Nominee accuser goes public
WASHINGTON DC: A California professor has told The Washington Post she is the woman who has accused US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in 1980s.
This has prompted Republicans to plan further discussions about his nomination before a committee vote this week.
Christine Blasey Ford said that as a high school pupil in suburban Maryland, a ‘‘stumbling drunk’’ Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her and tried to remove her clothing.
Last week, Kavanaugh, who is Republican President Donald Trump’s nominee to the court said he ‘‘categorically and unequivocally’’ denies the allegations.
Because Trump’s fellow Republicans control a slim 5149 majority in the Senate, Democrats cannot stop Kavanaugh’s appointment unless some Republicans make a rare decision to break with their party and vote against Trump.
At least one Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Jeff Flake, told the Post that Ford ‘‘must be heard’’ and urged the panel not to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination until it can hear from her.
Republicans hold only an 1110 majority on the committee, so Flake’s vote could make a difference. The committee has completed its hearings on Kavanaugh and plans to vote on Thursday on his nomination. A positive vote would set up a debate followed by a vote in the full Senate.
Democrats have sought to delay the process.
In the interview, Ford said when she tried to scream, Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth. ‘‘I thought he might inadvertently kill me . . . He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.’’
Ford, now a 51yearold research psychologist, said that in July she sent a letter to Democratic Representative Anna Eshoo about the incident, but requested confidentiality at the time.