Brett Kavanaugh.Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty
As a sexual assault accusation clouds hisSupreme Court nomination hearings, JudgeBrett Kavanaughhas said he’s willing to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about the alleged incident. So, too, is his accuser.
Last week,The New Yorkerpublished a reportin which a woman — who later came forward to identify herself as Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old research psychologist and professor at Palo Alto University — recalled a party where Kavanaugh allegedly “held her down” and “attempted to force himself on her” when they were both high school students in the early 1980s.
On Monday,Kavanaugh, 53, further denied the accusations toThe New York Times, saying, “I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday.”
Also on Monday, PresidentDonald Trumpand White House counselorKellyanne Conwayseparately addressed the allegation.
Trump called the idea of Kavanaugh withdrawing his nomination over the allegation “ridiculous” but said he supported delaying the confirmation process so Kavanaugh and his accuser could speak with senators.
Trump stressed that Kavanaugh “never even had a little blemish on his record,” adding, “He is somebody very special.
“At the same time, we want to go through a process,” Trump continued, according to a pool report. “We want to make sure everything is perfect, everything is just right. I wish the Democrats could have done this a lot sooner, because they had this information for many months. And they shouldn’t have waited ’til literally the last days. … But with all of that being said we want to go through the process.”
Trump — who said he hasn’t spoken with Kavanaugh about the allegation — noted that he thinks the judge is still “on track” to secure the confirmation. “If it takes a little delay it’ll take a little delay. It shouldn’t certainly be very much,” Trump said.
Conway also said that Ford and Kavanaugh should “absolutely” testify before the Senate.
“Let me be very clear on behalf of the president, with whom I’ve spoken at length about this,” Conway told reporters at the White House on Monday, according toHuffPost. “She should not be ignored or insulted. She should be heard.”
The White House did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Monday. Last Thursday, the White House said in a statement provided to PEOPLE that Democratic efforts to bring Ford’s allegations to light were merely an “11th hour attempt to delay” Kavanaugh’s nomination.
A White House spokesperson, Kerri Kupec, said in the statement, “Throughout his confirmation process, Judge Kavanaugh has had 65 meetings with senators — including with Senator Feinstein — sat through over 30 hours of testimony, addressed over 2,000 questions in a public setting and additional questions in a confidential session. Not until the eve of his confirmation has Senator Feinstein or anyone raised the specter of new ‘information’ about him.”
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The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, explained on Monday that he plans to have both Kavanaugh and Ford share their stories about that night with the committee.
“Anyone who comes forward as Dr. Ford has deserves to be heard, so I will continue working on a way to hear her out in an appropriate, precedented and respectful manner,” Grassley said.
Ford’s attorney, Debra Katz, shared her client’s thoughts on the matter onGood Morning AmericaMonday. “[She’s] willing to cooperate,” Katz told the morning show. “What she’s not willing to do is to be part of this bloodletting that happens in Washington.”
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The lawyer added, “I think that her story has to be carefully listened to and vetted.”
After previously choosing to remain anonymous,Kavanaugh’s accuser identified herself for the first time in an interview withThe Washington Postpublished Sunday. Ford claimed the incident, which she said occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland, began when Kavanaugh, who was allegedly heavily intoxicated, pushed her into a room at a party and then held her down against a bed. According to Ford’s account, Kavanaugh then allegedly groped her and tried to remove her clothes.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Ford told the newspaper. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
She went on to allege that she was able to free herself after one of Kavanaugh’s friends and fellow classmates at Georgetown Preparatory School, Mark Judge, who had been in the room the whole time, jumped on them.
In response to the story, the White House re-issued an earlier statement of Kavanaugh’s to thePost.
“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” he wrote.
Ford reportedly contacted Democratic lawmakers about the incident after Kavanaugh was first nominated in July. Senate Democrats have since turned in the letters to theFBI for investigation.
As a result of the accusation, many are calling for the vote regarding Judge Kavanaugh’s place in the Supreme Court to be delayed.
source: people.com
