NYT updates Brett Kavanaugh piece to add that accuser doesn’t recall
New York Times is forced to revise its ‘bombshell’ story detailing sexual misconduct claims against Brett Kavanaugh to say the accuser has no memory of the alleged assault at a dorm party in the 1980s
- New York Times detailed fresh account by Brett Kavanaugh’s Yale classmate
- Max Stier alleged he saw friends of Kavanaugh push his penis against a woman
- The NYT has to add a clarification that the alleged victim did not recall incident
- Alleged victim refused to be interviewed by the paper and made no comment
The New York Times has been forced to revise its Brett Kavanaugh piece detailing fresh sexual assault claims stating that the accuser does not remember the alleged incident.
An article published on Saturday detailed a fresh account by Yale classmate Max Stier who says he saw Supreme Court Judge Kavanaugh, who was a freshman at the time, at a party with his pants down.
Stier alleged he saw friends of Kavanaugh push his penis into the hand of a unnamed female student at a drunken party in the 1980s.
But it has now emerged that friends of the alleged victim said she did not recall the supposed sexual assault in question at all.
The Times also stated for the first time on Sunday that the alleged victim refused to be interviewed and made no comment about the allegations which are being revealed in a new book by NYT reporters.
It is the second time the newspaper has had to backtrack over the ‘bombshell’ piece after a tweet on Saturday referred to the allegations as ‘harmless fun’.
Brett Kavanaugh speaking at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill last September
The New York Times had to publish a clarification to their piece detailing fresh allegations about Judge Kavanaugh’s conduct at Yale in the 1980s
The fresh claim is similar to the allegation made by Deborah Ramirez, who unlike fellow accuser Christine Blasey Ford, was not asked to testify at Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings last September.
Ramirez claimed that Kavanaugh exposed his penis to her and thrust it in her face at a dorm party, forcing her touch it while they were both students at Yale.
Stier notified the FBI and senators about the incident, but the FBI did not investigate the claim or interview the alleged victim, according to reports.
Max Stier, President and CEO of Partnership for Public Service, alleged he saw Kavanaugh push his penis into the hand of a unnamed female student at a party
The fresh allegation was first published in a new book, The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation, by NYT reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly who examined the Supreme Court Justice’s college years.
But since Saturday’s article the newspaper had to add an update clarifying that the unnamed female student does not recall the alleged incident.
The Times’ revision note said: ‘Editors’ Note: An earlier version of this article, which was adapted from a forthcoming book, did not include one element of the book’s account regarding an assertion by a Yale classmate that friends of Brett Kavanaugh pushed his penis into the hand of a female student at a drunken dorm party.
‘The book reports that the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident. That information has been added to the article.’
The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway, who reviewed an advance copy of the book, first flagged omission from the Times’ piece.
She wrote on Twitter: ‘The book notes, quietly, that the woman Max Stier named as having been supposedly victimized by Kavanaugh and friends denies any memory of the alleged event.’
On Saturday the paper was also forced to apologize for joking the allegations were ‘harmless fun’ in a Twitter post linking to the Kavanaugh article.
President Donald Trump pats Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh on the back during a ceremonial swear-in at the White House last October. The president has defended Kavanaugh over sexual misconduct allegations
Dr Christine Blasey Ford (left) last September accused then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party 36 years ago
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL NOTE ON KAVANAUGH PIECE
The Times’ revision note that was added on Sunday said: ‘Editors’ Note: An earlier version of this article, which was adapted from a forthcoming book, did not include one element of the book’s account regarding an assertion by a Yale classmate that friends of Brett Kavanaugh pushed his penis into the hand of a female student at a drunken dorm party.
‘The book reports that the female student declined to be interviewed and friends say that she does not recall the incident. That information has been added to the article.’
The newspaper’s opinion Twitter page tweeted on Saturday: ‘Having a penis thrust in your face at a drunken dorm party may seem like harmless fun. But when Brett Kavanaugh did it to her, Deborah Ramirez says, it confirmed she did not belong at Yale in the first place.’
Minutes after that first tweet was posted, the paper issued a retraction, writing: ‘We have deleted an earlier tweet to this article that was poorly phrased.’
They later deleted that post following further criticism, adding: ‘We deleted a previous tweet regarding this article. It was offensive, and we apologize.’
Since the fresh allegation has come to light a string of Democrat 2020 presidential hopefuls have called for Kavanaugh to either step down or be impeached.
Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker and Julian Castro, were among the group calling for Kavanaugh’s resignation.
President Trump defended his Supreme Court nominee and said Kavanaugh should sue for libel.
He tweeted: ‘Brett Kavanaugh should start suing people for libel, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue. The lies being told about him are unbelievable. False Accusations without recrimination. When does it stop? They are trying to influence his opinions. Can’t let that happen!’
Ford, a research psychologist and professor, drew national attention last year after she came forward with sexual assault allegations following Trump’s appointment of Kavanaugh.
The 52-year-old claimed 17-year-old Kavanaugh held her down on a bed at high school party when she was 15 and tried to remove her clothing, putting his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming.
Her emotional testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last September became a milestone for the #MeToo movement.
It turned Kavanaugh’s confirmation into the most controversial since Clarence Thomas in 1991, who was accused of sexual harassment as well.
Third accuser Julie Swetnick rowed back from her claim Kavanaugh was part of a group who would spike ‘punch’ at parties in order to assault girls.
The judge was ultimately confirmed by the committee on October 6 last year.
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