Everyone in the Kavanaugh Controversy Is Lawyering Up
A former Kavanaugh high school classmate, drawn into the Supreme Court nominee's sexual assault controversy, has tapped Kobre & Kim's Eric Bruce to represent him.
September 19, 2018 at 01:13 PM
3 minute read
Patrick Smyth, a former high school classmate of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, has linked up with Kobre & Kim partner Eric Bruce—as a California woman's bombshell accusation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party decades ago has caused individuals ensnared in her allegation to lawyer up.
In a letter reportedly sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee's Republican and Democratic heads, Smyth said he had no recollection of the party where Kavanaugh's accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, alleges the incident took place. The letter was reported by CNN.
Bruce is a well-known trial lawyer who works out of the dispute and investigations-focused firm's offices in Washington, D.C., and New York. Bruce did not respond to a request for comment.
Before joining Kobre & Kim, Bruce counseled the attorney general, as well as the assistant attorney general of the DOJ's Criminal Division during the George W. Bush administration. He spent over 10 years at the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York, according to his firm profile.
Ford's recollection of the alleged Kavanaugh episode—she claims he sexually assaulted her at a party over three decades ago when they were high school students in suburban Maryland—has not directly identified Smyth as being at the party. But she has said four boys, including Kavanaugh, were there.
“I am issuing this statement today to make it clear to all involved that I have no knowledge of the party in question; nor do I have any knowledge of the allegations of improper conduct she has leveled against Brett Kavanaugh,” Smyth said in the letter to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein.
“Personally speaking, I have known Brett Kavanaugh since high school and I know him to be a person of great integrity, a great friend, and I have never witnessed any improper conduct by Brett Kavanaugh towards women. To safeguard my own privacy and anonymity, I respectfully request that the committee accept this statement in response to any inquiry the committee may have,” Smyth added in the letter.
Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh classmate who Ford identified as being in the bedroom Kavanaugh and Ford were in at the time of the assault, hired Barbara “Biz” Van Gelder as his attorney. In a letter emailed to the committee on Tuesday, Judge said he had “no memory” of the incident and indicated he would not testify before lawmakers.
Kavanaugh, who has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, reportedly retained Beth Wilkinson, of trial-focused boutique Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz. Ford's attorneys are Debra Katz and Lisa Banks of Katz, Marshall & Banks in Washington, D.C.
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