The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault said Tuesday she wants the FBI to investigate her claims before the Senate holds hearings on the allegations.
A lawyer for Christine Blasey Ford made the request in a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
“A full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the Committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions,” said the letter to Grassley.
Ford, a university professor from California, said a drunk Kavanaugh tried to take off her clothes and covered her mouth from screaming during a scary 1982 incident.
Kavanaugh has strongly denied the allegations.
A Department of Justice had previously said the FBI has no interest in this matter because there’s no allegation of a federal crime.
Earlier in the week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) accused the Democrats of wasting time and trying to delay a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination: “I do not intend to allow Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation to be stalled because of an 11th hour accusation that Democrats did not see fit to raise for over a month.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat, first learned of Ford’s accusations against Kavanaugh in a July 30 letter from the professor. At that time, Ford wanted to remain anonymous.
Feinstein only made the letter public after Kavanaugh had already testified to the committee.
In response to Ford’s letter on Tuesday night, Grassley said on Tuesday, that he didn’t believe an FBI probe was necessary.
“Dr. Ford’s testimony would reflect her personal knowledge and memory of events,” Grassley said.
“Nothing the FBI or any other investigator does would have any bearing on what Dr. Ford tells the committee, so there is no reason for any further delay.”
Ford would have the option of testifying behind closed doors, if that would make her more comfortable, the Republican chair said.
“We’ve offered Dr. Ford the opportunity to share her story with the committee, as her attorney said yesterday she was willing to do,” Grassley said.
“We offered her a public or a private hearing as well as staff-led interviews, whichever makes her most comfortable. The invitation for Monday still stands.”
Lisa Banks, an attorney for Ford, said in an interview on CNN Tuesday night: “Nothing of substance and nothing legitimate can happen by Monday.”
Banks said hearings on Monday would be “premature.”
Banks didn’t make clear in her interview if Ford would actually show up for a hearing if the Senate ultimately ordered one.
At one point she said Ford would cooperate with the committee, then when pressed she implied Ford wouldn’t appear Monday, telling Anderson Cooper “there’s no reason we should have a public hearing on Monday.”
Feinstein said Tuesday that rushing Ford to the witness chair on Monday wouldn’t proper.
“We should honor Dr. Blasey Ford’s wishes and delay this hearing. A proper investigation must be completed, witnesses interviewed, evidence reviewed and all sides spoken to. Only then should the chairman set a hearing date,” according to a statement from Feinstein on Tuesday night.
The letter from Ford’s lawyers also claimed the professor has been harassed and the subject of death threats since her name became public.
“I hope that each and every one of us will immediately denounce the horrific treatment of Dr. Blasey Ford,” Feinstein said.
“That this brave woman is receiving death threats and has been forced to flee with her family is appalling and heartbreaking. This abuse must stop. We’re better than this.”
Grassley agreed, and called for civility.
“Nobody should be subject to threats and intimidation and Dr. Ford is no exception,” he said. “These are serious allegations and Dr. Ford deserves to be heard.”
Ford recently told The Washington Post that she told no one about the alleged assault until she brought it up in couples therapy with her husband in 2012.
She was also not clear on some details — she believes it happened in 1982, but does not know the exact location of the house or who owned it, although she said it was in Montgomery County, Md.
Also complicating the matter, Mark Judge, a high-school buddy of the nominee who was said to have been in the room with Ford and Kavanaugh during the alleged assault, claimed he had “no memory” of the incident and said he doesn’t want to testify.
Feinstein, who said she gave the letter to the FBI only after a news report made mention of it, was interviewed late Tuesday in a Capitol corridor by a Fox News reporter.
The senator raised eyebrows when she seemed to call in question if everything was “truthful” in regard to Ford’s allegations, the network said.
“This is a woman who has been profoundly impacted by this. Now, I can’t say everything’s truthful. I don’t know,” Feinstein said.
“But I do know that you’ve got to contact her lawyers.” The senator later put out a statement walking back the comment, saying “I believe she is credible,” according to CNN.
With Post wires