Professor accusing Kavanaugh of assault offers to testify next week, but not Monday

WASHINGTON — After days of silence about whether she would appear, California professor Christine Blasey Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that she is willing to testify next week about her allegations of a decades-old sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The offer, made in a letter from her attorney to the committee, could put plans to arrange the high-stakes public hearing back on track, though it came with some unspecified conditions that GOP senators may not accept. For one, she ruled out a hearing on Monday, when Republicans have currently scheduled the proceeding.

Her letter effectively kicked the ball back into Republicans’ court. Publicly GOP lawmakers have grumbled in recent days that Ford had failed to respond to their invitation to appear Monday, but privately many worried she might accept. A public hearing could make Kavanaugh’s confirmation – already in question – more difficult, particularly if Ford’s story is credible and compelling.

Now GOP leaders will have to decide whether to give Ford a few more days, or stick to their demand that the hearing take place on Monday.

Ford’s offer also increased the pressure on several key moderates — particularly GOP Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska— whose votes will likely be needed to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. Both were already facing heavy pressure from abortion rights groups concerned that Kavanaugh, a staunch conservative and longtime GOP attorney, might vote to restrict access to the procedure. The sexual assault allegations, which Kavanaugh has denied, have upended his once sure-bet confirmation and only increased the stakes for the key lawmakers.

The Senate Judiciary Committee did not immediately respond to Ford’s letter, which suggested both sides open negotiations. Ford, who says the attack took place when she and Kavanaugh were in high school in the early 1980s, said she would only testify under terms that ensure her safety and “are fair.” She did not specify what “fair” would require, leaving open the possibility that talks could reach a stalemate.

“As you are aware, she has been receiving death threats, which have been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and she and her family have been forced out of their home,” Ford’s attorney, Debra Katz, wrote. “She wishes to testify, provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety. A hearing on Monday is not possible and the committee’s insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event.”

Senators scheduled the Monday hearing without consulting Ford.

Invoking security concerns will make it hard for the committee to reject Ford’s request to delay the hearing a few days, said John Hudak, senior fellow at think tank Brookings Institution.

“That is a reasonable accommodation that if Republicans are unwilling to make, they are going to be dragged through the mud,” Hudak said.