Driven from home
Death threats for Kav’s accuser
The woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has been forced to move out of her home after receiving a torrent of death threats, a person close to her said Tuesday — but President Trump claims he feels “terribly” for her alleged attacker.
Christine Blasey Ford has been fielding threats since she went public with allegations that Kavanaugh drunkenly forced himself on her while they were in high school, the friend said.
“There have been vulgar emails and social media messages and death threats,” the friend told the Daily News, speaking on condition of anonymity. The friend added that she's arranged private security for her family.
Trump showed little sympathy for Ford, but called Kavanaugh an “incredible individual” and a “great intellect” with an “impeccable history”
“I feel so badly for him that he's going through this,” Trump said at a press conference at the White House with the president of Poland.
Trump, himself accused of myriad affairs and unwanted sexual advances, went on to blame Democrats for attempting to stall his pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy and pushed back on calls for the FBI to investigate the matter.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said an FBI investigation is “essential” to prevent the hearing from becoming nothing more than a “he said, she said affair.” Ford herself agreed. In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley late Tuesday, Ford's attorney, Debra Katz, said her client wants the FBI to investigate her allegations before she testifies and asked him for sympathy over the “vicious” threats she has faced.
“A full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner,” Katz said in the letter, which was obtained by CNN.
Grassley (R-Iowa) did not immediately respond to Katz' request.
Republicans on Capitol Hill plan to hear testimony Monday from Kavanaugh and Ford, but have said they will not call on any other witnesses or experts.
Grassley (R-Iowa) said earlier in the day his staff had not heard back from Ford, a California professor, despite several attempts to contact her.
The lack of response “kind of raises the question, do they want to come to the public hearing or not,” Grassley told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Ford's lawyer previously said her client would be open to a “fair proceeding.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (DCalf.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, meanwhile, is calling for outside witnesses to testify next week at the hearing and accused Republicans Tuesday of “rush(ing) this nomination and not fully vet (ting) Judge Kavanaugh.”
Grassley, the committee's chair, said only Kavanaugh and his accuser have been invited to testify before the panel.
Ford claims that an intoxicated Kavanaugh forced her into a bedroom at a party in the early 1980s, pinned her on a bed and tried to undress her. She said that he held his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Ford was able to escape when Kavanaugh's friend, Mark Judge, jumped on him and the two began roughhousing.
“What about other witnesses like Kavanaugh's friend Mark Judge? What about individuals who were previously told about this incident? What about experts who can speak to the effects of this kind of trauma on a victim?” Feinstein asks in her letter. “This is another attempt by Republicans to rush this nomination and not fully vet Judge Kavanaugh.”
Judge asked to be kept out of the spotlight in a statement issued by his attorney — but the Kavanaugh pal didn't outright deny Ford's allegations.
“I have no memory of this alleged incident,” Judge said. “I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes. I have no more information to offer the Committee and I do not wish to speak publicly regarding the incidents described in Dr. Ford's letter.”
Kavanaugh, 53, has vehemently denied the accusation. The President Trump appointee said in a statement Monday that he wanted to "refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity.”