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Kavanaugh Accuser's Lawyer Says Republicans Are Acting Unfairly

Republicans want the Senate to confirm Kavanaugh before the Supreme Court begins its new term Oct. 1.

Kavanaugh Accuser's Lawyer Says Republicans Are Acting Unfairly
Brett Kavanaugh speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C.(Photographer: Dennis Brack/Bloomberg News)

(Bloomberg) -- A lawyer for the woman who accuses Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault said Senate Republicans are acting unfairly by forging ahead with a hearing on Monday without looking at other potential witnesses.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is sticking with his plan to hold the hearing and gave accuser Christine Blasey Ford until Friday morning to submit written testimony. He has refused to expand the witness list beyond Kavanaugh and Ford, or to ask for an FBI investigation of the woman’s claims.

"The committee’s stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good faith investigation," Ford attorney Lisa Banks said in a statement. "There are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding. The rush to a hearing is unnecessary and contrary to the committee discovering the truth."

The continued disputes over terms of a high-stakes hearing suggest that Republicans are preparing to muscle the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s second high court pick through the chamber in coming days. Neither Grassley nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated any interest in getting testimony from Ford at any point after Monday.

Grassley, an Iowa Republican, sent a letter to committee Democrats on Wednesday again rejecting their calls to delay the hearing or seek an FBI investigation.

Unredacted Letter

“There has been delay and obstruction of this process at every turn and with every argument available,” he wrote. “Therefore, I will view any additional complaints about the process very skeptically.”

Grassley also asked the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, to give him an unredacted copy of the July 30 letter in which Ford, a California college professor, originally made the allegation.

It wasn’t immediately clear what information Grassley is seeking. The version that was made public redacts the identity of the other person Ford says was in the room during the attack, who has since been publicly identified. Also redacted was some information about Ford.

Late Tuesday, Banks and lawyer Debra Katz said Ford wants the FBI to investigate her claims before she appears at a Senate hearing. The new statement didn’t mention the FBI.

Grassley wrote to Ford’s lawyers Wednesday that it’s up to the Senate to investigate, not the FBI, and that the invitation for Ford to testify Monday still stands. He didn’t say whether the hearing will be held Monday with only Kavanaugh if Ford decides not to testify, or whether the panel would vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination without hearing her testimony.

‘Credible Showing’

Earlier Wednesday, Trump said he wants to hear from Ford.

"If she doesn’t show up, that would be unfortunate," the president told reporters. "If she shows up and makes a credible showing, that’ll be very interesting, and we’ll have to make a decision."

Trump reiterated his defense of Kavanaugh, who strongly denies the allegation, saying, "He is such an outstanding man, very hard for me to imagine that anything happened."

Republicans want the Senate to confirm Kavanaugh before the Supreme Court begins its new term Oct. 1. Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they see no reason to wait beyond Monday for Ford’s testimony, and that they want the Senate to vote next week.

Moderate Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona urged Ford to reconsider and agree to testify under the committee’s terms.

"I now implore Dr. Ford to accept the invitation for Monday, in a public or private setting," Flake wrote on Twitter Tuesday night.

Repeated Denials

Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied Ford’s claim that he sexually assaulted her at a party in Maryland when they were in high school. The Judiciary panel had been scheduled to vote on his nomination Thursday, but postponed it and scheduled the public hearing for Monday. Ford was invited to testify only after the hearing had been set.

Ford says that Kavanaugh was drunk at a house party in about 1982, pinned her down on a bed, tried to remove her clothes and put his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. She said she was able to escape, but the Washington Post reported that she described the episode to a therapist in 2013 as a "rape attempt."

Kavanaugh said in a statement released by the White House Monday, “This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes -- to her or to anyone."

Democrats say the hearing should include testimony from Kavanaugh classmate Mark Judge, who Ford said was present during the alleged attack.

"I have no memory of this alleged incident," Judge said in a statement sent to the committee by his lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder. "I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes." Judge’s statement added that he didn’t want to speak publicly about the matter.

--With assistance from Kevin Cirilli.

To contact the reporters on this story: Arit John in Washington at ajohn34@bloomberg.net;Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo, John Harney

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