Kavanaugh Was 'Aggressive And Belligerent' When Drunk, His Yale Roommate Says

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh s freshman roommate at Yale University came forward late Monday, describing Kavanaugh as a heavy drinker who became aggressive and belligerent when drunk.

James Roche, Kavanaughs roommate in Fall 1983, said in a statement posted on Twitter that they didnt socialize together much, but would chat at night after Kavanaugh would return from outings with his friends.

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, Roche said.

Roche said he issued the statement to support Deborah Ramirez , who was quoted in The New Yorker this week as saying Kavanaugh thrust his exposed penis at her at a college party. Roche said he and Ramirez became close friends at Yale, and she was unusually honest and straightforward.

I cannot imagine her making this up, he told ABC-7 News in California. Based on my time with Brett, I believe that he and his social circle were capable of the actions that Debbie described.

In The New Yorker article, Roche described Ramirez as exceptionally honest and gentle.

I did not observe the specific incident in question, but I do remember Brett frequently drinking excessively and becoming incoherently drunk, he said in his statement.

Roches recollection goes against what Kavanaugh told Fox News Martha MacCallum in an interview Monday night. He said he had never been drunk enough to forget any of his actions.

The following is a statement from James Roche, Brett #Kavanaughs freshman roommate at Yale. pic.twitter.com/VfHUgPj3cV

Peter Kauffmann (@PeterKauffmann) September 25, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Peter Kauffmann","author_url":"https://twitter.com/PeterKauffmann","cache_age":86400,"description":"The following is a statement from James Roche, Brett #Kavanaughs freshman roommate at Yale. pic.twitter.com/VfHUgPj3cV Peter Kauffmann (@PeterKauffmann) September 25, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1366,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dn5l45EUcAAwMXD.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1482,"title":"Peter Kauffmann on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/PeterKauffmann/status/1044384650767020033","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5baa0c62e4b0375f8fa04108","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/kavanaugh-yale-roommate-drunk_n_5baa0c62e4b0375f8fa04108","entryTagsList":"sexual-assault,brett-kavanaugh,yale-university,alcoholism,college-roommate,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/f25bc3c1-b0e9-44c8-ab53-88fd879f1bf2/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":9},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5baa0c62e4b0375f8fa04108","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"sexual assault","slug":"sexual-assault","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/sexual-assault","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/sexual-assault","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/sexual-assault"},"section":{"title":"Women","slug":"women"},"topic":{"title":"Sexual Assault","slug":"sexual-assault","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/sexual-assault"},{"name":"Brett Kavanaugh","slug":"brett-kavanaugh","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/brett-kavanaugh","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/brett-kavanaugh","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/brett-kavanaugh"},"relegenceId":4200933,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Brett Kavanaugh","slug":"brett-kavanaugh","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/brett-kavanaugh"},{"name":"yale university","slug":"yale-university","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/yale-university","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/yale-university","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/yale-university"},"relegenceId":3697094,"topic":{"title":"Yale","slug":"yale","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/topic/yale"},{"name":"alcoholism","slug":"alcoholism","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/alcoholism","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/alcoholism","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/alcoholism"},"relegenceId":6449181,"department":{"name":"Life","slug":"lifestyle"},"section":{"title":"Wellness","slug":"healthy-living"},"topic":{"title":"Alcohol Abuse","slug":"alcohol-abuse","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/life/topic/alcohol-abuse"},{"name":"college roommate","slug":"college-roommate","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/college-roommate","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/college-roommate","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/college-roommate"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/college-roommate"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

The following is a statement from James Roche, Brett #Kavanaugh s freshman roommate at Yale. pic.twitter.com/VfHUgPj3cV
Peter Kauffmann (@PeterKauffmann) September 25, 2018

Ramirez came forward after the account of Christine Blasey Ford , a psychology professor who claims Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were in high school.

GOP Senate Judiciary Committee leaders rebuffed Blaseys call for an FBI investigation into her story, but she has nevertheless agreed to testify at a hearing on Thursday .

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Kavanaugh has steadfastly denied the assault allegations and said Monday he wouldnt withdraw in the face of what he called false accusations .