The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold a public hearing next Monday and to call Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of sexual assault, Christine Blasey Ford, to testify before the committee.
In a crucial event that could determine Kavanaugh’s fate as a nominee for the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh and his accuser are expected to appear before the panel on the same day, but not side-by-side, ultimately delaying the committee vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination set for Thursday, CNN reports.
The announcement of these new public hearings, made under pressure for lawmakers to fully examine these assault claims, came a few hours after President Donald Trump defended Kavanaugh as “somebody very special,” but added that “we want to go through a full process … and hear everybody out” on the sexual assault allegations against him.
“Judge Kavanaugh is one of the finest people that I’ve ever known. He is an outstanding intellect and outstanding judge respected by everybody. Never had even a little blemish on his record,” Trump said. “If it takes a little delay, it’ll take a little delay.”
In a statement on Monday afternoon, White House spokesman Raj Shah said, “Judge Kavanaugh looks forward to a hearing where he can clear his name of this false allegation. He stands ready to testify tomorrow if the Senate is ready to hear him.”
Kavanaugh on Monday again strongly denied Ford’s allegations, calling them “completely false.”
“This is a completely false allegation,” Kavanaugh said in a statement released by the White House. “I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone.”
“Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday. 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,” he continued.
Kavanaugh’s statement came shortly after his accuser, a college professor, said she would be willing to speak with Congress to share her side of the story, ABC News reports.
Senators had called for Kavanaugh and Ford to address the allegations before Congress.
“Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee,” Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is a crucial vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination, wrote in a tweet Monday.
Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) September 17, 2018
Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters, “I want to hear what she has to say. Obviously, these are serious charges, and if they’re true, I think that they would be disqualifying.”
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is also a key Republican like Collins, issued a statement Monday: “Allegations surrounding sexual assault must be taken seriously and the Judiciary Committee must look into this further. Despite the length of time since the alleged incident, Dr. Ford’s allegations should be heard and she must have an opportunity to present her story before the committee under oath, with Judge Kavanaugh having the opportunity to respond under oath as well.”
When asked if Ford should testify, White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters, “Absolutely.”
“She should not be insulted; she should not be ignored; she should testify under oath and she should do it on Capitol Hill,” Conway added.
Conway made it clear that she was speaking on behalf of the president in expressing an openness to having Ford testify before Congress.
The White House senior counselor added that Kavanaugh should also get the chance to testify in response to these allegations, adding that Kavanaugh had been through six prior FBI vetting processes and that ultimately the Senate would have to weigh the allegations against a “considerable body of evidence” pointing to the strength of Kavanaugh’s character.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, referring to Collins’ comments, attacked Democrats on Monday for their handling of this situation, saying they knew about this information for weeks but chose to withhold the “secret until the 11th hour.”
“I can’t explain the situation any better than the senior senator from Maine put it yesterday evening when she said if they believed judge Kavanaugh’s accuser, why didn’t they serve us this information earlier so that he could be questioned about it?” McConnell said. “And if they didn’t believe her and chose to withhold the information, why did they decide at the 11th hour to release it? It’s really not fair to either of them the way it was handled.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer took to the floor shortly afterward, calling on the FBI to investigate the matter and to prohibit any vote until such investigation was completed, ABC News reports.
Ford, who reveal her identity in a Sunday Washington Post story, has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school in Maryland in the 1980s. Kavanaugh, who was 17 at the time, was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, and Ford, who was 15-years-old, was a sophomore at Holton-Arms School, an all-girls school in Bethesda, Maryland.
Ford said she was at a teen party when Kavanaugh and one of his male classmates, who were both “stumbling drunk,” cornered her in a bedroom where Kavanaugh pinned her to the bed, the Post reported. According to her allegations, Kavanaugh groped her over her clothes and attempted to remove them and the bathing suit she had on underneath.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Ford told the Post. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Ford told the Post that she tried to scream, but Kavanaugh placed a hand over her mouth. She was ultimately able to escape when Kavanaugh’s classmate jumped on the bed and sent all three of them tumbling.