Kelly and Pogrebin said that Kavanaugh told them he would talk to the reporters to provide them with background information as long as they falsely noted in the book that he declined to be interviewed.

…“They asked us to affirmatively say that Justice Kavanaugh declined to be interviewed for the book even if we had an off-the-record discussion with him,” Kelly added.

NY Times Reporters Say Kavanaugh Asked Them Lie In Exchange For An Interview | HuffPost

hmmmm