washington<u+2014>an alaska lawyer has accused justice clarence thomas of groping her at an event for young scholars in 1999, as similar allegations against men in powerful political and business positions have sparked a national debate on the treatment of women. moira smith, 41 years old, said the justice touched her buttocks several times when they were seated together at his request at a dinner for truman foundation scholars in falls church, va. ms. smith<u+2019>s allegations were first reported thursday by the national law journal. a supreme court spokeswoman said justice thomas, 68, had no comment beyond a statement made to the publication. <u+201c>this claim is preposterous and it never happened,<u+201d> the justice said in that statement. the incident would have taken place eight years after he joined the supreme court and recalls a controversy that dogged the justice<u+2019>s supreme court 1991 confirmation, when a female aide, anita hill, testified that he had made inappropriate sexual remarks and propositions to her. justice thomas vigorously denied the allegations and was confirmed by a 52-48 vote. ms. smith posted an account of the incident on facebook on oct. 7, after hearing a 2005 <u+201c>access hollywood<u+201d> recording in which donald trump, now the republican presidential nominee, lewdly spoke of grabbing and kissing women. several women have subsequently made claims of inappropriate sexual behavior by mr. trump, which he has denied. the national law journal said it learned of the incident through the social media posting. the publication interviewed friends and former roommates of ms. smith, who told the publication that she complained of the incident after it occurred 17 years ago. in a statement thursday, ms. smith said she was motivated to disclose the incident after seeing other women speak up about alleged assaults or inappropriate behavior by influential men. <u+201c>as the mother of a young daughter and son, i am coming forward to show that it is important to stand up for yourself and tell the truth,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>when justice thomas touched me inappropriately and without my consent, i was 23 years old<u+2014>and felt there was nothing i could do. seventeen years later, it is clear that sexual harassment, misconduct and assault continue to be pervasive, having an impact on all women.<u+201d> ms. smith is general counsel of a public utility in anchorage, the enstar natural gas unit of altagas ltd. , calgary, alberta, and is married to jake metcalfe, a former chairman of the alaska democratic party. a 1997 georgetown university graduate, she was awarded a truman scholarship through a foundation congress established to benefit young people who demonstrate <u+201c>outstanding potential for and who plan to pursue a career in public service.<u+201d> she later received a law degree from the university of california, berkeley. carrie severino, chief counsel at the conservative judicial crisis network and a former thomas law clerk, sought to defend justice thomas in a piece published online in the national review on thursday . <u+201c>the alleged conduct bears no resemblance to the man i worked closely with, whom i still count a friend after nearly 10 years,<u+201d> ms. severino wrote, adding she gave the allegations <u+201c>no credit whatsoever.<u+201d> justice thomas, the second african-american and among the most conservative jurists to serve on the supreme court since the 1930s, rose through republican ranks as an aide to a gop senator, an official in the ronald reagan administration and an appointee first to a federal appeals court and then the supreme court by president george h.w. bush. ms. hill, a university of oklahoma law professor who had been an aide to justice thomas when he was an education department official and then chairman of the equal employment opportunity commission, testified 25 years ago at his senate confirmation hearings. four additional women made similar allegations but weren<u+2019>t called to testify, according to the book <u+201c>strange justice,<u+201d> an account of the confirmation battle by then wall street journal reporters jill abramson and jane mayer. write to jess bravin at jess.bravin@wsj.com
alaska lawyer accuses justice thomas of groping her at 1999 dinner event  - wsj
jess bravin