Brett Kavanaugh willing to ‘refute’ sexual assault allegation before Senate panel

Kavanaugh has completely denied the allegations, as has Mark Judge, a friend of his who Ford said witnessed the assault.

“Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee”, Collins tweeted later Monday.

A group of women who went to Holton-Arms-the private girls school in Bethesda that Christine Blasey Ford attended-have put together a letter of support for Ford. According to Ford, at a party in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh pinned her down, groped her, attempted to undress her and covered her mouth when she attempted to scream.

Now, both Republicans and Democrats are searching for a fair way for her to make her allegations and for Judge Kavanaugh to respond. One Democratic aide told Business Insider that “this gives red state [Democrats] all the cover they need” to not feel pressured to back Kavanaugh, while another thinks he is “toast”. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced she was in possession of the letter but would not release the name of the accuser due to privacy concerns. He said it’s more likely that he claims are false than that they’re true, based on little more than minor (and easily explained) discrepancies between her account now and notes taken by her therapist about the incident in 2012. Ford came forward in a September 16 interview with the Washington Post. July 2018: Ford reached out to the Post’s tip line as Kavanaugh’s name appeared on the shortlist to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“Her recollection of these events is crystal clear”, Ford’s attorney, Lisa Banks, told Morning Edition.

“I’m sure it will work out very well”, he said.

A committee spokesman said late Sunday that its chairman, Sen.

The fact that Feinstein sat on Ford’s letter about the alleged assault hasn’t helped. Dr. Ford’s attorney could have approached my office, while keeping her client confidential and anonymous, so that these allegations could be thoroughly investigated. The Post said Katz provided the paper with the results of the test, which was administered by a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent.

That the president’s senior counselor, Kellyanne Conway, swiftly advocated listening to the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault points to the power of the #MeToo movement – and of women in politics.

“She’s now going to have to live with the tremendous efforts by people to annihilate her and to try to discredit her”, Katz told CNN. Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of SC, both members of the Judiciary Committee, said they wanted to hear what Ford has to say before making a decision on confirming Kavanaugh. No mention is made of the allegations that would surface days later in the media.

Backlash to Hill’s treatment by then all-male Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991 is widely accepted to have helped usher in the so-called “Year of the Woman” in 1992, when the number of women in the Senate doubled from two to four. For instance, Kavanaugh could have been away at a summer or football camp for nearly all of 1982 and it wouldn’t matter because she can’t even provide the month it happened, or the occasion for the party.

But two years later, the president and his party are facing a headwind of opposition from women in the midterm election that the Kavanaugh allegation could amplify. Kavanaugh came to the White House amid the upheaval, but there was no immediate word on why or whether he had been summoned. The White House reiterated Kavanaugh’s statement denying the incident occurred.

My guess is that Senate proceedings will be delayed past the scheduled vote this Thursday and that the testimony of Both Kavanaugh and Ford will be heard.

“I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity”, Kavanaugh said.