Blasey Ford: I ‘Would Be Prepared To Testify Next Week’ Under Certain Conditions

on September 19, 2018 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 19: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh leaves his home September 19, 2018 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Kavanaugh is scheduled to appear again before the Senate Judiciary Committee ne... WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 19: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh leaves his home September 19, 2018 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Kavanaugh is scheduled to appear again before the Senate Judiciary Committee next Monday following allegations that have endangered his appointment to the Supreme Court. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school, has told the Senate Judiciary Committee through her lawyers that she “would be prepared to testify next week,” under “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety,” the New York Times reported, citing an email it had obtained.

“As you are aware, she has been receiving death threats, which have been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and she and her family have been forced out of their home,” Debra Katz, a lawyer for Blasey Ford, wrote in the email to committee staffers obtained by the Times. “She wishes to testify, provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.”

Katz told committee Republicans, per the Times, that the Monday hearing date they’ve demanded “is not possible and the Committee’s insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event.”

And Blasey Ford still has a “strong preference,” her lawyer wrote, for a “full investigation” into her allegation against Kavanaugh.

Committee Republicans have held firm in recent days that Blasey Ford must testify on Monday, either in public or in private before the committee or committee staffers. Democrats have called for the White House to ask the FBI to reopen its background investigation into Kavanaugh, which President Donald Trump has so far refused to do.

Blasey Ford’s lawyer wrote in the email that she’d like to call committee staffers later Thursday to “discuss the conditions” of her potential testimony.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Oh boy, here it comes!

  2. Avatar for tena tena says:

    Alright!

  3. Calling their bluff. What a brave woman.

  4. Avatar for jtx jtx says:

    For those who face a paywall

    In the email, addressed to top Republican and Democratic aides on the committee, the lawyer, Debra Katz, wrote that she would like to set up a call later on Thursday to “discuss the conditions” under which Dr. Blasey would be prepared to testify.

    She is taking control.

  5. It sounds like she’s going to testify. Go girl!

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

265 more replies

Participants

Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for richardinjax Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for eggrollian Avatar for maxwellsdemon Avatar for zoester Avatar for chelsea530 Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for borisjimbo Avatar for lastroth Avatar for geofu54 Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for darrtown Avatar for tena Avatar for jtx Avatar for khyber900 Avatar for katscherger Avatar for j_publicus Avatar for proudbluegirl72 Avatar for pike_bishop Avatar for krux Avatar for dominic Avatar for causeforconcern Avatar for theamericanist

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: