This image was removed due to legal reasons. Longtime friends of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have featured prominently in the desperate attempt to save his nomination. The judge’s freshman year college roommate, however, has a bit of a different take. Advertisement James Roche, Kavanaugh’s roommate at Yale during the fall of 1983, had been contacted by several reporters who wanted to ask him about Kavanaugh, and put out a statement on Monday night saying he believed Deborah Ramirez, a fellow Yale alum who made her sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh public in the New Yorker on Sunday. In the statement, Roche described Kavanaugh as “frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk,” and said that Kavanaugh became “aggressive and belligerent” when he got drunk. Roche also knew Ramirez at Yale and said he “became close friends” with her. “Based on my time with Debbie, I believe her to be unusually honest and straightforward and I cannot imagine her making this up,” the statement continued. “Based on my time with Brett, I believe that he and his social circle were capable of the actions that Debbie described. “I do not consider myself to be a political person and I have no political agenda,” Roche added. “I have shared this information with a small number of reporters who reached out to me directly because Debbie has a right to be heard and I believe her.” Advertisement Even some of Kavanaugh’s friends are now having second thoughts about him. Louisa Garry, who was featured in a $1.5 million Judicial Crisis Watch ad last week supporting Kavanaugh’s nomination, told the New Yorker that she “never saw or heard anything like this. But I cannot dispute Ramirez’s allegations, as I was not present.” (Garry and another classmate also removed themselves from a statement of support for Kavanaugh.) UPDATE, 1:15 PM ET: We’ve removed a reference to Ted Cruz’s former college roommate’s stories about him from this post, which may have been construed as making light of the Ramirez allegations.<doc-sep>James Roche, Brett Kavanaugh's former Yale University roommate, disputed his claim that he "did not drink beer to the point of blacking out" during their college years. "What struck me and made me more interested in speaking out ... is not only did I know that he wasn't telling the truth," Roche said. "I knew that he knew that he wasn't telling the truth." Roche believes he saw Kavanaugh "blackout drunk," and witnessed him vomiting and having "a lot of trouble getting out of bed." The Senate is expected to start voting on Kavanaugh's nomination on Friday. A former roommate of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court who faces numerous sexual misconduct allegations, disputed Kavanaugh's claim that he "did not drink beer to the point of blacking out" while they were in college. James Roche, a fellow Yale University alumnus who lived in the same room as Kavanaugh during their freshman year, said he believes the sexual misconduct allegations made by Deborah Ramirez, his friend at Yale. Ramirez accused Kavanaugh of exposing himself at a dorm room party during the 1983-84 school year. "I believe that she's telling the truth," Roche said to CNN host Anderson Cooper on Wednesday. "But then when Brett started saying things about his drinking, and his use of certain words, sexually oriented words, I knew he was lying because he was my roommate." During his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Kavanaugh admitted to drinking alcohol during his high school and college years, but undercut the notion that he went beyond social norms. "Sometimes I had too many beers," Kavanaugh said. "Sometimes others did. I liked beer. I still like beer. But I did not drink beer to the point of blacking out, and I never sexually assaulted anyone." Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Andrew Harnik/AP Roche, who was interviewed by the FBI for its supplementary background check on Kavanaugh, said his former roommate was lying. "What struck me and made me more interested in speaking out ... is not only did I know that he wasn't telling the truth," Roche said. "I knew that he knew that he wasn't telling the truth." "I saw him both what I would consider blackout drunk, and also dealing with the repercussions of that in the morning," Roche later added. Roche described Kavanaugh's alcohol consumption during freshman year as "notably heavy" by saying "he was drunk frequently ... at least once, maybe twice on the weekends," and possibly during the weekdays as well. Roche, who admitted he "wasn't an angel back then either," also claimed he saw Kavanaugh vomit "on more than one occasion." "I didn't socialize with Brett, but being in the same room where he slept, I saw him when he arrived at home regularly," Roche said. "And I saw him in the morning. And I can tell you that he would come home and he was incoherent, stumbling." "He would sometimes be singing. He occasionally would wear this ... old leather football helmet. He would throw up, and then, in the morning, would have a lot of trouble getting out of bed." Roche, who runs a software company in San Francisco, made similar comments in an op-ed column published on Wednesday. Kavanaugh has denied Ramirez's allegation, calling it a "smear, plain and simple." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell set up a procedural vote for Kavanaugh's nomination on Wednesday night, hours before the senate is expected to review the FBI's supplemental background review on the judge. The Senate is expected to begin a key procedural vote on Kavanaugh's nomination Friday. A final vote is expected on Saturday.<doc-sep>SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) -- Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's roommate from Yale says he believes the second woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.James Roche says he was Kavanaugh's roommate in the Fall of 1983. "We shared a two-bedroom unit in the basement of Lawrence Hall on the Old Campus. Despite our living conditions, Brett and I did not socialize beyond the first few days of freshman year. We talked at night as freshman roommates do and I would see him as he returned from nights out with his friends," Roche said in a statement.He went on to describe how Kavanaugh conducted himself while they shared a living space. "It is from this experience that I concluded that although Brett was normally reserved, he was a notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time, and that he became aggressive and belligerent when he was very drunk. I did not observe the specific incident in question, but I do remember Brett frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk. "Roche says he became friends with Debbie Ramirez. "She stood out as being exceptionally honest, with a trusting manner. As we got to know one another, I discovered that Debbie was very worried about fitting in. She felt that everyone at Yale was very rich, very smart and very sophisticated and that as a Puerto Rican woman from a less privileged background she was an outsider. Her response was to try hard to make friends and get along. "Roche says he does not consider himself to be a political person and went on to say he has no political agenda.<doc-sep>In 1983, I was one of Brett Kavanaugh’s freshman roommates at Yale University. About two weeks ago I came forward to lend my support to my friend Deborah Ramirez, who says Brett sexually assaulted her at a party in a dorm suite. I did this because I believe Debbie. Now the FBI is investigating this incident. I am willing to speak with them about my experiences at Yale with both Debbie and Brett. I would tell them this: Brett Kavanaugh stood up under oath and lied about his drinking and about the meaning of words in his yearbook. He did so baldly, without hesitation or reservation. In his words and his behavior, Judge Kavanaugh has shown contempt for the truth, for the process, for the rule of law, and for accountability. His willingness to lie to avoid embarrassment throws doubt on his denials about the larger questions of sexual assault. In contrast, I cannot remember ever having a reason to distrust anything, large or small, that I have heard from Debbie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I did not want to come forward. When the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow contacted me while researching a story about Debbie and Brett, I told him that I didn’t see the point. There is no way that Brett will face legal consequences after this much time. Either he will be confirmed or another conservative judge will be. There would be a high cost. I was raised in a Republican family. My mother, who has since passed away, was a Republican state representative in Connecticut. My father owns a MAGA hat. I have close friends who are very conservative. In recent years I have had disagreements over politics with some of these friends and family, but I care deeply about them. My involvement has and will come with personal, professional, and reputational damage. Advertisement Debbie needed someone to help her be heard. Ultimately, I told Farrow that Debbie’s story was believable and that Brett was “frequently, incoherently drunk.” When asked about my comments in the New Yorker at his hearing last week, Judge Kavanaugh seemed to suggest that my account was not credible because “it was a contentious situation” where I “did not like” the third suitemate. He then referenced a prank I pulled on the third suitemate and some redacted portion of his closed-door questioning by Senate Judiciary Committee staff. It’s true that I played a prank on the third roommate. We were not close. But that relationship has no bearing on my ability to observe Kavanaugh’s behavior then and to describe it now. Advertisement As for the specifics of what happened to Debbie freshman year: When Farrow approached me, I had a vague memory of an event involving Debbie and Brett, but not enough to say “I am sure.” I told Farrow that I could participate off the record and only to support Debbie’s credibility and to describe Brett’s behavior when drinking, where I had meaningful, firsthand experience. Advertisement Right before publication, Farrow called me and asked if I would reconsider publicly sharing my own recollections. Debbie was going to be attacked. She had lived with the pain of this event for years. Brett’s friends who participated would deny that it happened. It would be a powerful Washington judge and his friends against Debbie. Others would say: “Brett was background-checked many times. This must be made up.” As Brett’s college freshman roommate, I would have expected to be interviewed if a background check was looking for evidence of poor college behavior. I wasn’t called. I assume college behavior was not a topic of interest. The FBI didn’t find Debbie’s story because they were not looking for it. Advertisement As for this round of the investigation: I still haven’t been called, even though they are supposedly looking into Debbie’s case. How will they learn what happened if once again they are not allowed to truly and thoroughly investigate? Advertisement Debbie needed someone to help her be heard. When nobody else would do it, I agreed to be quoted in Farrow’s story on the record. “Is it believable that she was alone with a wolfy group of guys who thought it was funny to sexually torment a girl like Debbie? Yeah, definitely,” I said. “Is it believable that Kavanaugh was one of them? Yes.” I stand by this quote and I accept it is my opinion and not objective fact. Advertisement Since the New Yorker story came out, I have been asked for countless interviews by print publications, TV, and online media, the vast majority of which I have resisted. Ultimately I wrote and distributed a statement to minimize the distraction to my personal and business life. In the statement, I wrote that Brett “was a notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time, and that he became aggressive and belligerent when he was very drunk.” Advertisement Advertisement I believe that many women have been mistreated and silenced. When they come forward, they are treated like they are liars or whiners or crazy. But I also believe that both accusers and the accused deserve a deep, unfettered investigation. In Brett’s cases, if he is innocent, he should be cleared. If he is not and he is being untruthful to the nation, that should disqualify him from sitting on the highest court in the land. This just seems fair. The other night I reviewed the transcript of the hearings. People are asking for me to respond. I do not know if Brett attacked Christine Blasey Ford in high school or if he sexually humiliated Debbie in front of a group of people she thought were her friends. But I can say that he lied under oath. He claimed that he occasionally drank too much but never enough to forget details of the night before, never enough to “black out.” He did, regularly. He said that “boofing” was farting and the “Devil’s Triangle” was a drinking game. “Boofing” and “Devil’s Triangle” are sexual references. I know this because I heard Brett and his friends using these terms on multiple occasions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement<doc-sep>
Brett Kavanaugh's roommate during his freshman year at Yale University said Monday that the Supreme Court nominee and his social circle were "capable" of the actions described by fellow Yale student Deborah Ramirez. James Roche released a statement the day after Ramirez became the second woman to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, throwing his confirmation to the highest court in the land into further doubt. Ramirez, speaking to The New Yorker in a story published Sunday, said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a college party, thrusting his penis into her face and causing her to touch it. Roche said he became close friends with Ramirez and had no reason to doubt her allegations. His impression of Kavanaugh, he said, lined up with Ramirez's description of the nominee's drunken behavior involving a group of young men during a college party. "Based on my time with Debbie, I believe her to be unusually honest and straightforward and I cannot imagine her making this up," Roche said. "Based on my time with Brett, I believe that he and his social circle were capable of the actions that Debbie described." The following is a statement from James Roche, Brett #Kavanaughâs freshman roommate at Yale. pic.twitter.com/VfHUgPj3cV — Peter Kauffmann (@PeterKauffmann) September 25, 2018 Roche, now the CEO of a software company in San Francisco, said that he and Kavanaugh did not socialize but that he saw enough of his roommate's behavior to conclude that he was a "notably heavy drinker, even by the standards of the time." Kavanaugh, Roche added, "became aggressive and belligerent when he was drunk." While he did not observe the incident Ramirez described, Roche said he did remember Kavanaugh "frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk." Kavanaugh has strenuously denied the allegation, as he has with a previous accusation of sexual assault. Last week, California professor Christine Blasey Ford went public with her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when he was 17 and she 15. Kavanaugh, Ford said, had pushed her onto a bed during a party, before groping her, trying to remove her clothes and putting his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. After days of public negotiations, Ford is scheduled to testify, along with Kavanaugh, before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Senate Republicans and the White House have continued to fiercely stand behind the nominee and have claimed that the allegations are a part of a Democratic plan to delay and obstruct the confirmation process. Kavanaugh, who has claimed that everyone who knew him during college would find the allegations against him "inconceivable," appeared alongside his wife, Ashley, to once again deny the allegations during a Fox News interview Monday night. "Yes, there were parties and the drinking age was 18 and yes, the seniors were legal and had beer there," he said. "And yes, people might have had too many beers on occasion…I think all of us have probably done things we look back on in high school and regret or cringe a bit. But that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about an allegation of sexual assault. I've never sexually assaulted anyone."