Who Is Deborah Ramirez? Brett Kavanaugh's Yale Classmate Levels Sexual Misconduct Allegations

A second woman came forward with a sexual misconduct accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Sunday. She claimed Kavanaugh, in an inebriated state, thrust his genitals in her face without her consent.

Deborah Ramirez, his former Yale University classmate, told the New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a dorm party while the group was playing a drinking game. The incident occurred during the 1983-84 school year when both of them were freshmen.

Ramirez, 53, said she was sitting on the floor in a circle of students when Kavanaugh exposed himself to her. She added that another student encouraged her to “kiss it.” In the process of pushing him away, she touched his genitals.

“I remember a penis being in front of my face. I knew that’s not what I wanted, even in that state of mind,” Ramirez told the New Yorker.

Kavanaugh dismissed the claims saying “This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name — and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building — against these last-minute allegations.”

The White House too stood by Kavanaugh and stated the claims were “inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say.

Senator Chuck Grassley issued a statement saying, “The committee’s majority staff learned about allegations made by Deborah Ramirez about judge Kavanaugh from this evening’s New Yorker report. Neither she nor her legal representative have contacted the chairman’s office. The article reports that Democratic staff were aware of these allegations, but they never informed Republican staff.”

Ramirez said she was hesitant at first to speak out publicly because “her memories contained gaps because she had been drinking at the time of the alleged incident.” However, after six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney, she said she felt confident enough of her recollection.

However, according to the New Yorker, none of the eyewitnesses named by Ramirez confirmed Kavanaugh was at the party.

“This is a woman I was best friends with. We shared intimate details of our lives. And I was never told this story by her, or by anyone else. It never came up. I didn’t see it; I never heard of it happening,” a woman who allegedly took part in the party said.

Ramirez is a Connecticut native and studied sociology and psychology at Yale. She was raised as a devout Catholic in Shelton, Connecticut. She is a registered Democrat who “works toward human rights, social justice, and social change,” Heavy.com reported.

NBC News reported that she has been a volunteer and board member at Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, which helps victims of domestic violence. She married an engineer at a Boulder, Colorado, tech company in 2007 where she currently resides.

Ramirez is being represented by Stanley Garnett, a former Democratic district attorney.

“She’s as careful and credible a witness as I’ve encountered in thirty-six years of practicing law,” Garnett said.