Brett Kavanaugh, pictured at his Yale graduation, was questioned by police over the 1985 incident but was not arrested. Photo / The White House
Brett Kavanaugh, pictured at his Yale graduation, was questioned by police over the 1985 incident but was not arrested. Photo / The White House
A letter written by a young Brett Kavanaugh has shed some new light on the embattled judge's hazy university days.
In a copy of the 1983 letter, obtained by The New York Times, the then-18-year-old warned his friends that they could face eviction from their Maryland condo due to their drinking habits.
He wrote that whoever arrived first at the condo should "warn the neighbours that we're loud, obnoxious drunks with prolific pukers among us. Advise them to go about 30 miles …'
He also wrote: "The danger of eviction is great and that would suck because of the money and because this week has big potential. (Interpret as wish.)"
Why, 35 years later, is this letter significant? Because the FBI is investigating claims made by Christine Blasey Ford that the Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted her in the 1980s while drunk, and the extent of his university drinking habits have formed part of the probe.
On Thursday, Mr Kavanaugh told the Judiciary Committee that he drank a "moderate" amount in high school, but wasn't excessive about it and had never blacked out.
Testimonies from several classmates and friends of Mr Kavanaugh around that time have told another story, depicting him as part of a group that celebrated a heavy drinking jock culture.
A one-time classmate of Mr Kavanaugh said he was a habitual heavy drinker, challenging the judge's Senate testimony to the contrary.
"I can unequivocally say that in denying the possibility that he ever blacked out from drinking and in downplaying the degree and frequency of his drinking, Brett has not told the truth," Chad Ludington told reporters yesterday.
The North Carolina State University professor, who said he had contacted the FBI with his information, indicated on Sunday in a statement that Mr Kavanaugh was "belligerent and aggressive" when he drank.
Other classmates said Mr Kavanaugh and his friends partook in binge-drinking rituals many weekends, to the point where they could barely stand.
Speaking of the latest letter, Mr Kavanaugh only said: "This is a note I wrote to organise 'Beach Week' in the summer of 1983."
A separate report published by The New York Times yesterday claimed Mr Kavanaugh has a history of alcohol-related violence during this period of his life.
According to a 1985 police report obtained by the Times, Mr Kavanaugh was involved in an altercation at a bar when he was an undergraduate student at Yale University.
A 21-year-old man accused Mr Kavanaugh of throwing ice on him "for some unknown reason", and a witness reportedly said that a close of friend of his then hit the man in the ear with a glass.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was questioned by police when he was a student at Yale over an off-campus bar fight in 1985. Photo / AP
The victim, Dom Cozzolino, was "bleeding from the right ear" and later treated at a local hospital, according to the police report.
The report is significant because Mr Kavanaugh has defended himself against claims that he drank excessively in his high school and university years.
"I drank beer with my friends," he said. "Almost everyone did. Sometimes I had too many beers. Sometimes others did. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I did not drink beer to the point of blacking out," he said.
