Michael Bidwill has known Brett Kavanaugh since they attended high school together at Georgetown Prep outside Washington, D.C., among the Class of 1983, including their time as football teammates.
Now that Kavanaugh was nominated Monday night by President Donald Trump to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Bidwill and his fellow Georgetown Prep alumni are reaching out to those deciding on Kavanaugh's candidacy, sending a letter vouching for his character. Kavanaugh will now go through confirmation in the U.S. Senate.
The Georgetown Prep letter, which was e-mailed Monday as soon as Trump made the announcement, was the first to be sent to Senate leaders overseeing the process.
"The purpose of the letter is to talk about Brett as a person," Bidwill, out of the country on vacation, said in a phone interview. "We have known him and known what a brilliant mind he has. He's eminently qualified.
"I think now that he's been selected by the President, he will go through a thorough vetting process and as they go through that process they will learn about the great person we know. He is a man of high character, high intelligence, excellence and independence. We want to speak up and show our support as former classmates and long-time friends."
The letter was spearheaded by four members of the 1983 class – Bidwill, DeLancey Davis, Paul Murray and Don Urgo Jr. – who spent time tracking down not only other 1983 class members but also Georgetown Prep products who knew Kavanaugh on either side of his graduating class.
The letter reads, in part, "We represent a broad spectrum of achievements, vocations, political beliefs, family histories and personal lifestyles. We unite in our common belief that Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh is a good man, a brilliant jurist, and is eminently qualified to serve as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court."
The letter features more than 150 signatures. Among them is Brian Cashman, General Manager of the New York Yankees, who attended Georgetown Prep with the newest Supreme Court appointee, Neil Gorsuch in the Class of 1985. Kavanaugh is currently a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, where he has spent the last 12 years.
Bidwill, who attended Kavanaugh's wedding, remarked on Kavanaugh's dedication as a husband and a father, noting Kavanaugh coaches sports teams of his two daughters. Being a lawyer and former federal prosecutor himself, Bidwill has also watched Kavanaugh's legal career develop.
"I've known him for more than 37 years," Bidwill said. "We stayed in close contact over the years – we have a pretty tight high school class – and we all knew Brett was pretty special. He's got a sharp mind. He's been a brilliant jurist for a long time."
