The people involved in accusations
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday to address one of two allegations of sexual assault leveled against him.
His accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, agreed to appear the same day to testify about the alleged assault, which she said took place during a high school party. A second person stepped forward to accuse Kavanaugh of an assault while in college.
Here’s a breakdown of the key figures in the allegations:
❚ Christine Blasey Ford: The psychology researcher and professor at Palo Alto University in California said that during a party in 1982, while both were in high school, Kavanaugh held her down and forcibly tried to remove her clothing. Kavanaugh denied the accusation. Ford agreed to testify before the Senate on Thursday.
❚ Deborah Ramirez: A former classmate of Kavanaugh’s when both attended Yale University alleged in an article published by The New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party. Ramirez said the incident left her “embarrassed and ashamed and humiliated.” Kavanaugh denied the allegation.
❚ Mark Judge: A classmate of Kavanaugh’s at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, was accused by Ford of being in the room, watching and laughing during the alleged assault. Ford said Judge inadvertently helped her escape by jumping on top of her and Kavanaugh, knocking them off the bed. Judge’s writings during high school – including a yearbook quote that read, “Certain women should be struck regularly, like gongs” – have been scrutinized.
❚ Michael Avenatti: The attorney representing Stormy Daniels in her case against President Donald Trump over alleged “hush money” said in a series of tweets that he represents a third woman with “information” on Kavanaugh.
❚ Sen. Dianne Feinstein: California’s senior senator, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, received a letter July 30 from Ford detailing the accusations against Kavanaugh. Feinstein waited until Kavanaugh’s initial Supreme Court confirmation hearings ended before handing the letter over to authorities and Congress. Feinstein said she wanted to honor Ford’s request for confidentiality. In an interview with The Washington Post, Ford said she did not want to identify herself over fears of what the revelation would do to her and her family.
❚ Sen. Chuck Grassley: The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman has the final word on how the nomination process is handled.Over the past week, the Iowa Republican’s team and Ford’s attorneys negotiated the details of Ford’s testimony.