Eleven state delegates from Montgomery County are calling on local police and prosecutors to investigate allegations that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh committed one or more sexual assaults while a high school student at Georgetown Prep in the 1980s.
In a letter addressed Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger, State's Attorney John McCarthy and lawyers Debra Katz and Michael Avenatti, who represent women accusing Kavanaugh of crimes, the lawmakers asked local authorities not to wait for an alleged victim to make a complaint to them before starting an investigation.
"We believe local law enforcement has the authority to investigate allegations of crimes without need for a formal complaint, and we further believe third parties have standing to bring such complaints," the delegates wrote in a letter dated Tuesday.
Those signing the letter were Kumar Barve, Al Carr, Bonnie Cullison, Ariana Kelly, Marc Korman, David Moon, Pam Queen, Kirill Reznik, Shane Robinson, Ana Sol Gutierrez and Jeff Waldstreicher. All are Democrats.
"We, the undersigned elected representatives of Montgomery County, Maryland, residents, are writing to express our concern about the need for an investigation into recent high-profile allegations of sex assault in our county," the lawmakers wrote.
Montgomery County police have said it's not their practice to investigate crimes when they have not received a complaint.
"At this time, the Montgomery County Police Department has not received a request by any alleged victim nor a victim's attorney to initiate a police report or a criminal investigation regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh," the department said this week in a statement. "The department recognizes that victims of sexual assault may not want to involve law enforcement and/or initiate a criminal investigation, and we respect that position. The department, however, stands prepared to assist anyone who reports being the victim of a sexual assault."
The lawmakers urged local police to proceed regardless.
"We hope you will choose to be proactive in ensuring proper investigation of the sex assault allegations in Montgomery County by Brett Kavanaugh," they wrote.
Manger and McCarthy did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.
Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to fill a Supreme Court vacancy, denied allegations against him Monday in an interview on Fox News.
"I've never sexually assaulted anyone," the federal judge said.
Gov. Larry Hogan on Friday ruled out involving the Maryland State Police in any investigation of allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl more than 30 years ago in Montgomery County.
The Republican governor was asked at a news conference about a letter from Democratic state Sen. Cheryl Kagan of Montgomery. She urged Hogan to direct the state police to act because the White House has not ordered the FBI to look into the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford about Kavanaugh's actions at a high school party. Hogan spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said Hogan does not personally order law enforcement investigations.
Since then, more allegations have been leveled against the judge. Lawyer Michael Avenatti said he represents a woman with information about additional sexual assaults during parties attended by Kavanaugh in the era he attended Georgetown Prep, a private school for boys. Avenatti urged the U.S. Senate to investigate.
Hogan said Tuesday that the Senate should slow down Kavanaugh's nomination process until it conducts a full and fair hearing.
"It's very disturbing. It gives me great pause. There are credible charges and big concerns. They need to be heard," he said after an event in Montgomery County. "They ought to take whatever time it takes to make sure these accusers are heard and he has a chance to respond to them."
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