Kavanaugh accuser accepts Senate panel’s request to share story but wants to talk more about terms
WASHINGTON — The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of a decades-old sexual assault has accepted a Senate committee’s request to tell her side next week, but Christine Blasey Ford wants to resume negotiations over the exact terms of her appearance, her lawyers said Saturday.
It was not immediately clear whether the Republican-run Senate Judiciary Committee would agree to more talks with Blasey Ford’s team. Also unclear was when she might come to Capitol Hill and if she was offering to speak in a public session or a private one. The committee wanted her to appear Wednesday, but she prefers Thursday, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Her lawyers’ letter to the committee’s GOP majority was released just at the 2:30 p.m. deadline set by the chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, to respond to the offer. Grassley, R-Iowa, had set a possible Monday vote to decide whether to recommend Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate.
Republicans made it clear they viewed Blasey Ford’s offer as a way to delay voting on President Donald Trump’s pick for the court.
A senior official at the White House said the letter amounted to “an ask to continue ‘negotiations’ without committing to anything. It’s a clever way to push off the vote Monday without committing to appear Wednesday.” The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the Senate negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The White House views Blasey Ford’s potential testimony with trepidation, nervous that an emotional performance might not just damage Kavanaugh’s chances but could further energize female voters to turn out against Republicans in November.
Attorneys Debra Katz and Lisa Banks said many aspects of Grassley’s latest offer were “fundamentally inconsistent” with the committee’s promise of a “fair, impartial investigation.” They said they remained disappointed by the “bullying” that “tainted the process.” Yet they remained “hopeful that we can reach agreement on details.”