Kavanaugh sex abuse accuser tells story
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court was thrust into turmoil Sunday after the woman accusing him of high school-era sexual misconduct told her story publicly for the first time. Democrats immediately called for a delay in a key committee vote set for this week, and at least one GOP panel member said he’s willing to hear from the woman, but that the confirmation process must not be derailed.
The woman, Christine Blasey Ford, told The Washington Post Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed at a Maryland party they attended in the early 1980s, clumsily tried to remove her clothing and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Ford said. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Ford, 51 and a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto Uni-
versity in California, says she was able to get away after a friend of Kavanaugh’s who was in the room jumped on top of them and everyone tumbled.
Kavanaugh, 53 and a federal appeals judge in Washington, repeated an earlier denial of Ford’s allegation.
“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” Kavanaugh said through the White House.
The allegation came to light late last week in the form of an anonymous letter that has been in the possession of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The committee recently concluded four days of public hearings on the nomination, and the panel’s GOP chairman, Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, scheduled a Thursday vote on whether to recommend that the full Senate confirm Kavanaugh for a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court.
Democrats, led by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, immediately called for the vote to be postponed.
A spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday that Grassley is trying to arrange followup calls with Kavanaugh and Ford, but just for aides to Grassley and Feinstein before the scheduled vote.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a committee member, said he’s willing to hear from Ford provided that it’s “done immediately” so the confirmation process can continue as scheduled. Graham said he’d compare her story against all the other information the committee has so far considered about Kavanaaugh.
Critics accused Republicans of fast-tracking the process to get Kavanaugh seated on the court ahead of the first day of the fall term, Oct. 1.
Senate Republicans, along with the White House, see no need to postpone voting over what they consider uncorroborated and unverifiable accusations, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly.
In considering their options Sunday, Republicans largely settled on the view that Ford’s story alone was not enough to delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Grassley could invite Ford to testify before Thursday. Kavanaugh probably would also be asked to appear before senators. The panel would also likely seek testimony from Mark Judge, Kavanaugh’s friend. Ford identified Judge as the friend who jumped on top of her and Kavanaugh. Judge denied that the incident happened.
Republicans say the allegations have cast a shadow over Kavanaugh, but it doesn’t appear to be enough to change the votes in the narrowly divided 51-49 Senate. Key will be the views of Sens. Susan Collins, of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska.
A spokesman for Grassley said Kavanaugh already went through several days of hearings and was investigated by the FBI.
The White House accused Feinstein, who revealed the letter’s existence last week, of mounting an “11th hour attempt to delay his confirmation.” The White House sought to cast doubt about Ford’s allegation, noting the FBI repeatedly investigated Kavanaugh since the 1990s for highly sensitive roles he held, including in the office of independent counsel Ken Starr, the White House and his current post on the federal appeals court in Washington.
Both Democratic and Republican senators questioned Feinstein’s handling of the allegation. Feinstein on Sunday called on the FBI to investigate Ford’s story “before the Senate moves forward on this nominee.”
Kavanaugh’s nomination has sharply divided an already closely divided Senate, with most Democrats opposing him and most Republicans supporting him.
But the allegations of sexual misconduct, particularly coming amid the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, coupled with Ford’s emergence, could complicate matters, especially as key Republican senators, including Collins and Murkowski, are under enormous pressure from outside groups who want them to oppose Kavanaugh.
Collins and Murkowski have not said how they will vote. Neither senator is on the Judiciary Committee.
Ford told the Post that she never revealed what had happened to her until 2012, when she and her husband sought couples therapy, and that she changed her mind about coming forward publicly after watching portions of her story come out without her permission. She said if anyone was going to tell her story, she wanted to tell it.