewed Ramirez and two
alleged eyewitnesses to the Yale University incident. Agents also interviewed a "close friend" of
Ramirez's from college.
• Committee investigators requested an interview or evidence from Deborah Ramirez’s counsel
seven times. Committee investigators interviewed Justice Kavanaugh, going through each of Ms.
Ramirez’s allegations. Justice Kavanaugh unequivocally denied each of the allegations.
Committee investigators investigated claims by James Roche, Judge Kavanaugh’s freshman
roommate, and determined he had no knowledge of the substantive allegations. Committee
investigators spoke to a witness who came forward to discuss Ms. Ramirez’s credibility
generally.

Weakness of Ramirez Allegations

• Ms. Ramirez has “acknowledged that there are significant gaps in her memories of the
evening.” For several reasons, that makes perfect sense. The incident allegedly
happened 35 years ago. She did not come forward with this story. When she was first
approached, “she was reluctant to characterize Kavanaugh’s role in the alleged incident
with certainty.” It was only after six days of “carefully assessing her memories and
consulting with her attorney” that Ms. Ramirez could be “confident enough of her
recollections” to speak with Judge Kavanaugh It is unclear what form her careful
assessment took or who assisted with it.
• The New York Times reported that “Ms. Ramirez herself contacted former Yale
classmates asking if they recalled the episode and told some of them that she could not
be certain Mr. Kavanaugh was the one who exposed himself.”
• Ms. Ramirez’s perception of the event at the time was also unreliable. The article
reports that excessive drinking left Ms. Ramirez “on the floor, foggy and slurring her
words.” She acknowledged that “her memories contained gaps because she had been
drinking at the time of the alleged incident.”
• No media organization has identified any witness with firsthand knowledge who can
corroborate her story. In the article’s own words: “The New Yorker has not confirmed
with other eyewitnesses that Kavanaugh was present at the party. The magazine
contacted several dozen classmates of Ramirez and Kavanaugh regarding the incident.
• Many did not respond to interview requests; others declined to comment or said they
did not attend or remember the party.” The two males that Ms. Ramirez places at the
scene both denied her claim. One says it didn’t happen; the other, that he has no
recollection of it.
 • The New York Times also looked into it and reached the same conclusion. The Times
“interviewed several dozen people over the [week before The New Yorker published its
article] in an attempt to corroborate Ms. Ramirez’s story, and could find no one with
firsthand knowledge.”
• No one allegedly present at the event was willing or able to corroborate Ms. Ramirez’s
identification of Justice Kavanaugh.
• The way the allegations emerged strongly suggests a partisan motive by those who
pushed the story. The New Yorker published the Ramirez allegations on Sunday, September 23,
2018, the same day the Committee announced that Dr. Ford had agreed to appear at a hearing
later that week. Prior to September 23, the media reported that the Committee had extended
an invitation to Dr. Ford to testify on Monday, September 24, but no agreement had been
reached regarding her participation.
• The article makes clear that Ms. Ramirez’s allegations had been fed to, and investigated
by, Senate Democrats—who withheld the allegations from their Republican colleagues.
• Ms. Ramirez’s attorney was a former Democratic officeholder and a major Democratic
donor. Ms. Ramirez described herself as a registered Democrat who “works toward
human rights, social justice, and social change.”

September 25thUpdate, Kavanagh Denial Under Penalty of Felony – Ramirez Refuses To Provide
Evidence
• Committee investigative staff interviewed Justice Kavanaugh for approximately 90
minutes regarding Ms. Ramirez’s allegations in the New Yorker and other allegations
received by two Senate offices. For the first time, Democratic staff attended the call, but
expressly declined to ask Justice Kavanaugh any questions. Justice Kavanaugh denied
each allegation.
• Committee staff made three more requests for any statement, testimony, or evidence
from Ms. Ramirez. Ms. Ramirez’s attorneys declined to submit such materials.

Education of Brett Kavanaugh Talkers:

• The New York Times yesterday reported that Max Stier, a Yale classmate of Justice
Kavanaugh, allegedly saw Justice Kavanaugh with his pants down at a different party
during Justice Kavanaugh’s freshman year at Yale. The story states that friends pushed
Justice Kavanaugh’s penis into a female’s hand. The New York Times claimed that it
“corroborated” the story with two “officials.” But these individuals only corroborated
that Stier had told the story, not that is was true. The New York Times left out the fact
that the supposed victim had told several of her friends that she does not recall the
incident. https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/15/alleged-victim-in-new-york-times-kavanaugh-
story-doesnt-remember-incident/
• According to the New York Times, Stier alerted the FBI of his account. The FBI thus had
this information when it conducted its supplemental investigation into Justice
Kavanaugh – an investigation that found no evidence to support any allegations of
assault.
• The woman who was supposedly involved in the alleged incident said to several friends
that “she does not recall it.”
• Media reports that Stier was a longtime supporter of the Clintons and an adversary of
Justice Kavanaugh. He was a member of President Bill Clinton’s defense team during the
Lewinsky investigation.
• Chairman Grassley’s Judiciary Committee staff has no record that Mr. Stier contacted
them with this allegation reported in the New York Times.
• The allegation reported in the New York Times is unsubstantiated hearsay,
‘corroborated’ by anonymous sources, involving an alleged victim who other unnamed
sources said does not even remember the event.
• The Justice Department should take-action on the criminal referrals made by then-
Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, related to the alleged smears and lies made against
Justice Kavanaugh during his confirmation process.
• The allegations against Justice Kavanaugh are politically driven smear and lies.
• One of the authors of the new book, Robin Pogrebin attended Yale with Brett
Kavanaugh, she has failed to disclose this in the recent articles. She also pressured a
former Yale colleague via text to give a statement about the Ramirez allegations, even
though her colleague did not recall the event.