Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will not return to Harvard Law School to teach in January, an email sent from school administrators to law students says.
The embattled nominee, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, reportedly told officials at the school that he could “no longer commit to teaching” his course when the upcoming term starts, and so his course — "The Supreme Court Since 2005" — will not be available to students.
“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,” Associate Dean and Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs Catherine Claypoole wrote in the email to law students, according to theHarvard Crimson.
The course was slated for just three weeks. Mr Kavanaugh has taught at the school for about a decade.
Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court has become a polarising and contentious spectacle in the past few weeks, as women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct from more than three decades ago. Mr Kavanaugh has categorically denied any allegations of sexual misconduct.
Included in those allegations are those of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, who testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that Mr Kavanaugh held her down, groped her, attempted to remove her clothes, and covered her mouth to keep her from screaming during an assault at a house party 36 years ago.
A second woman, Deborah Ramirez, has also claimed that Mr Kavanaugh acted inappropriately towards her, saying that he forced her to touch his penis against her will in college. A third woman, Julie Swetnick, has alleged in a sworn statement that she saw Mr Kavanaugh participate and engage in “inappropriate contact of a sexual nature with women during the early 1980s”.
The FBI has opened a limited investigation into the allegations made against Mr Kavanaugh, while the Senate has moved forward with his confirmation process after the Judiciary Committee approved sending his nomination to the full Senate in a party-line vote last week.
