WASHINGTON – Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are giving Christine Blasey Ford additional time to decide whether she will testify against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who she accused of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers.
Ford and her attorneys have until 10 p.m. EDT to decide whether she will testify. If she does not respond by then, committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-IA, threatened a Monday vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation.
"It’s Friday night and nothing’s been agreed to despite our extensive efforts to make testimony possible," Grassley said. "In the event that we can come to a reasonable resolution as I’ve been seeking all week, then I will postpone the committee vote to accommodate her testimony. We cannot continue to delay."
Earlier Friday, conservatives on the committee said they were willing to meet some but not all of Ford's conditions in order for her to testify about her allegation of sexual assault in the 1980s by Kavanaugh, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
Kavanaugh has denied the accusation.
Ford offered a list of 10 demands, Grassley said, and the committee was willing to meet "halfway," calling some of her demands "unreasonable."
Republicans have offered Ford time to testify in front of the panel Wednesday, a day earlier than she requested, but a delay from Monday's scheduled hearing. They insist that she speak first, against her wishes, so that Kavanaugh can defend himself after her allegation is aired. But they agreed to her requests for security measures and that Kavanaugh be out of the room when she testifies.
Still unresolved is who will conduct the questioning. Grassley said Friday evening that the committee will "reserve the option to have female staff attorneys" also question Ford. The committee, though, has not officially announced whether it will elect that option, which would save the panel's 11 Republican men from the optics of questioning a woman claiming sexual assault.
The committee also declined to subpoena Mark Judge, a friend of Kavanaugh who Ford says witnesses the assault, and others. "The Committee does not take subpoena requests from witnesses as a condition of their testimony," a letter from the committee to Ford's attorneys states.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, a member of the Judiciary Committee, criticized the “counteroffer” and emphasized that senators, rather than committee counsel, must be able to question both witnesses.
"I will not forfeit my ability to question Judge Kavanaugh and anyone else who comes before the committee with testimony, no matter how uncomfortable it may make the 11 men across the dais," he said, referring to the panel's Republican members.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Committee, fired back Friday afternoon saying that Republicans pushing for a Wednesday hearing when Ford requested Thursday is "mean-spirited and candidly shows no sympathy or empathy whatsoever."
All 10 Democrats on the Committee wrote a letter to Grassley saying "the Committee majority’s treatment of Dr. Ford has unquestionably been worse than the disgraceful treatment that Anita Hill received 27 years ago." Hill accused now-Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in 1991 and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were criticized for their handling of the situation.
The Democrats called for more witnesses than just Ford and Kavanaugh, including the FBI, Kavanaugh's friend who Ford alleges was in the room, character witnesses and outside experts.
More: Joe Biden regrets how Anita Hill was treated, says Kavanaugh accuser should get more respect
More: Kavanaugh's prep school culture nurtures high achievers, fosters darker impulses, grads say
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