Kavanaugh accuser Christine Ford willing to testify before Senate committee, lawyer says

William Cummings USA TODAY

Published 10:44 AM EDT Sep 17, 2018

WASHINGTON – The woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her more than three decades ago is willing to testify about the incident before the Senate Judiciary Committee, her lawyer said Monday.

Christine Blasey Ford, 51, came forward with her allegations in an interview with The Washington Post Sunday. The story first became public last week in a New Yorker magazine story, but Ford was not identified.

Several senators on the committee, including Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, have called for a delay on Kavanaugh's confirmation until they have a chance to hear from Ford. Her attorney, Debra Katz, said Ford would be willing to testify during an interview on NBC's "Today" show.

"She is willing to do whatever it takes to get her story forth," Katz said. She said that Ford is not "taking a position" on whether or not Kavanaugh should be confirmed, but she "believes that these allegations obviously bear on his character and fitness."

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"She has taken a polygraph. She is a credible person. These are serious allegations and they should be addressed," Katz said.

USA TODAY does not name accusers of sexual assault, but in this case, the accuser came forward publicly.

Kavanaugh said in a statement Monday that he is 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."

The judge said he has "never done anything like what the accuser describes – to her or to anyone."

A spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he is working to arrange "follow-up calls with Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford ahead of Thursday’s scheduled vote."

Republican Sens. Flake, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have indicated they would prefer to hear from Ford before moving ahead with a vote. Corker and Murkowski do not sit on the Judiciary Committee.

Ford, a research psychologist and professor at Palo Alto University in California, accused Kavanaugh of holding her down and trying to remove her clothes at a party when they were both in high school. She said Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand to prevent her from crying out and that she thought "he might inadvertently kill me."

Katz said Ford considers it an "attempted rape."

"If it were not for the severe intoxication of Brett Kavanaugh, she would have been raped," Katz said.

According to the Post, Ford is a registered Democrat and has "made small contributions to political organizations," but Katz dismissed accusations that Ford's allegation is politically motivated.

"No one in their right mind regardless of their motive would want to inject themselves into this process and face the kind of annihilation that she will be subjected to by those who want this nominee to go through," Katz said. "This is not a politically motivated action. In fact, she was quite reluctant to come forward."

According to Katz, her client has received "a lot of very vicious, sexually violent emails from total strangers" since she came forward.

On Monday, the White House stood by Kavanaugh's denial of the accusations.

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

Still, presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway said Monday, "This woman should not be ignored and should not be insulted. She should be heard ... She should testify under oath."

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