Update: Whelan has now apologized for outing Garrett, though he has not retracted his theory.

I made an appalling and inexcusable mistake of judgment in posting the tweet thread in a way that identified Kavanaugh's Georgetown Prep classmate. I take full responsibility for that mistake, and I deeply apologize for it. I realize that does not undo the mistake. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 21, 2018

A new theory has emerged in the case of whether Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted accuser Christine Blasey Ford roughly 35 years ago; it was Kavanaugh's high school look-alike, whose high school house better fits Ford's description, and who kept in touch with the other guy allegedly in the room, Mark Judge.

The theory was presented Thursday afternoon by Ed Whelan, a former clerk to USSC Justice Antonin Scalia and currently president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a conservative think tank. Using entirely circumstantial evidence which could certainly ruin the life of the man at the center of the new theory, Whelan suggests that Kavanaugh's high school doppelgänger, Chris Garrett, may have in fact been responsible for Blasey Ford's recollection of the alleged incident.

Brett Kavanaugh (left), Chris Garrett

Earlier this week, Whelan tweeted "By one week from today, I expect that Judge Kavanaugh will have been clearly vindicated on this matter. Specifically, I expect that compelling evidence will show his categorical denial to be truthful. There will be no cloud over him."

Update: Ford, who has had trouble remembering specifics about the alleged encounter, dismissed Whelan’s theory in a statement late Thursday according to the Washington Post: "I knew them both, and socialized with" the other classmate, Ford said, adding that she had once visited him in the hospital. "There is zero chance that I would confuse them."

Here is Whelan's theory:

Dr. Ford may well have been the victim of a severe sexual assault by someone 36 years ago. Her allegations are so vague as to such basic matters as when and where that it is impossible for Judge Kavanaugh to *prove* his innocence. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

But there are compelling reasons to believe his categorical denial. Let’s look at one set of reasons. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

According to Ford’s letter, the assault occurred “in a suburban Maryland area home at a gathering that included me and four others.” Her WaPo account adds that the house was “not far from” the Columbia Country Club. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

The “four others” that she and her lawyer have identified are Kavanaugh, Mark Judge, P.J. Smyth, and a female classmate of Ford’s. None of the four lived in the vicinity of the Columbia Country Club. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Kavanaugh’s home was 3.6 miles away; Smyth’s 4.3 miles; Judge’s 10 miles; and the female classmate’s 7 miles. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Here is a map of the homes in relation to Columbia Country Club. pic.twitter.com/0pXSbSxb49 — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Here is a house that is barely a half-mile from the Columbia Country Club. Street address: 3714 Thornapple Street, Chevy Chase. pic.twitter.com/RgRdv0gzyQ — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Here is the house’s floor plan: main floor and upstairs. https://t.co/VbiDucXjCN pic.twitter.com/dp5uMvVTe7 — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

The floor plan corresponds closely to Ford’s description of the house where the gathering took place. Here’s the “short stair well” (part of a U-shaped staircase with landing) running up from the foyer next to the living room. pic.twitter.com/jEceJiiHNk — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Right at the top of the stairs is a door leading to a bedroom. This matches Ford’s account of the location of the bedroom she was “pushed” into. pic.twitter.com/cpddGsDwpK — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

By her account, when she escaped from the bedroom, she “r[a]n across to a hallway bathroom.” The floor plan shows that the hallway bathroom is across the hall from the bedroom. pic.twitter.com/NIm9gx8hfS — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

She says the gathering took place in a “small family room.” See the family room in the upper left of the floor plan. Someone leaving the house down the stairs and out the front door wouldn’t be seen from the family room. pic.twitter.com/RFIg04jRTm — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Who lived in this house? Chris Garrett, a Georgetown Prep classmate, friend, and football teammate of Brett Kavanaugh’s. pic.twitter.com/lJYf7zCLQj — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Garrett was good friends with Mark Judge. Their friendship appears to have continued long after graduation, as this 2012 Facebook exchange shows. pic.twitter.com/B1yRe4JsM2 — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Folks who knew both Kavanaugh and Garrett in high school have commented on how much they resembled each other in appearance. Here are Kavanaugh and Garrett in their senior yearbook photos. pic.twitter.com/9VmLL3zNq9 — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

And here are Kavanaugh and Garrett now. pic.twitter.com/Yi9iI1yRHH — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

If you’re at a gathering of “four others” in someone’s home, you’d ordinarily think that the four others include the host who lives in the home. And that host would be the person least likely to act like a guest and most likely to use private areas of the house. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Kavanaugh categorically denies being at the gathering and committing the assault. Beyond his countless character witnesses from then and now, Judge and Smyth have informed the Senate Judiciary Committee that they recall no such gathering *at which Kavanaugh was present*. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

The female classmate has not been heard from. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

To be clear, I have no idea what, if anything, did or did not happen in that bedroom at the top of the stairs, and I therefore do not state, imply or insinuate that Garrett or anyone else committed the sexual assault that Ford alleges. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Further, if Ford is now mistakenly remembering Garrett to be Kavanaugh, I offer no view whether that mistaken remembrance dates from the gathering or developed at some point in the intervening years. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

It is regrettable that private citizens are being drawn into this. But that is the product of Senator Feinstein’s shockingly shoddy handling of the whole matter. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

If the matter had been handled as it should have been, the Committee would have investigated the matter over the summer and resolved it privately to everyone’s satisfaction without the smearing of Kavanaugh and the dragging of the names of others into the public eye. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

Bottom line: I believe that a fair assessment of this evidence powerfully supports Judge Kavanaugh’s categorical denial. — Ed Whelan (@EdWhelanEPPC) September 20, 2018

In response to Whelan's theory, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat tweeted: "I don't know Brett Kavanaugh, which has made it easier for me than for conservatives closer to the man to believe he might be guilty. I do know Ed Whelan, which makes me assume there's more reason to believe the doppelganger theory than just what he just tweeted. We'll see."