US Supreme Court nominee's accuser agrees to testify before Senate
Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, has agreed to testify before a Senate panel.
The Senate Judiciary Committee and lawyers for Ford reached a tentative agreement on Saturday for her to publicly testify before the panel on Thursday.
"Dr. Ford accepts the Committee's request to provide her first-hand knowledge of Brett Kavanaugh's sexual misconduct next week," Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, attorneys representing Ford, wrote in a message to the committee.
This comes after a brief call late on Saturday between the woman’s lawyers and aides to Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Aides to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the committee’s top Democrat, were also part of the negotiations.
They decided to continue the negotiations over the conditions of the testimony on Sunday morning, according to three people familiar with the call.
The Kavanaugh hearings are not a criminal trial and the allegations against him do not need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a job interview for a seat on the highest court in the land. If there’s any evidence of impropriety, he shouldn’t get the position.
— Andrew Weinstein (@Weinsteinlaw) September 23, 2018
Meanwhile, Kavanaugh's allies quickly reacted to the agreement, saying that it does not mean that Ford accepted the committee's invitation to testify.
"This is not an 'acceptance' of anything at all. The email doesn't even say she will testify. It says she will 'provide her firsthand knowledge' but it doesn't say how. It says she will do so 'next week' but doesn't say when. And it says the rest of the terms are still up for negotiation. It 'accepts' nothing at all, but the language is very carefully calculated to give her credit for having accepted," a source close to the process who is a supporter of Kavanaugh told CNN.
White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec also responded in kind, saying, "Brett Kavanaugh has been clear from the beginning — he categorically and unequivocally denies this allegation and is eager to testify publicly to defend his integrity and clear his good name."
President Donald Trump said Friday that Kavanaugh was born to be one of the judges on the Supreme Court, emphasizing that “it's going to happen.”
The Senate panel postponed the vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation after Ford disclosed the allegation of assault last week, saying that the judge sexually assaulted her back in the 1980s.
The panel must approve Kavanaugh's confirmation before a vote by the full Senate, where Republicans hold a 51-49 majority.
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