Date finally agreed for Senate to hear judge’s accuser
NEGOTIATORS have reached a tentative agreement for the Senate Judiciary Committee to hear testimony on Thursday from Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault from decades ago, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Lawyers for Ms Ford and bipartisan representatives of the committee came to the tentative agreement after a short phone call, said one, adding that Mr Kavanaugh would also appear.
Some details of the hearing, such as the order of their appearance, are still being negotiated.
The tentative accord could bring to a close days of high-stakes brinkmanship ahead of mid-term elections that threaten to jeopardize Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the court.
Tensions have been running high since Ms Ford, a 51-year-old college professor in California, went public with her allegation Mr Kavanaugh assaulted her when they were at a house party in high school.
Mr Kavanaugh, 53, an appellate court judge, denied the allegation and said he wanted to testify as soon as possible to clear his name.
Ms Ford initially indicated she wanted to tell her story to the committee, but talks dragged on as her lawyers negotiated terms of her appearance.
Republicans grew frustrated as Ms Ford’s lawyers insisted on a hearing next Thursday rather than Monday or even Wednesday and made other requests, some of which the committee chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley, rejected.
Democrats, against the backdrop of the #Metoo movement, said Ms Ford should be shown respect and given accommodation to tell her story.
As the talks continued, Mr Grassley countered that he would end the stand-off by scheduling a Monday vote on whether to recommend Mr Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate.
Meanwhile, Republicans viewed Ms Ford’s requests as a way to delay voting on President Donald Trump’s nominee.
Earlier on Saturday, a senior official at the White House said Ms Ford’s requests amounted to “a clever way to push off the vote Monday without committing to appear Wednesday”.
Ms Ford’s lawyers Debra Katz and Lisa Banks had said that many aspects of Mr Grassley’s latest offer were “fundamentally inconsistent” with the committee’s promise of a “fair, impartial investigation”.