Senate Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) opened Thursday’s hearing on sexual assault claims against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by bashing how Senate Democrats have handled the accusations.
“Dr. Ford first raised her allegation in a secret letter to the ranking member nearly two months ago in July,” Grassley said. “This letter was secret from July 30 to September 13, when I first heard about it. The ranking member took no action. The letter wasn’t shared with me, my colleagues, or our staffs. These allegations could have been investigated in a way that maintained the confidentiality that Dr. Ford requested.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is the ranking minority member of the Senate panel to whom Grassley was referring. California psychology professor Christine Blasey Ford claims Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, assaulted her during a gathering in the early 1980s, when all of them were attending elite private high schools in suburban Maryland.
“Before his hearing, Judge Kavanaugh met privately with 65 senators including the ranking member. But the ranking member did not ask Judge Kavanaugh about the allegations when she met privately with him in August.”
“Before his hearing, Judge Kavanaugh met privately with 65 senators including the ranking member,” Grassley said. “But the ranking member did not ask Judge Kavanaugh about the allegations when she met privately with him in August. The Senate Judiciary Committee held its four-day public hearing from September 4 to September 7. Judge Kavanaugh testified for more than 32 hours in public. We held a closed session so members could ask sensitive questions on the last evening, which the ranking member did not attend.”
Kavanaugh has denied Ford’s allegations. He also expressed concern over the sexual assault allegations being weaponized for political gain in his prepared statements for the hearing. He declared in his testimony that he will not be intimidated into withdrawing.
Before Ford’s allegations became public, Democrats called for delaying the process because of different issues, such as unfulfilled records requests and legal concerns related to President Donald Trump. Senate Democratic leaders have echoed the calls for the nomination process to be stopped until a federal investigation can take place.
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