Mark Judge
Mark Judge, a high school friend of Brett Kavanaugh, claims he faced threats and extortion from Democrats to support sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation.
Alcoholism
Judge says operatives researched his history of alcoholism to pressure him, promising he’d be a “hero” if he corroborated claims.
Sink Kavanaugh
“They thought, ‘Okay, if we can get Mark Judge involved in this, we can sink Kavanaugh. But we have to get Mark Judge involved in this,’” Judge said. He feared for his mental health and safety.
Ignored
While media praised Christine Blasey Ford’s book on the events, they ignored Judge’s account in his own book describing the pressure campaign against him.
Ford’s team
Judge believes Ford’s team engaged in witness tampering. Despite protests, Kavanaugh was confirmed.
Implode Kavanaugh
“And they thought it would be easy,” Judge added. “They thought, ‘Okay, this is an easy hit. We will get Judge involved. We will get him down there in front of the committee. He’s a recovering alcoholic. He’s got a past we can comb through for days and this will completely implode Kavanaugh.’”
Lie
“Several people said, ‘Yeah, you jumped on the bed and broke things up. You prevented this. You’re the hero here. You say that and you’re home free,’” Judge said. “I had journalists who I had been friends with sending me emails: ‘Do it, Mark. Do it for humanity. Lie about this for humanity.’”
September 24
“On September 24, 2018, my birthday, I got a call from a California number. They were brilliant enough to leave a message: ‘You like effing with people, Mark. I like effing with people, too. You better change your story,” he said.
Big deal
“They had been researching stuff that I knew nothing about. I knew they would be bringing stuff up that I was not prepared for but they would make into a big deal,” Judge said.
Terrifying
“When you have suicidal ideation, it’s terrifying. I wanted to be numb and disappear,” he said.
Allegations
Judge says the allegations against Kavanaugh were part of a “well-orchestrated political hit” and “witness tampering and extortion operation.”
Suffered
He has suffered PTSD in the years since but hopes his book provides insight into his experience being targeted.
Traumatic
“At first I almost didn’t do the Fox Nation interview. It’s just too traumatic reliving that dark time. Yet I had questions,” Judge said. “Why was I referred to in Blasey Ford’s letter as ‘Mark G. Judge’? That’s an old journalism byline – like they were researching me. In my book, I argue Ford was using an oppo researcher all summer before the hit. Am I wrong? I’m only quoted in her book via government records – are they afraid of something?”
Didn’t know how
“Also, Ford told Ruth Marcus she thought about getting in touch with me in the summer of 2018 but ‘didn’t know how.’ Really? I’m a journalist who has lived in D.C. his entire life. She didn’t know how to contact me? All the suffering Christine Blasey Ford caused could have been avoided. This all could have been done in private. Her ‘team’ still refuses to answer my questions. I’ve been asking them for five years,” he added.
Inadvertently kill
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford said. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Dark heart
“At its dark heart, this was a witness tampering and extortion operation,” Judge said in 2023. “I got a phone call from California on September 14, 2018, threatening to extort me. They were dumb enough to leave a message. and I gave it to the FBI.”
Nasty things
“Leland Keyser said she was told nasty things could be said about her if she did not back up Ford,” he added. “I don’t know if Ford was involved in that or if it was others, but that’s all this was. Forget about the yearbooks, the teen slang, the stuff about the 1980s. They did opposition research and then tried to extort me and tried to witness tamper. That’s what it was. For people looking to simplify the fall of 2018, it was, exactly as Brett said, a well-orchestrated political hit. It was a crime.”