Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) holds up a display of a calendar from Brett Kavanaugh, Capitol Hill, September 28, 2018. (Reuters/Jim Bourg)

There is a new theory floating around that a July 1 gathering listed on Brett Kavanaugh’s calendar could be the smoking gun that proves Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) mentioned the entry today, and the national press has picked up on it. But little besides speculation undergirds the theory, and there are a few discrepancies with it.


The calendar entry in question says, “Go to Timmy’s for Skis w/ Judge, Tom, PJ, Bernie, Squi” on July 1. The theory is that this gathering is the one at which Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Ford — who, recall, named “PJ” (Patrick Smyth) and (Mark) “Judge” as also present at the party. Too similar to be a coincidence, right?

Well, by Whitehouse’s own admission, the entry does not match Ford’s description of the event at which she says she was assaulted. Insofar as that description has been consistent, it has involved only Kavanaugh, Judge, Smyth, her friend Leland Keyser, and potentially another boy whose identity Blasey says she does not remember. But if Kavanaugh’s calendar is credible enough for his description of the event to be taken seriously, then it appears not to support Blasey’s account: There are seven boys listed on the calendar, and none of Tim (Gaudette), Tom (Kaine), or Bernie (McCarthy) have been mentioned by Ford; neither Keyser nor Ford is listed; and, as Byron York points out, Garrett’s presence suggests another issue:

Garrett hasn't been mentioned since he was unfairly, irresponsibly named by Whelan. But Ford said of Garrett: 'He was somebody that…I went out with–I wouldn't say date–I went out with for a few months.' If July 1 was party in question, seems Ford would have remembered. 4/5 — Byron York (@ByronYork) September 28, 2018

More details on this event would be useful. But during yesterday’s hearing, the only person to ask about the July 1 entry was Judiciary Committee outside counsel Rachel Mitchell. Mitchell asked Kavanaugh about for the names of the boys listed in the entry, and then asked whether any event in his calendar “could even remotely fit” Blasey’s allegation. The judge replied with a firm No.


The calendar was publicly available days before the hearing but, for some reason, the July 1 entry didn’t attract any interest until after the hearing. Maybe Senate Democrats did not want to credit Kavanaugh’s calendar as credible evidence; maybe they didn’t find the theory plausible. Regardless, yesterday would have been a good opportunity to ask about it. For now, the July 1 theory is nothing more than a talking point. Onward, to the supplemental FBI background check!

Update 9/29: John McCormack takes a closer look at the theory in The Weekly Standard. From his report:

Ford recalled that the home where the alleged attack occurred was, according to the Washington Post, “not far from the country club” in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she had likely spent the day swimming prior to the alleged attack. Tom Kane, one of the Kavanaugh friends who was listed in attendance, told CNN’s New Day on Friday that Tim Gaudette’s house was in Rockville, Maryland, 11 miles away from the country club. “I saw it published today that someone’s floating the notion that there was something on July 1 at Tim Gaudette’s house,” Kane told CNN. “Tim Gaudette lived in Rockville. It’s 11 miles away from Columbia Country Club. And it wasn’t a single-family home. It was a townhouse.”