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WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has stated that he is willing to speak with the Senate Judiciary Committee about charges from a woman who allegedly assaulted her sexually while they were teenagers in high school.
Judge Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, is also willing to testify before Congress, said Dr. Blasey's lawyer Monday morning.
Dr. Blasey, a research psychologist, accused Judge Kavanaugh of having sexually assaulted her at a party in the 1980s when they were both teenagers. In a letter sent by CNN to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the highest democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Dr. Blasey wrote, "Brett Kavanaugh physically and sexually abused me in high school in the early 1980s."
At that time, she asked that the letter remain confidential, stating that it was shocking to discuss: "I felt guilty and obliged as a citizen to say nothing".
Judge Kavanaugh denied the allegations and, in a statement released on Monday, said, "I have never done anything like this with what the accuser describes – to her or to anyone. Because that never happened, I had no idea who was doing this accusation until she identified her yesterday.
Trump's advisor, Kellyanne Conway, said she spoke with the president and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and that the woman would be "heard".
As Republicans continued to wonder how to handle Blasey's charges, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday he would be working on a plan for the committee to heard him and Judge Kavanaugh. . He also shot Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the largest Democrat on the committee, for concealing information about Dr. Blasey until last week.
"Anyone who introduces himself as Dr. Ford deserves to be heard, so I will continue to work appropriately, previously and respectfully," said Mr. Grassley, referring to Dr. Blasey by his wife. first name.
Assistants to Mr. Grassley said he intended to schedule follow-up phone calls with Democratic and Republican assistants, who could interview Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey – a practice he described as standard "in Monday's statement. But he said that Ms. Feinstein had refused to work with him to schedule the calls.
"Unfortunately, the Republicans of the committee have known this person's identity for less than 24 hours and have been informed of his allegations for less than a week," Grassley said. "On the other hand, Senator Feinstein had this information for several weeks and deprived his colleagues of the information needed to do our job.
Calls to postpone the Senate vote on Judge Kavanaugh, scheduled for Thursday, intensified Monday morning. The Republicans were hoping to confirm Judge Kavanaugh ahead of the mid-term elections in November, when their control of the Senate could slip.
Conway, speaking Monday at Fox & Friends, said the Senate Judiciary Committee would decide when and how Mr. Blasey's testimony would be heard.
"So, let me make it very clear," said Ms. Conway. "I spoke with the president. I spoke with Senator Graham and others. This woman will be heard. Ms. Conway mentioned Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee, who is reviewing Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation this week.
Democrats say the vote should be delayed so the committee can hear from Dr. Blasey – a move that Republicans say is a stagnant tactic. Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings sparked violent protests and partisan struggles even before Dr. Blasey's allegations were made public.
Dr. Blasey was willing to testify before Congress, a lawyer, Debra Katz, said Monday about her client, who was mentioned in the news as Mrs. Ford, but was passing by Dr. Blasey, ready to testify before the Congress.
"We hope this hearing is fair and not another armed attack on a woman who has made allegations of sexual misconduct against a powerful man," Ms. Katz told the New York Times.
On Monday morning, there was no indication that the Judicial Committee had asked for such testimony or that the group was considering postponing the vote.
Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona told Politico that he "did not feel comfortable voting yes" on the appointment of Judge Kavanaugh before learning more about Dr. Blasey's story. Mr. Flake's opposition could result in a delay for the committee, which has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Senate Republicans also expected support from some Democrats facing tough reelection campaigns in the states that Mr. Trump won in 2016. One of those Democrats, Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana, said Monday serious and deserves a closer look.
In the letter, Dr. Blasey, a 51-year-old research psychologist at Palo Alto University in Northern California, described how future Judge Kavanaugh and a friend, Mark Judge, then cornered him at a rally of high school students. Montgomery County. Both were a year or two older then, she wrote. Mr. Judge's name is redacted from the letter.
"Kavanaugh physically pushed me into a room as I headed for a bathroom, climbing a short staircase from the living room," Dr. Blasey wrote. "They locked the door and played loud music preventing any successful attempt to scream for help."
The letter continued: "Kavanaugh was on me laughing with REDACTED, who periodically jumped on Kavanaugh. They both laughed as Kavanaugh tried to undress me in their state of drunkenness. With Kavanaugh's hand on my mouth, I was afraid of being able to kill myself inadvertently.
The letter states that the friend stated that Kavanaugh's words ranged from 'going ahead' to 'stopping'. Mr. Judge stated in an interview in The New York Times that no such assault had taken place.
Dr. Blasey wrote that at one point, when the friend jumped on the bed, "the weight on me was considerable. The battery tipped over and both were destroyed. After a few attempts to escape, I was able to take advantage of this opportune moment to get up and run in a bathroom in the hallway. I locked the bathroom door behind me. Both fell noisily on the stairs and other people at home talked with them. I went out of the bathroom, ran to the outside of the house and went home.
The letter follows with an interview that Dr. Blasey gave to The Washington Post, in which she said that a drunk teenager, Mr. Kavanaugh, pinned her on a bed, fumbled her and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
"I thought it could kill me inadvertently," she said. "He was trying to attack me and take off my clothes."
Dr. Blasey has been publicly manifested over the weekend, putting his name behind charges that had been shared with the Democratic Democrat Senate Judiciary Committee provided it remains anonymous.
Ms. Feinstein received Dr. Blasey's letter in July after Dr. Blasey shared it with his local representative, the California Democrat Representative Anna Eshoo.
The letter and its contents were only shared with a small group of Capitol Hill collaborators. The issue was not raised during Justice Kavanaugh's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, although at that time the letter was an open secret to Capitol Hill.
Ms. Katz told NBC on Monday that Dr. Blasey believes that what she said Mr. Kavanaugh did to him was an attempt at rape.
On Monday, a White House spokeswoman reiterated the denial of the incident by Judge Kavanaugh.
"Friday, Judge Kavanaugh" categorically and unequivocally "rejected this allegation," said spokeswoman Kerri Kupec in a statement. "It has not changed. Judge Kavanaugh and the White House both agree with this statement.
The president's advisers privately urged Trump, accused of sexual harassment by more than a dozen women, not to respond to the allegations on Twitter, his favorite public platform. Early Monday morning, Mr. Trump was busy retweeting the updates on the storm, Florence, who hit the Carolinas during the weekend.
Nicholas Fandos contributed to the report.
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