An anonymous letter with no name or return address received Monday by Colorado’s U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s office alleges that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, under the influence of alcohol, shoved a woman up against a wall outside a bar in Washington, D.C., in 1998.
Kavanaugh was asked about the accusations made in the letter during a phone interview by Senate’s Judiciary Committee staffers on Tuesday, according to a transcript of the call. He denied the allegation and called the claims “ridiculous.”
The letter represents the fourth allegation of misconduct toward a woman leveled against Kavanaugh. One of the four came from Deborah Ramirez, who lives in Boulder.
“Senator Gardner received an anonymous letter, apparently sent from Denver, alleging that you engaged in certain conduct in 1998. Have you had an opportunity to review that letter?” Kavanaugh was asked.
The letter is dated Sept. 22. It says that the writer’s daughter, who is from Boulder, occasionally socialized with Kavanaugh and that she and a group of people met at a bar in 1998.
“Her friend was dating him, and they left the bar under the influence of alcohol,” the letter says. “They were all shocked when Brett Kavanaugh shoved her friend up against the wall very aggressively and sexually. There were at least four witnesses, including my daughter. Her friend, still traumatized, called my daughter yesterday, September 21, 2018, wondering what to do about it. They decided to remain anonymous.”
The letter’s author wrote: “I will remain anonymous, but I feel obligated to inform you of this 1998 incident involving Brett Kavanaugh.”
According to the transcript, Kavanaugh denied that the incident occurred.
“No, and we’re dealing with an anonymous letter about an anonymous person and an anonymous friend,” Kavanaugh said, according to the transcript. “It’s ridiculous. Total twilight zone. And no, I’ve never done anything like that.”
Kavanaugh also denied ever behaving violently toward a woman, or socializing with a woman from Boulder during the time when the alleged incident is said to have occurred.
A Gardner spokesman says the senator’s Denver office received the letter on Monday in the mail.
“The letter contained no names, no address, and no contact info,” Gardner’s spokesman Casey Contres said in a written statement. “Upon receiving the anonymous letter we immediately notified the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is handling the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh. The letter was shared with both Republican staff and Democrat staff.”
Contres added: “Due to privacy regarding mail that comes into our office, we do not share the content of correspondence. Additionally, this anonymous letter contained no name or no contact info so our office is unable to contact the individual that sent the anonymous letter.”
Gardner’s connection to the new allegation was first reported by NBC News.