The FBI has reached out to Deborah Ramirez, who has accused Brett Kavanaugh of inappropriate sexual behavior when they were in college, in its background investigation of the Supreme Court nominee, her lawyer has confirmed to CNN.
“We can confirm the FBI has reached out to interview Ms. Ramirez and she has agreed to cooperate with their investigation,” Ramirez’s attorney, John Clune, said in a statement. “Out of respect for the integrity of the process, we will have no further comment at this time.”
The Washington Post first reported that the FBI has contacted Ramirez.
Ramirez came forward with her allegation in The New Yorker, telling the publication that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at dormitory party while the two were undergraduate students at Yale.
The FBI is also investigating the allegation of Christine Blasey Ford that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were high schoolers in the Washington, DC, suburbs.
Kavanaugh has vehemently denied both allegations.
On Friday, President Donald Trump directed the FBI to re-open its background investigation of his nominee after Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona called for a one-week delay to the Senate floor vote on the nomination so that the agency could investigate Ford’s allegations.
A senior GOP leadership aide told CNN that the first key procedural vote on the Senate floor on Kavanaugh’s nomination would be no later than Friday and could happen sooner if the FBI wraps up its investigation before then.
CNN’s Scott McLean, Eric Bradner, Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly and Dana Bash contributed to this report.