Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal Thursday evening, explaining his angry and intense behavior during his public testimony last week in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Kavanaugh admitted in his op-ed that he became “too emotional” in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, adding that he knows his “tone was sharp” and that he “said a few things [he] should not have said.” Kavanaugh defended his behavior during the testimony, acknowledging that he was trying to defend his family, his good name and his years in public service.
Kavanaugh also defended his behavior by pointing out that his years in high school and college were being greatly “distorted” and that his family had been subjected to “vile and violent threats.”
“My hearing testimony was forceful and passionate. That is because I forcefully and passionately denied the allegation against me,” Kavanaugh wrote.
From Opinion: “I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been,” writes Brett Kavanaugh. “I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said.” (corrects quote from an earlier tweet, which has been deleted) https://t.co/f0hqenEEq9 pic.twitter.com/7j8rnhb79p
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 5, 2018
The Supreme Court nominee added that his opening statement and responses to questions from senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee reflected his “overwhelming frustration” at the allegations made by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and others, adding that it revealed his “deep distress at the unfairness of how this allegation has been handled.”
“I was very emotional last Thursday, more so than I have ever been. I might have been too emotional at times,” Kavanaugh said.
The judge did address any falsehoods, or claims of falsehoods, during his Senate testimony in the op-ed piece.
According to The Huffington Post, Kavanaugh claimed that he “never attended a gathering like the one Dr. Ford describes in her allegation.” However, the calendars that he submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee from the summer of 1982 reveal that he scheduled social gatherings that were strikingly similar to the party that Ford described.
During his testimony, Kavanaugh also claimed that he had never drank beer “to the point of blacking out,” but some concerning entries in his yearbook suggest that he could have been a frequent or heavy drinker, including the phrase “100 kegs or bust.”
Other witnesses had described Kavanaugh as a heavy drinker in his high school and college years. According to HuffPost, Dr. Liz Swisher, a college friend of Kavanaugh’s, described him as being a “sloppy drunk” who would “end up slurring his words, stumbling.”
But in his op-ed, Kavanaugh wanted to reassure the American public that his behavior during his testimony was not who he is.
“You can count on me to be the same kind of judge and person I have been for my entire 28-year legal career,” Kavanaugh said of how things would be going forward from this point. “Hardworking, even-keeled, open-minded, independent and dedicated to the Constitution and the public good.”
You can read Kavanaugh’s full op-ed on The Wall Street Journal.