Republican Questioning About Ford’s Legal Costs Comes Up Empty

(Bloomberg) -- Christine Blasey Ford gave straightforward answers to questions about how she is paying for her legal team, a polygraph and other costs, taking the air out of a Republican attempt to impeach her testimony against Brett Kavanaugh.

Her lawyers told senators that they are working pro bono and paid for a polygraph themselves. Ford said several GoFundMe Inc. sites had been established to help her pay her bills, but she hadn’t yet tallied the costs or figured out how to access the donations.

The prosecutor Judiciary Committee Republicans hired to question Ford, Rachel Mitchell, also asked Ford how she chose her attorneys. She said she had asked friends and family in the Washington area for recommendations and interviewed several firms.

“I think that the staff of Dianne Feinstein’s office” suggested some people, including one of the lawyers she hired, Debra Katz, Ford said. Republicans have criticized Ford for hiring Katz, a prominent civil rights attorney in Washington who’s made campaign contributions to many Democrats.

To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;Arit John in Washington at ajohn34@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tal Barak Harif at tbarak@bloomberg.net, Giulia Camillo, Alex Wayne

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