Sex attack accuser may testify against top US judge

THE woman accusing US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has said she might testify against him after all, breathing new life into the prospect of a dramatic Senate showdown next week.

Christine Blasey Ford, who claims Mr Kavanaugh assaulted her when they were in high school, wants to give evidence next Thursday but does not want her alleged attacker in the same room, her lawyer told Judiciary Committee staff.

She is willing to tell her story to the committee, whose senators will vote on Mr Kavanaugh’s confirmation, but only if agreement can be reached on “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety”, the lawyer said.

The discussion revived the possibility that the panel would hold an electrifying campaign-season hearing at which Ms Ford and President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee could give their versions of what happened at a party in the 1980s.

Mr Kavanaugh, now a judge on the powerful US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has repeatedly denied her allegation.

The accusation has jarred the 53-year-old conservative jurist’s prospects for winning confirmation, which until Ms Ford’s emer- gence last week had seemed all but certain.

The Judiciary Committee’s Republican chairman, Chuck Grassley, has scheduled a hearing for Monday morning, and he and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell have indicated it would be Ms Ford’s only chance to make her case.

Republicans are anxious to move ahead to a vote by the committee, where they hold an 11-10 majority, and then by the full Senate, which they also control by a 51-49 majority.

Taylor Foy, spokesman for Republicans on the panel, said after the call that Mr Grassley “will consult with his colleagues on the committee.

He remains committed to providing a fair forum for both Dr Ford and Judge Kavanaugh”.

Lawyer Debra Katz said Ms Ford (51) has received death threats, and for safety reasons had relocated her family.