GOP pushes forward for Kavanaugh

Democrats accused Republicans Thursday of using roughshod tactics against the woman who is accusing Brett Kavanagh of a decades-old sexual attack as Republicans forged ahead in their drive to push his Supreme Court nomination through the Senate.

With Kavanaugh’s confirmation in the balance, it remained unclear whether Christine Blasey Ford would appear at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing set for Monday, to which both were invited. Panel Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has told Ford’s attorneys that the panel was giving the California psychology professor until 10 a.m. Friday to submit a biography and a prepared statement “if she intends to testify.”

Republicans say they’ve tried to accommodate Ford, offering to let her testify in public or private and suggesting that committee aides would travel to her California home to take testimony. Kavanaugh, currently a judge on the powerful District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, has denied her allegation.

Democrats have leapt to support Ford, with Washington state Sen. Patty Murray saying Thursday that Republicans should be “ashamed” for pushing forward without a fair investigation. That echoed Democrats’ effort to broaden the nomination fight into a referendum on whether women who allege abuse are taken seriously by men — a theme that could echo in this November’s elections for control of Congress. Protesters opposed to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, demonstrate in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Republicans are “bullying” Ford by giving her a Monday deadline to testify to the committee. Gillibrand said Republicans want a “he said, she said” scenario because men are usually believed.

Kavanaugh was spotted at the White House Thursday, and allies say he is eager to address the accusation and will be prepared to address the committee Monday.

President Donald Trump kept quiet on Twitter, though he continues to back his nominee.

The White House would like to see Ford testify so it will be clear she has been given the space to speak, but believes that if she doesn’t, the process will continue and he will be confirmed, according to people who weren’t authorized to discuss administration thinking by name.

Through her attorneys, Ford left her attendance at Monday’s hearing in doubt. And despite

Grassley’s schedule, it remained unclear if that hearing would occur without her, as a drama that has riveted Washington since emerging a week ago was injected with a fresh burst of election-season suspense.

Ford lawyer Lisa Banks said in a statement late Wednesday that Ford would co-operate with a thorough, nonpartisan probe.

After indicating earlier this week that she would appear before lawmakers, Ford wants other witnesses — not just Ford and Kavanaugh — to participate and wants the FBI to reopen its background check of Kavanaugh. Those demands have been backed by Democrats but dismissed by top Republicans.

Banks reiterated that Ford has had to leave her home because of threats to her family’s safety and said, “Fairness and respect for her situation dictate that she should have time to deal with this.”

Britain and its European Union partners failed on Thursday to secure a breakthrough in Brexit talks, largely because of seemingly intractable divisions over the best way to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and how to deal with future trade.

With Britain’s departure from the EU looming — March 29, 2019 — there are growing concerns that a deal on the postBrexit relationship may not be cobbled together in time to ensure a smooth and orderly British exit.

All leaders, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, are desperate to solve the biggest Brexit riddle — how to keep goods moving freely between Northern Ireland in the U.K. and EU member state Ireland.

Despite reports of a friendly spirit at a summit in Salzburg, Austria, the fundamental differences remained and EU Council President Donald Tusk said parts of May’s Brexit plan — dubbed Chequers after a key Brexit meeting at the premier’s country residence of the same name — simply will not work.

But just minutes after he spoke, May insisted that her Brexit plan is the “only serious and credible” proposal on the table. Tusk said “we need to compromise on both sides.”

He wants to see a major breakthrough by the time the leaders meet again in Brussels on Oct. 18-19.

A special Brexit summit could still be set up in mid-November if things progress as hoped.