Kavanaugh accuses wants the FBI to investigate before testifying at the Senate hearing

WASHINGTON – The hearing scheduled for next Monday over Brett Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court seemed even more uncertain on Tuesday as Christine Blasey Ford's lawyers, who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school, said they would like a FBI investigation on the incident before testifying.

In a letter to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Ford's lawyers wrote that "a thorough investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the facts and witnesses Criminals are evaluated in a non-partisan manner and are fully informed before proceeding to a hearing or making a decision. "

Her lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, also said that their client was "the target of vicious harassment and even death threats" and that, as a result, "her family was forced to move out of her home".

"We would like to have the opportunity to discuss with you and the executive, Mr. Feinstein, how Dr. Ford can cooperate while taking care of his health and safety," they added.

Uncertainty had begun to circulate around the hearing after Ford did not immediately respond to Grassley's invitation to Kavanaugh and Ford on Tuesday morning to testify before the Judiciary Committee. Monday. Kavanaugh accepted, but Ford, a research psychologist, and her attorneys remained mum throughout the day while Republicans and Democrats fought to find out if the audience had to go ahead without investigation by the FBI.

Responding Tuesday night to Ford's lawyers in a statement, Grassley said that no police investigation was warranted and that the invitation to testify on Monday was still valid.

"Dr. Ford's testimony would reflect his personal knowledge and memory of events. Nothing from the FBI or any other investigator would affect what Dr. Ford says to the committee, so there is no reason to delay things, "he said.

Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., Who had supported the postponement of the vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation pending Ford's testimony, said in a tweet Tuesday night that the chamber should move forward if it did not appear on Monday.

Ford's request for an investigation before the panel hearing echoes calls from several Democrats on Tuesday's judicial commission, who have argued that any public hearing should wait.

"We should honor Dr. Blasey Ford's wishes and delay this hearing," Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said in a statement following the announcement of the letter. "An appropriate investigation must be conducted, the witnesses questioned, the evidence reviewed and all parties have spoken.It is only at that time that the President should set a date of hearing."

The leader of the Senate minority, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Said in a statement that he was supporting Ford by wanting a first FBI probe.

"I strongly support Dr. Ford's call for an FBI investigation before a hearing, and an immediate investigation by the FBI is not only consistent with the precedents, but also very clearly the right thing to do," Schumer said.

Hillary Clinton, who has spoken out against Kavanaugh's confirmation, said Tuesday night on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" that she was also supporting an investigation.

"I think you can not avoid the appearance of insults if you do not have an investigation so that it is, you know, able to be evaluated fairly," Clinton said.

The FBI, however, will probably not conduct any investigation into the veracity of Ford's claims unless the White House asks for it. Several current and former officials from the Justice Department and the FBI told NBC News that this has always been the practice.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was not currently planning to make this request.

"I do not think the FBI should be involved because they do not want to be involved," Trump told reporters at the White House. "If they wanted it, I would certainly do it."

Democrats also criticized the GOP for rushing the process and for not calling other witnesses beyond Kavanaugh and Ford. Many have drawn parallels between the current situation and how 27-year-old Anita Hill was accused of sexual harassment against Justice Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings before the Supreme Court.

Schumer, speaking in the Senate on Tuesday morning, said it would be unacceptable for senators to hear witnesses a day or two before they are asked to vote on the appointment.

He also described as "inadequate" the fact that the commission heard only two witnesses on Monday and said that Mark Judge – who, according to Ford, was a witness to the incident – should also testify.

"Let's not repeat the mistakes of Anita Hill's hearings," Schumer said. "Let's call all the relevant witnesses."

Ford's claim was revealed in a letter sent to two California Democrats, Feinstein and Rep. Anna Eshoo, and was subsequently published in the New Yorker. In this article, Ford asked not to be identified, but in a Washington Post article published Sunday, it took a step forward.

She alleged that Kavanaugh and another drunk person "took her to a room at a teenagers' rally" in the suburbs of Maryland a summer in the 1980s. "I thought that" It could kill me inadvertently, "she said of Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh denied that the incident had occurred. "This is a completely false allegation," he said in a statement in which he proposed to speak again to the judicial committee to "defend my integrity."

"I have never done anything similar to what the accuser describes – to her or to anyone. Because that never happened, I had no idea of ​​who accused her until she "identified" in The Post.

The judge refuted the allegation that he was a witness to the incident. In a letter sent Tuesday to Grassley and Feinstein, the judge's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, shared a statement from the judge again refuting Ford's account and stating that he did not want to speak publicly about l & # 39; incident.

"I have not asked to be involved in this case and no one has asked me to participate.The only reason I am involved is that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford remembers me as" 39; other person in the room during the alleged assault ". I said. "In fact, I have no recollection of this alleged incident." Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not remember the party described in Dr. Ford's letter. I've never seen Brett act the way Ford describes it. "

Feinstein, meanwhile, Tuesday criticized the FBI and the White House for "not having taken the most basic steps" to investigate Ford's allegations.

"What's worse at this time, President Bush asked the FBI to do its job and investigate Anita Hill's allegations, which he did.Now under the Trump administration, Republicans want Ford's allegations, "she said," I am disappointed that the FBI and the White House are failing to take the most basic steps to investigate this case. "

Hill, in an editorial published Tuesday morning by The New York Times, also compared his test to the current scenario.

"It's impossible to miss the parallels between Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing in 2018 and Justice Clarence Thomas's confirmation hearing in 1991," she wrote. "In 1991, the Senate Judiciary Committee had the opportunity to demonstrate its appreciation both for the seriousness of sexual harassment complaints and the need for public confidence in the character of a Supreme Court nominee.

Hill recommended that the panel "clearly demonstrate that sexual violence is a social reality that elected representatives must respond to", leads a "fair, neutral and thoughtful" process and "does not press these audiences".

Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, tweeted Tuesday that "none of this was necessary if these accusations were brought to the FBI six weeks ago for a non-political investigation by the public."

"But because the Republicans and Kavanaugh himself heard them for the first time in the media, there was really no alternative," he added. Hatch told NBC News on Monday that Ford is "mixed" and called Kavanaugh "honest" and "straightforward".

In 1991, Hatch had stated that he thought there was "no doubt" that Hill had lied during the hearing and that his story was "too artificial".

"There is no doubt in my mind that she was trained by special interest groups," he said in an interview in October 1991. " Her story is too artificial, she is so smooth that she does not calculate. "