Spilling on Kav
SEX ASSAULT ACCUSER TO TESTIFY
Christine Blasey Ford is ready to talk.
The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when the two were teens has agreed to publicly testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday — but her lawyers want to keep talking about the details, news reports said.
After seven days of uncertainty and “arbitrary” deadlines, Ford's lawyer wrote in an email Saturday afternoon that she “accepts the Committee's request to provide her first-hand knowledge of Brett Kavanaugh's sexual misconduct next week.”
Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is expected to resume hammering out terms Sunday that will allow Christine Blasey Ford to testify, reported The New York Times.
One issue likely to be addressed Sunday is the list of those who will be allowed to question her.
An email from Ford's lawyers was critical of the conditions proposed Friday by GOP leaders, calling them “fundamentally inconsistent with the committee's promise of a fair, impartial investigation into her allegations.”
“We are disappointed with the leaks and the bullying that have tainted the process, we are hopeful that we can reach agreement on details,” the lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks wrote, ending with a request to set a time Saturday to continue negotiations.
A senior White House official told The Associated Press the missive was far from a commitment, adding it was just a ploy to delay a vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation.
Grassley had previously set the Friday night deadline for the 51-year-old California psychology professor to agree to the committee's offer of certain terms for her appearance. Grassley said that if she missed that deadline, he would scrap the hearing and his committee would vote on sending Kavanaugh's nomination to the full Senate.
Ford's lawyers asked for another day and Grassley consented in a string of latenight tweets, some aimed directly at Kavanaugh.
“She shld decide so we can move on. I want to hear her. I hope u understand. It's not my normal approach to b indecisive,” Grassley wrote.
Ford came forth with claims last week that a drunken Kavanaugh locked her in a bedroom, pinned her to a bed, covered her mouth to stifle her screams and tried to remove her clothes at a Maryland house party 36 years ago. She was 15 at the time.
The 51-year-old has taken a polygraph test administered by a former FBI agent and told a therapist about the alleged assault in 2012. Her lawyers asked last week that the FBI reopen its background check into Kavanaugh, something only the President can approve.
Shortly after Ford went public, her lawyers indicated she would be willing to testify about the allegations. Kavanaugh said he would return to dispute her account.
Grassley rejected a number of Ford's requests, including asking that only senators be allowed to question her and that she be allowed to testify after Kavanaugh. Ford's attorneys also wanted additional witnesses to be called, including Kavanaugh's high school friend, Mark Judge, who Ford claims was in the room when she was attacked.
The allegations rocked Washington as Republicans have vowed to push for a vote on Trump's pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Conservatives had hoped to usher the 53-yearold appeals judge onto the high court ahead of its new session, set to begin Oct. 1.