Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had but one alleged eyewitness to corroborate his claim that he didn’t attack anyone at the 1982 gathering at the center of Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations: Mark Judge, whom Blasey says was in the bedroom where Kavanaugh allegedly assaulted her.
Judge has submitted testimony denying that the event happened. It would make sense, then, that he would be a good witness for Kavanaugh.
Judge, however, wasn’t at the hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday — he’s “recovering from alcoholism” at a beach house in Delaware, according to his lawyer.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.) wanted to know if Kavanaugh would want Judge there as a witness. Kavanaugh never answered the question, but rather skirmished with the senator:
Leahy: If [Blasey] is saying Mark Judge was in the room, then he should be here today. Would you want him called as a witness?
Kavanaugh: Senator, this allegation came into the committee —
Leahy: No no, I’m just asking the question, would you want him to be here as a witness?
Kavanaugh: He’s already provided sworn testimony to the committee. This allegation has been hidden by the committee.
Kavanaugh would go on to shout down Leahy for interrupting:
In another striking exchange, Leahy referenced Judge’s 1997 memoir, Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk, while questioning Kavanaugh about his drinking habits back in high school.
Kavanaugh didn’t answer that, either, but instead called Judge’s book a work of fiction.
Leahy: The author of the book … references a Bart O’Kavanaugh vomiting in someone’s car during beach week and then passing out. Is that you that he’s talking about?
Kavanaugh: Sir, uh, Mark Judge —
Leahy: To your knowledge is that you that he’s talking about?
Kavanaugh: Sir, I’ll explain if you let me.
Leahy: Proceed, please.
Kavanaugh: Mark Judge was a friend of ours in high school who developed a very serious drinking problem, an addiction problem, that lasted decades ... He wrote a book, that is a fictionalized book and an account. I think he picked out names of friends of ours to throw them in for characters in the book. We can sit here and make fun of some guy who has an addiction —
Leahy: I’m not making fun of anybody, I’m trying to get a straight answer from you under oath.
Earlier on Thursday Blasey said Judge’s testimony would have been helpful to corroborate anecdotes like the time she ran into him at the Potomac Village Safeway, where he worked, a few weeks after the alleged attack.
“I certainly feel like I could be more helpful to everyone if I knew the date he worked at the Safeway,” she told senators.