More Kavanaugh classmates withdraw support as new allegations emerge

As new, credible allegations of sexual assault emerge against Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, former college classmates who initially stood by him and defended his denials are now distancing themselves and formally withdrawing their expressions of support.

According to Ronan Farrow of the The New Yorker — who, along with Jane Mayer, reported Sunday on the new accusations against Kavanaugh by a second woman, Deborah Ramirez — two of Kavanaugh’s classmates who had come out publicly and disputed the claims against him withdrew their names from a statement of support Monday afternoon.

The statement of support was released by Kavanaugh’s lawyers in an effort to discredit the accusations by Ramirez and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, both of whom say Kavanaugh sexually assaulted them. It was signed by several former classmates who defended Kavanaugh against the accusations.

But a day after the new allegation of sexual assault emerged, two of those classmates have withdrawn their names from the letter and are no longer standing by Kavanaugh because they do not want to dispute the new accusations by Ramirez, who alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party during their freshman year at Yale University.

https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow/status/1044333161142935553

Louisa Garry, one of Kavanaugh’s former classmates who initially defended him but has now rescinded her support, was recently featured in a propaganda blitz funded by the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group working to install Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court.

The right-wing group reportedly pumped at least $1.5 million into the ad campaign featuring Garry. The sole purpose of the propaganda operation was to defend Kavanaugh against the accusations of sexual assault.

In one video, Garry offered her endorsement of Kavanaugh, saying she has known him for over three decades and trusted that he was the right man for the job. She referred to him as a “good and decent man” with an “unblemished personal record” and then, without evidence, claimed that the allegations against him were nothing but a “last-minute smear campaign.”

Louisa Garry: “I’ve been friends with Brett Kavanaugh for 35 years… I believe that we need to have bright, curious, open-minded, thoughtful, empathetic people who are judges and I trust that Brett is that person.” #ConfirmKavanaugh pic.twitter.com/ufvq4uz5rS

— JCN (@judicialnetwork) September 20, 2018

But that was then, and this is now.

Garry, who — as she states in the video — has “been friends with Brett Kavanaugh for 35 years,” reversed course on Monday and is no longer willing to defend him in the face of mounting sexual assault allegations.

A second classmate, Dino Ewing, has also rescinded his name from the letter of support.

This comes just after a slew of women who once reportedly supported Kavanaugh suddenly distanced themselves when his first accuser came out publicly.

Barely over a week ago, Senate Judiciary Republicans released a letter from 65 women vouching for Kavanaugh. Just one day later, Ford stepped forward and went public with her allegations, and by the next day, only two of those women still stood by him.

It seems that even those who have known Kavanaugh for decades are discovering that they may not have known him that well after all — and a dwindling number are willing to put their reputations on the line to protect him.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.