Deborah Ramirez, who alleges that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh exposed his penis to her at a college party, says senators are "ignoring" allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.
In a statement released through her lawyer on Saturday morning, Ramirez wrote:
Thirty-five years ago, the other students in the room chose to laugh and look the other way as sexual violence was perpetrated on me by Brett Kavanaugh. As I watch many of the Senators speak and vote on the floor of the Senate I feel like I'm right back at Yale where half the room is laughing and looking the other way. Only this time, instead of drunk college kids, it is US Senators who are deliberately ignoring his behavior. This is how victims are isolated and silenced.
But I do have corroborating witnesses speaking for me, although they were not allowed to speak to the FBI, and I feel extremely grateful for them and for the overwhelming amount of support that I have received and continue to receive during this extremely difficult and painful time. There may be people with power who are looking the other way, but there are millions more who are standing together, speaking up about personal experiences of sexual violence and taking action to support survivors. This is truly a collective moment of survivors and allies standing together.
The Senate voted to confirm Kavanaugh on Saturday afternoon.
Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court has been controversial, as multiple women have made allegations against the judge of sexual misconduct during his high school and college years.
Last week, Christine Blasey Ford gave emotional testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party when she was 15 years old. On Friday, her lawyers Debra Katz, Lisa Banks, and Michael Bromwich released a statement criticizing the FBI investigation into Kavanaugh.
They argued that "numerous false claims have been repeated to undermine the credibility of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford," and noted that the FBI investigation didn't interview Ford or Kavanaugh and that she could have provided evidence to the investigation proving that she'd first spoken to a reporter about her allegations of assault before Kavanaugh had even been nominated as a SCOTUS justice.
Her counsel also outlined issues surrounding the treatment of Ford by the Senate committee, including that committee staff repeatedly refused to allow people who could corroborate her story to testify.
"We believe Christine Blasey Ford and we fully support her," said the statement. "Senators claiming to want a dignified debate should not repeat lies constructed by the Judiciary Committee that were cynically designed to win support for Judge Kavanaugh."
Michael Avenatti, a lawyer representing Julie Swetnick, the third woman who made allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, also spoke out Saturday against Sen. Susan Collins' treatment of his client.
Avenatti tweeted about how Collins, who announced yesterday that she would vote to support Kavanaugh, had called for an FBI investigation into Swetnick's allegations but "then had the audacity yesterday to attack my client with no facts or evidence."
On Mon, @SenatorCollins called for an FBI investigation into my client’s allegations. We demanded the same repeatedly. It never happened because the GOP would not allow it. She then had the audacity yesterday to attack my client with no facts or evidence. https://t.co/sltAtzIqN3
He then noted that people attacking the women alleging misconduct against Kavanaugh for coming forward "should be ashamed."
Be clear - the below is directed at Repubs, the media, and Dems that are engaged in this attack on my client. It is especially outrageous that any person who claims they are a Democrat would attack a woman for coming forward and literally risking her life to speak up. Shameful. https://t.co/PIqV3q5eso