Friend of Kavanaugh Accuser Denies Ever Being at a Party With Kavanaugh, 4th Person to Rebut Claims

Zachary Stieber
9/22/2018
Updated:
9/23/2018

Four people have now disputed a sexual assault allegation made by a California woman against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, with the latest being a friend of the accuser who definitively stated: “she has no recollection of ever being at a party where he was present.”

Christine Blasey Ford, a professor, has said Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982 in Maryland when he was 17 and she was 15. But she has provided no date, time, or place, and four of the people she claimed were at the party where the alleged assault occurred have denied that it happened.

Leland Ingham Keyser is the fourth person to deny the claim. Through her lawyer, she released a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the night of Saturday, Sept. 22, following a staff member of the committee reaching out to her.

“Simply put, Ms. Keyser does not know Mr. Kavanaugh and she has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present, with, or without, Dr. Ford,” said Howard Walsh, Keyser’s lawyer, in the statement, which was also sent to CNN.

Walsh acknowledged that Keyser is a longtime friend of Ford’s dating back to high school.

The fourth denial came just hours after Ford’s lawyers said that she accepted the Senate’s offer to testify about the alleged assault.
Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol, in Washington, during  his confirmation hearing to serve as Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 4, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol, in Washington, during  his confirmation hearing to serve as Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 4, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Other Denials

Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegation and provided testimony under penalty of perjury to the committee early in the week after the allegation first surfaced.

“This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone,” Kavanaugh said in a statement. “Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making the accusation until she identified herself yesterday. I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.”

Mark Judge, another of the people who Ford claimed was at the party and a student with Kavanaugh at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, has also denied the allegation.

“I have no memory of this alleged incident,” Judge said in his statement to the committee. “Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Dr. Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes.”

“I have no information to offer the Committee and I do not wish to speak publicly regarding the incidents described in Dr. Ford’s letter,” Judge added.

Patrick Smyth, also named by Ford as a party attendee, has also denied her allegation.

“I have no knowledge of the party in question; nor do I have any knowledge of the allegations of improper conduct she has leveled against Brett Kavanaugh,” Smyth said in a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee that was also obtained by CNN.

White House Responds

A White House representative responded to the revelation that four people now deny the sexual assault allegation.

“One week ago, Dr. Christine Ford claimed she was assaulted at a house party attended by four others. Since then, all four of these individuals have provided statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee denying any knowledge of the incident or even having attended such a party,” spokeswoman Keri Kupec said in the statement, reported CBS.

From NTD.tv