Brett Kavanaugh’s testimony ended dramatically Thursday, with the Supreme Court nominee taking an oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee and God that the accusations against him are untrue: “I swear to God,” he said.
The judge, who has said he attended church every Sunday in high school, when he is accused of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford, took Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy up on his invitation to look him in the eye and swear to the lord.
It was oddly fitting that a hearing focused so much on Kavanaugh’s conduct in high school in 1982 should end with such an ’80s-teen-movie declaration: I swear to God.
It is up to the Senate to decide if that swear — and his other arguments — are enough to counter hours of emotional testimony from Blasey, who said that when she was 15, Kavanaugh held her down, tried to rip off her clothes, and covered her mouth to silence her screams, as he and a friend, Mark Judge, laughed at her protests.
“Do you believe in God?” Kennedy asked.
“I do,” Kavanagh responded.
“I’m going to give you a last opportunity, right here, right in front of God and country. I want you to look me in the eye. Are Dr. Ford’s allegations true?” Kennedy asked.
“They are not accurate as to me,” Kavanaugh replied. “I have not questioned that she was sexually assaulted at some point in her life by someone, someplace, but as to me, I’ve never done this, Never. Done this to her or anyone else.”
Kavanagh swore he did not assault Deborah Ramirez, who came forward Sunday to accuse him of once waving his penis in her face after a night of drinking at Yale, or Julie Swetnick, who accused him and Judge on Wednesday of luring women into gang rapes at parties in the 1980s.
“I swear to God,” he said.
Judge has also denied any wrongdoing.