Mike Davis, a senior Republican committee staffer, stymied Deborah Ramirez’s attempts to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding her allegations of sexual misconduct against nominee Brett Kavanaugh by demanding she submit written evidence against him before speaking with her, according to a report out Friday from The New Yorker. Despite Ramirez’s attorney, John Clune, repeatedly saying that Ramirez would be available for a call, Davis insisted that she first report if she had additional evidence that advanced the first New Yorker article about her allegations, and if she would be willing to testify. Suspicious that the evidence could then be shown to Kavanaugh to help him prepare, Ramirez’s team refused, and the talks diminished, according to the report.
A Republican committee aide rejected this characterization of the talks, telling The New Yorker, “Our staff proactively reached out to Ms. Ramirez’s attorney just minutes after she went public in The New Yorker, and we did so on a bipartisan basis. As a general practice, the committee requests to review any evidence or statement before determining how best to proceed with an investigation. This is necessary given the sheer volume of claims that the committee receives.”
