Accuser wants FBI to vet Kavanaugh before she testifies

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, criticizing GOP plans for limited hearings on Brett Kavanaugh, said Tuesday it was “impossible to take this process seriously.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, criticizing GOP plans for limited hearings on Brett Kavanaugh, said Tuesday it was “impossible to take this process seriously.”

WASHINGTON -- The woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were in high school threw into doubt plans for a Senate hearing to air her accusations, insisting Tuesday that the FBI investigate first.

Speaking through her lawyers, Christine Blasey Ford did not explicitly rule out appearing Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify along with Kavanaugh. But echoing Senate Democrats, she said an investigation should be "the first step" before she is put "on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident."

Republicans are unlikely to negotiate an alternative date and could go ahead with the hearing without her or cancel it altogether if Ford refuses to appear. They would then move quickly to a vote on Kavanaugh's nomination. They have repeatedly stressed that Monday would be her opportunity to testify, either privately or publicly, and that they then planned to move forward with the confirmation process. They have also rejected the possibility of an FBI investigation.

"If she does not come on Monday, we are going to move on and vote on Wednesday," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a member of the committee, told Fox News on Tuesday evening.

Kavanaugh was at the White House for a second-straight day Tuesday, but again did not meet with President Donald Trump. Earlier Tuesday, the president said he was "totally supporting" Kavanaugh and rejected calls for the FBI to investigate the accusation.

"I don't think [the] FBI really should be involved because they don't want to be involved," Trump said. As for Kavanaugh, he said, "I feel so badly for him that he's going through this, to be honest with you. ... This is not a man that deserves this."

At the same time, Trump said he believes the Senate should proceed with a hearing on the accusations at which Ford will be allowed to "state her case" and that there would be no doubt about Kavanaugh's innocence.

Democrats are demanding that the FBI be given time to reopen its background investigation into Kavanaugh so it can check Ford's assertions. They say the hearing should not move forward until that investigation is completed.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said an FBI investigation is "essential" to prevent the hearing from becoming merely a "he said, she said affair."

Republicans responded that reopening the investigation is up to the White House, and they are sticking with their plans for a Monday hearing -- with or without Ford's participation.

Speaking to reporters, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, pushed back on Democratic demands for the FBI to further investigate Ford's claims.

"The FBI has already done an investigation," he said. "They typically don't investigate juvenile accusations, and they've referred what they did do to the committee."

The Justice Department said in a statement late Monday that the accusation against Kavanaugh "does not involve any potential federal crime." It said the FBI had forwarded to the White House a letter, evidently from Ford, describing alleged misconduct in the 1980s by Kavanaugh. The statement seemed to suggest that the FBI was not currently investigating it.

Ford says that at a party when she and Kavanaugh were teenagers in the early 1980s, an intoxicated Kavanaugh trapped her in a bedroom, pinned her on a bed, tried to undress her and forced his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. She said she got away when a companion of Kavanaugh's jumped on him.

Kavanaugh spoke with the Judiciary panel's counsel Monday and gave a "clear and consistent" account of what happened 36 years ago, said a person who wasn't authorized to be identified while describing the process. Kavanaugh met Monday with White House Counsel Don McGahn and others at the White House and called several senators.

Kavanaugh, 53, has vehemently denied the accusation. He said in a statement Monday that he wanted to "refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity."

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is shown in Washington in this, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 file photo.
President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is shown in Washington in this, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 file photo.

KAVANAUGH'S FRIEND

Meanwhile, Mark Judge, a friend of Kavanaugh's who Ford claims witnessed the assault, said Tuesday that he does not wish to testify before the committee.

"I have no memory of this alleged incident. ... More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes," he said in a statement sent to the committee by his lawyer. "I have no more information to offer the committee and I do not wish to speak publicly regarding the incidents described in Dr. Ford's letter."

A day earlier, Republicans abruptly agreed to hold a public Judiciary Committee hearing at which Kavanaugh and Ford have been invited to testify. Party leaders made that concession under pressure from senators demanding that the nominee and his accuser give public, sworn testimony before any vote on Trump's nominee.

Schumer said Democrats want more than two witnesses, including Judge. Limiting the hearing to just Kavanaugh and Ford would be "inadequate, unfair, wrong and a desire not to get at the whole truth," Schumer said.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, said Judge is needed "specifically and personally as an eyewitness to the occurrence. He should testify under oath."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said it was "impossible to take this process seriously," noting that 22 witnesses appeared at the hearing in 1991, when law professor Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.

"What about other witnesses like Kavanaugh's friend Mark Judge?" Feinstein said in a statement. "What about individuals who were previously told about this incident? What about experts who can speak to the effects of this kind of trauma on a victim? This is another attempt by Republicans to rush this nomination and not fully vet Judge Kavanaugh."

“We’ve had two people that want to tell their story and that’s what we’re gonna do,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (center) told reporters Tuesday after calls to expand hearings about the allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“We’ve had two people that want to tell their story and that’s what we’re gonna do,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (center) told reporters Tuesday after calls to expand hearings about the allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Speaking to reporters later, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, defended his plan.

"We've had two people that want to tell their story and that's what we're gonna do," he said.

Pressed about the precedent of the Hill hearing, Grassley said: "You're talking about history. We're not looking back. We're looking forward."

Democrats say the hearing is being set up to bolster Kavanaugh.

"If I were her [Ford's] lawyer, I'd be very concerned that it's under these kind of totally disadvantageous conditions," said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.

As both sides contemplated the hearing, Republicans were thinking through the optics of a nationally televised hearing between Kavanaugh and his accuser at which all 11 GOP Judiciary Committee members are men.

Asked on radio's Hugh Hewitt Show if he was considering including a female counsel who would ask questions, Grassley said, "All those things are being taken into consideration." He added later, "You're raising legitimate questions that are still in my mind."

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who is on the Judiciary Committee, said Republicans are "naturally" concerned about the optics of having only Republican men question Ford "because there's always a lot of prejudice in these matters."

MCCONNELL STANDS FIRM

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, stood strongly behind Kavanaugh, saying Ford's claims that he'd sexually attacked her when both were high schoolers "stands at odds" with everything known about the Supreme Court nominee's background.

McConnell said that "blatant malpractice" by Democrats -- not releasing a letter by the accuser until the confirmation process was nearing its end -- "will not stop the Senate from moving forward in a responsible manner."

The remarks by McConnell, R-Ky., seemed aimed at signaling that while Ford will be given her opportunity to detail her allegations under oath, party leaders -- certainly for now -- were not easing off their support of Trump's nominee.

Republicans have blasted Feinstein for not disclosing the allegation earlier. The senator received a letter from Ford in July but did not refer the matter to the FBI until last week and did not share it with other members of the committee reviewing Kavanaugh before his confirmation hearing earlier this month. Feinstein has said she did not disclose the letter because Ford initially did not want to be publicly identified.

If the Judiciary committee's timetable slips, it would become increasingly difficult for Republicans to schedule a vote before midterm elections on Nov. 6 elections, when congressional control will be at stake.

The GOP majorities are just 11-10 on the Judiciary committee and 51-49 in the full Senate. That leaves little leeway in the vote for Trump's nominee to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a Judiciary Committee member who has clashed with Trump and is retiring from the Senate, said Sunday that "if we didn't give her a chance to be heard, then I would vote no."

Sen. Susan Collins (center), R-Maine, said Kavanaugh’s accuser’s story “must be taken seriously” and if true would be “disqualifying” for the nominee.
Sen. Susan Collins (center), R-Maine, said Kavanaugh’s accuser’s story “must be taken seriously” and if true would be “disqualifying” for the nominee.

There was enormous pressure on GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, two moderates who have yet to announce their positions on Kavanaugh and aren't on the Judiciary Committee.

Collins said that in a telephone conversation with Kavanaugh on Friday he was "absolutely emphatic" that the assault didn't occur. She said it would be "disqualifying" if Kavanaugh was lying. Murkowski said Ford's story "must be taken seriously."

On Tuesday, Collins said she is recommending that Ford's lawyer get an opportunity to question Kavanaugh and that Kavanaugh's lawyer get an opportunity to question Ford.

"Such an approach would provide more continuity, elicit the most information and allow an in-depth examination of the allegations," Collins wrote in a letter to the leaders of the committee.

While many Republicans remain confident that Kavanaugh will be confirmed, there were private discussions among some lawmakers Monday about whether the GOP should have a backup plan in case Kavanaugh were to withdraw from the process or fail to secure the necessary votes.

"He's not going to withdraw," Cornyn insisted. "I talked to him yesterday, and he's determined to testify and tell his side of the story."

He added, "Our Plan B is the same as our Plan A: Judge Kavanaugh."

Information for this article was contributed by Alan Fram, Lisa Mascaro, Mark Sherman, Kevin Freking, Catherine Lucey and Ken Thomas of The Associated Press; by John Wagner, Seung Min Kim, Robert Costa, Sean Sullivan, Gabriel Pogrund and Emma Brown of The Washington Post; by Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times; and by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Nicholas Fandos and Peter Baker of The New York Times.

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AP/J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., flanked by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., left, and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks with reporters following their weekly policy meetings, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018.

A Section on 09/19/2018

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