A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) asserted that some of the remaining conditions to be determined for Thursday’s hearing are “non-negotiable.”
Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford announced earlier Sunday that she was committed to appearing in an open hearing of the committee to testify about her allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
But the statement from Blasey Ford’s team noted committee Republicans’ refusal to invite other alleged witnesses of the assault to give testimony, and said it was “unresolved” whether “senators or staff attorneys” for the majority would be asking questions at the hearing.
The chairman’s spokesperson appeared to respond to that point Sunday, writing: “I have noted the issues that you raised on the call. But again, as with any witness who comes before the Senate, the Senate Judiciary Committee cannot hand over its constitutional duties to attorneys for outside witnesses.”
“The Committee determines which witnesses to call, how many witnesses to call, in what order to call them, and who will question them,” the Grassley aide wrote.
“These are non-negotiable.”
Read the whole statement below:
Grassley aide tells Ford camp that panel “cannot hand over its constitutional duties to attorneys for outside witnesses. The Committee determines which witnesses to call, how many witnesses to call, in what order to call them, and who will question them. These are non-negotiable” pic.twitter.com/zRnicd00Yw
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 23, 2018
