Akin Gump Partner Is The Woman Who Has Texts That Suggest Kavanaugh Was Trying To Discredit Ramirez Story, Prior To Publication

Kerry Berchem suggests that Kavanaugh may have anticipated Deborah Ramirez's allegations as early as July.

(Photo By Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

Kerry Berchem is a Yale graduate who was friends with Brett Kavanaugh and Deborah Ramirez in college. She claims that Kavanaugh and his team have been trying to get other Yale friends to support him against allegations made by Ramirez that Kavanaugh drunkenly flashed her while at Yale.

She has texts from another friend at Yale, suggesting Kavanaugh personally contacted the friend about Ramirez’s allegations. From NBC News:

The texts between Berchem and Karen Yarasavage, both friends of Kavanaugh, suggest that the nominee was personally talking with former classmates about Ramirez’s story in advance of the New Yorker article that made her allegation public. In one message, Yarasavage said Kavanaugh asked her to go on the record in his defense. Two other messages show communication between Kavanaugh’s team and former classmates in advance of the story.

The texts also demonstrate that Kavanaugh and Ramirez were more socially connected than previously understood and that Ramirez was uncomfortable around Kavanaugh when they saw each other at a wedding 10 years after they graduated. Berchem’s efforts also show that some potential witnesses have been unable to get important information through to the FBI.

Kavanaugh apparently pressured Yarasavage to make available a wedding photo that showed Kavanaugh and Ramirez at the same event. Berchem says that at that particular wedding, Ramirez was acting strange and trying to avoid Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh has denied the allegations made by Ramirez, and characterized them as a last minute smear. Kavanaugh testified, under oath, that the first time he heard of Ramirez’s allegations was when they were published in the New Yorker. Berchem says that he may have known about them as early as July:

Further, the texts show Kavanaugh may need to be questioned about how far back he anticipated Ramirez would air allegations against him. Berchem says, in her memo, that Kavanaugh “and/or” his friends “may have initiated an anticipatory narrative” as early as July to “conceal or discredit” Ramirez.

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Berchem is partner at Akin Gump. She says she has been trying to contact the F.B.I. to share her information with them, but has been unsuccessful. It’s worth noting that if an Akin Gump partner can’t get the F.B.I.’s attention, that means the F.B.I. doesn’t want to dig deeply into Ramirez’s claims. Biglaw partners know somebody who knows somebody who has worked for the USAO. You can get in contact with somebody at the F.B.I. unless they are actively ignoring you.

Without seeing if Yarasavage saved any contacts she may have had with Kavanaugh or Kavanaugh’s team, it’s too much to say that Brett Kavanaugh engaged in witness tampering. I mean, he might have! But we can’t know on these facts.

What we do know is that it’s grossly inappropriate for a sitting federal judge and nominee for the Supreme Court to be personally contacting people and trying to get them to go on the record to discredit allegations. We do know that if he knew about Ramirez’s allegations before they were published in the New Yorker, that’s another lie he told under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

It’s only Monday. Four more business days before the F.B.I. meets its artificially imposed investigation deadline.

Mutual friend of Ramirez and Kavanaugh anxious to come forward with evidence [NBC News]

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Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.