SCOTUS nominee accuser to testify
THE woman whose allegation of sexual assault threatens to bring down President Donald Trump’s Supreme Co u r t n o mi n e e Bre t t Kavanaugh has agreed to testify before a Senate committee on Thursday, her lawyers said.
“We committed to moving forward with an open hearing on Thursday September 27 at 10am. Despite actual threats to her safety and her life, Dr Ford believes it is important for Senators to hear directly from her,” said a statement from Christine Blasey Ford’s lawyers, quoted by US media.
Christine Blasey Ford’s decision followed days of negotiations and came after Trump turned against her and said her accusation could not be true.
After the Senate Judiciary Committee received a message from Ford’s lawyers, several members confirmed she had accepted their committee’s request to testify.
“Dr Blasey Ford will testify next week. She has shown tremendous courage in the face of death threats and harassment and deserves respect as final details for the hearing are worked out,” Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein tweeted.
Hours l at e r, multiple
outlets including Politico and the Daily Beast reported the hearing would take place on Thursday, citing sources familiar with a phone call between the committee and Ford’s lawyers.
The committee’s Republican leader Chuck Grassley had wanted the hearing to take place on Wednesday, but Ford asked that it be held on Thursday at the earliest and to be able to call as a witness a man she says was present during the assault.
The tentative deal capped a day of frenetic developments, with time running out for Trump to get his hand-picked conservative judge confirmed – thereby tilting the Supreme Court firmly to the right for years to come – before November elections when Republicans risk losing control of Congress.
Earlier, the panel had given the California professor until 2:30 pm (1830 GMT) to decide whether to appear, after she rejected a Friday evening deadline imposed by Grassley.
“Although many aspects of the proposal you provided via email, on [Friday] are fundamentally inconsistent with the committee’s promise of a fair, impartial investigation into her allegations, and we are disappointed with the leaks and the bullying that have tainted the process, we are hopeful that we can reach agreement on details,” read the lawyers’ letter cited by the Washington Post.
The White House criticised Ford for allegedly dithering, and said: “Brett Kavanaugh remains ready, willing and eager to testify as soon as possible.”
‘Take the vote’
Ford alleges that Kavanaugh drunkenly assaulted her at a party when he was 17, she was 15 and they were attending private schools outside Washington in the 1980s.
Kavanaugh denies knowledge of any such assault and wants to give his side of the story to the committee.
The White House later also pushed back on Ford’s claims.
“One week ago, Dr Christine Ford claimed she was assaulted at a house party attended by four others. Since then, all four of these individuals have pro- vided statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee denying any knowledge of the incident or even having attended such a party,” White House spokesperson Kerri Kupec said.
It came as, after several days of maintaining a relatively neutral posture, Trump on Friday declared that Ford was lying.
“TAKE THE VOTE!” Trump tweeted, blaming “radical left wing politicians” for the controversy. According to Trump, the fact that Ford remained silent until now shows the incident probably never happened – even if this runs counter to what experts say is the typical reaction of sexual assault victims afraid or too embarrassed to report.
“I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr Ford was as bad as she says,” Trump tweeted, “charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents.”