A North Carolina State University history professor is the latest person to get involved in the investigation into the background of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Raleigh, N. C. — A North Carolina State University history professor is the latest person to get involved in the investigation into the background of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Chad Ludington told NBC News that he was going to the FBI on Monday to give them information about Kavanaugh’s drunken behavior when they were classmates at Yale University.
Retired FBI agent Chuck Stuber, who spent his career investigating high-profile political corruption cases in North Carolina, including John Edwards, Jim Black and Mike Easley, said Ludington could be an important witness in the Kavanaugh case because he calls into question the credibility of the judge’s testimony at the Senate hearings.
« If I were doing the interview, I would want to get as many specifics as I could, » Stuber said. « What they’ll be looking for is if during his testimony he tried to minimize the drinking and claimed he didn’t drink to excess. »
Ludington told the Washington Post that when Kavanaugh drank, he was often aggressive.
« When Brett got drunk, he was often belligerent and aggressive. On one of the last occasions I purposely socialized with Brett, I witnessed him respond to a semi-hostile remark, not by diffusing the situation, but by throwing his beer in the man’s face and starting a fight that ended with one of our mutual friends in jail, » he said to the Washington Post.
« If there’s 10 people that they interview that say he drank to the point where he couldn’t stand up or he was intoxicated to the point where he passed out, that will go to his credibility for honesty and integrity, » Stuber said.
Ludington said he came forward not because he believes Kavanaugh should be held accountable for everything he did as a young college student, but because he felt he lied about his behavior during the senate hearing.
President Donald Trump says he’d be fine with the FBI interviewing Kavanaugh as it investigates allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Trump is pushing back on reports that the White House has tried to limit the scope of the investigation, telling reporters at the White House Monday that « the FBI should do what they have to do to get to the answer » and « interview anybody that they want within reason. »
Trump says he wants the weeklong investigation to « be comprehensive, » but also wants it to go quickly « because it’s unfair » to the nominee « at this point. »
Trump also says he thinks Kavanaugh spoke « very conclusively » and « very well » during his testimony last week, but says he was surprised by how vocal Kavanaugh was describing his alcohol use and how much he likes beer.
