BEDFORD, Texas — A day before the Senate will vote on whether to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a Bedford dad is looking back at the year Kavanaugh was his student.
Mark Rist was Kavanaugh's sophomore theology teacher at Georgetown Prep in Maryland in 1980. "The person that I know was a young man who had integrity," said Rist. "My experience of him was somebody that had the highest character. He was competing to be number one in the class."
Rist left Georgetown Prep in 1982, the year before Kavanaugh graduated, and went on to teach at Nolan Catholic School in Fort Worth for nearly 30 years.
Rist said he was shocked when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford painted a much different picture. She accuses Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations. Rist believes him. "I just do not believe that it was Brett Kavanaugh that was doing that," said Rist.
Still, Rist said he won't dismiss Ford's testimony, adding that there are a lot of details he doesn't know. "The thing is with Brett, it just didn't sound like him, but you and I both know, when people are under the influence of alcohol, they can act in ways that just aren't consistent with who they are when they're sober," said Rist.
Rist also taught Mark Judge, the only other person Ford said was in the room during the sexual assault. "Mark would pull these sneaky things, like throwing something or elbowing somebody, he was a wise guy," said Rist. "He got all the guys laughing."
Rist said he wants to see his former student on the Supreme Court.