Kavanaugh Says He Won’t Teach Winter Class at Harvard Law Amid Confirmation Drama

Judge Brett Kavanaugh withdrew from teaching a class at Harvard Law School during the winter semester, despite expectations he would stay, according to an email to students obtained by The Chicago Tribune.

“Today, Judge Kavanaugh indicated that he can no longer commit to teaching his course in January Term 2019, so the course will not be offered,” Catherine Claypoole, the law school’s dean for academic and faculty affairs, wrote to students on Oct. 1.

Kavanaugh foresaw having to give up his teaching position in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27. In his speech, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee offered an indignant defense of his character, swore innocence regarding the allegations against him, and blamed Democrats on the committee for destroying his reputation.

“One of my former women students, a Democrat, testified to this committee that I was an even-handed professor who treats people fairly and with respect,” Kavanaugh said. “I loved teaching law. But thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to teach again.”

Before Kavanaugh withdrew from teaching the winter semester, more than 800 alumni of the school signed a letter calling on the dean to rescind Kavanaugh’s appointment as lecturer.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, withheld a letter alleging misconduct by Kavanaugh for eight weeks until after the confirmation hearings. The contents of the letter were leaked to the press shortly after Feinstein disclosed the existence of the letter, setting off a media frenzy that has engulfed national discourse for weeks.

The author of the letter, Christine Blasey Ford, also testified before the committee on Sept. 27, but didn’t present any evidence or cite witnesses to corroborate her claims. None of the people Ford alleged to have been present during the incident with Kavanaugh, including her lifelong friend, have corroborated Ford’s allegation.

Rachel Mitchell, the sex-crimes prosecutor who questioned Ford, concluded that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against Kavanaugh. In a memo sent to Republican senators, Mitchell pointed out numerous inconsistencies in Ford’s account and pointed to memory lapses the accuser had about both recent events and those that surrounded the alleged assault from more than three decades ago.

Despite the fact that the claims against him were unsubstantiated, Kavanaugh predicted having to give up his professorship and his role in coaching his daughters’ basketball team. Broadcast networks spent just 8 percent of the total time covering Kavanaugh on the denial of the allegations by him and other named witnesses. In testimony, Kavanaugh concluded that he will never get his “reputation back” and that his life has been “totally and permanently altered.”

“For the past seven years, I’ve coached my two daughters’ basketball teams,” Kavanaugh told the committee. “I coach because I know that a girl’s confidence on the basketball court translates into confidence in other aspects of life. I love coaching more than anything I’ve ever done in my whole life. But thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to coach again.”

Kavanaugh taught constitutional law for the past 12 years. He was hired for the prestigious post by Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who was then a dean at the school.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate. A full vote was postponed by a week while the FBI conducts a supplementary background investigation in the claims by Kavanaugh’s accusers.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the Senate will vote on the nomination no later than Oct. 6.

Harvard Law School didn’t respond to a request for comment.