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Brett Kavanaugh's accuser willing to testify before Congress, lawyer says

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk and Bob D'Angelo
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk and Bob D'Angelo

Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford said she wrote a confidential letter to a senior Democratic senator from California, alleging that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than three decades ago, The Washington Post reported.

Here are the latest updates:

Update: 5:30 p.m.: Judge Brett Kavanaugh will talk with Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee by phone Monday afternoon about the sexual assault allegation against him made by a California college professor, but none of the 10 Democrats on the committee will be part of the call, according to several news outlets.

In a statement earlier Monday, Kavanaugh vehemently denied the accusation.

Update 7:40 a.m. EDT Sept. 17: Ford's lawyer, Debra Katz, told CNN that her client would be willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegations against Kavanaugh.

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JUST IN: "The answer is yes," says the attorney for Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford on whether she is willing to testify in public, adding that she has not been asked to do so https://t.co/ldiFVBCMo0 pic.twitter.com/SBTPOUY97V

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec issued the following statement:

"On Friday, Judge Kavanaugh 'categorically and unequivocally' denied this allegation. This has not changed. Judge Kavanaugh and the White House both stand by that statement."

Original report: A professor at Palo Alto University admitted she wrote a confidential letter to a senior Democratic senator from California, alleging that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than three decades ago, The Washington Post reported.

“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” said Christine Blasey Ford, who is now a research psychologist in northern California. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”

Ford, 51, sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. While her identity was not initially revealed, Ford, in an interview with the Post, said Kavanaugh assaulted her when both were high school students in suburban Maryland.

Ford told the newspaper that during a summer gathering in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and a friend were allegedly “stumbling drunk” when they steered her into a bedroom in Montgomery County.

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Ford alleged that while his friend watched, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped over her clothes, grinding his body against her while trying to remove her one-piece bathing suit, the Post reported. When she tried to scream, Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth, Ford alleged.

>> Five things to know about the Supreme Court

Ford said that she was able to escape from the bedroom when Mark Judge, Kavanaugh’s friend and classmate at Georgetown Preparatory School, jumped on top of them, the newspaper reported.

Ford said she remained silent about the incident until 2012, when she began attending couples therapy with her husband, the Post reported.

Some of the therapist’s notes, provided to the newspaper by Ford, do not mention Kavanaugh by name. But they do say she reported that she was attacked by students “from an elitist boys’ school” who went on to become “highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington.” The notes say four boys were involved, a discrepancy Ford says was an error on the therapist’s part. Ford said there were four boys at the party but only two in the room.

The White House responded to Ford’s comments with a statement Kavanaugh released last week, when the allegations first surfaced.

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” Kavanaugh’s statement said.

Kavanaugh declined comment to the Post, and the White House had no additional comment. Judge did not answer emails seeking comment, the newspaper reported.

In an interview Friday with The Weekly Standard, before Ford's name was revealed, Judge denied the incident occurred.

"It's just absolutely nuts. I never saw Brett act that way," Judge said. He told the New York Times that Kavanaugh was a "brilliant student" who loved sports and was not "into anything crazy or illegal."

Shauna Thomas, executive director of the women's group UltraViolet, said in a statement Sunday that her organization supported Ford.

“We believe women and we believe Christine Blasey Ford,” Thomas’ statement read. “Ford has demonstrated tremendous courage in coming forward and sharing her story of how Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. She is a hero and we have her back.”

As the story became public, Ford said she became concerned about inaccuracies and believed her privacy was being infringed upon, the Post reported.

“These are all the ills that I was trying to avoid,” she told the newspaper. “Now I feel like my civic responsibility is outweighing my anguish and terror about retaliation.”

 

Cox Media Group

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