President Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court was thrust into turmoil Sunday after the woman accusing him of high-school-era sexual misconduct told her story publicly for the first time. Democrats immediately called for a delay in a key committee vote set for this later week and at least one Republican panel member said he’s willing to hear from the woman, but that the confirmation process must not be derailed.
The woman, Christine Blasey Ford, told The Washington Post in her first interview that Judge Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed at a Maryland party they attended in the early 1980s, clumsily tried to remove her clothing and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Ms. Ford said. "He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Ms. Ford, 51 and a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, says she was able to get away after a friend of Judge Kavanaugh’s who was in the room jumped on top of them and everyone tumbled.
On Sunday, Judge Kavanaugh, 53 and a federal-appeals judge in Washington, repeated his earlier denial of Ms. Ford’s allegation.
“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” Judge Kavanaugh said through the White House.
The allegation first came to light late last week in the form of an anonymous letter that has been in the possession of Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, for some time.
The committee concluded four days of public hearings on the nomination and the panel’s Republican chairman, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, scheduled a Thursday vote on whether to recommend that the full Senate confirm Judge Kavanaugh for a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court.
Democrats, led by New York Senator Chuck Schumer, immediately called for the vote to be postponed, though Republicans gave no indication Sunday that they would accede to the calls by Democrats, most of whom already publicly oppose Judge Kavanaugh.
A spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee said late Sunday that Mr. Grassley is trying to arrange separate, follow-up calls with Judge Kavanaugh and Ms. Ford, but just for aides to Mr. Grassley and Ms. Feinstein, before Thursday’s scheduled vote.
But Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a committee member, told The Washington Post and Politico in interviews Sunday that he’s “not comfortable” voting for Judge Kavanaugh until he learns more about the allegation. Mr. Flake is one of 11 Republicans on the committee, whose 10 Democrats all oppose Judge Kavanaugh. A potential “no” vote from Mr. Flake would complicate Judge Kavanaugh’s prospects.
Another Republican member, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said he’s willing to hear from Ms. Ford provided that it’s “done immediately” to keep the confirmation process on track. Critics have accused the GOP of fast-tracking the process to get Judge Kavanaugh on the court by Oct. 1, the first day of the fall term.
Senate Republicans, along with the White House, see no need to postpone voting over what they consider uncorroborated and unverifiable accusations, according to a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly.
In considering their options Sunday, Republicans largely settled on the view that Ms. Ford’s story alone was not enough to delay Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Mr. Grassley could invite Ms. Ford to testify, likely in closed session before Thursday. Judge Kavanaugh would also probably be asked to appear before senators. The panel would also likely seek testimony from Mark Judge, Judge Kavanaugh’s friend and classmate who Ms. Ford says jumped on top of her and Judge Kavanaugh. Mr. Judge has denied that the incident happened.
Republicans have not settled on the strategy, the person familiar with the situation said, but were weighing options, including doing nothing.
Republicans say the allegations have already cast a shadow over Judge Kavanaugh but that it does not appear to be enough to change the votes in the narrowly divided 51-49 Senate. Key will be the views of Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who did not immediately comment publicly Sunday.
A spokesman for Mr. Grassley said Judge Kavanaugh already went through several days of hearings and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The spokesman, Taylor Foy, said Ms. Feinstein, who was first notified of the allegation in late July, should have brought the matter to the panel earlier.
“It raises a lot of questions about Democrats’ tactics and motives,” Mr. Foy said.
The White House has accused Ms. Feinstein, who revealed the letter’s existence late last week, of mounting an “eleventh hour attempt to delay [Judge Kavanaugh’s] confirmation.” The White House has sought to cast doubt about Ms. Ford’s allegation, noting that the FBI has repeatedly investigated Judge Kavanaugh since the 1990s for highly sensitive roles he has held, including in the office of independent counsel Ken Starr, the White House and his current post on the federal-appeals court in Washington.
Both Democratic and Republican senators questioned Ms. Feinstein’s handling of the allegation. Ms. Feinstein on Sunday called on the FBI to investigate Ms. Ford’s story "before the Senate moves forward on this nominee.”
Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination has sharply divided the Senate, with most Democrats opposing him and most Republicans supporting him.
But the allegations of sexual misconduct, particularly coming amid the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, coupled with Ms. Ford’s emergence could complicate matters, especially as key Republican senators, including Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, are under enormous pressure from outside groups who want them to oppose Judge Kavanaugh on grounds that as a justice he could vote to undercut the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in the U.S.
Ms. Collins and Ms. Murkowski have not said how they will vote. Neither senator is on the Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to vote on a recommendation for the lifetime appointment.
Ms. Ford told the Post that Judge Kavanaugh and a friend – both “stumbling drunk,” she says – corralled her into a bedroom during a house party in Maryland in the early 1980s when she was around 15, and Judge Kavanaugh was around 17. She says Judge Kavanaugh groped her over her clothes, grinded his body against hers and tried to take off her one-piece swimsuit and the outfit she wore over it.
In the interview, Ms. Ford says she never revealed what had happened to her until 2012, when she and her husband sought couples therapy.
Portions of her therapist’s notes, which Ms. Ford provided to the Post, do not mention Judge Kavanaugh by name but say Ms. Ford reported being attacked by students "from an elitist boys’ school” who went on to become "highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington.”
Judge Kavanaugh attended a private school for boys in Maryland while Ms. Ford attended a nearby school.
Ms. Ford’s husband, Russell Ford, also told the newspaper that his wife described during therapy being trapped in a room with two drunken boys and that one of them had pinned her to a bed, molested her and tried to prevent her from screaming. He said he recalled his wife using Judge Kavanaugh’s last name and expressing concern that Judge Kavanaugh – then a federal judge – might someday be nominated to the Supreme Court.
The therapist’s notes say four boys were involved, but MS. Ford says that was an error by the therapist. Ms. Ford says four boys were at the party, but only two boys were in the room at the time.
Ms. Ford had contacted the Post through a tip line in early July after it had become clear that Judge Kavanaugh was on Mr. Trump’s shortlist to fill a vacancy, but before the Republican president nominated him, the newspaper said.
A registered Democrat, Ms. Ford contacted her representative in Congress, Democrat Anna Eshoo, around the same time. In late July, Ms. Ford sent a letter through Ms. Eshoo’s office to Ms. Feinstein. Ms. Feinstein said she notified federal investigators about the letter, and the FBI confirmed it has included the information in the letter in Judge Kavanaugh’s background file, which all senators can read.
Sixty-five women who knew Judge Kavanaugh in high school defended him in another letter, circulated by Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, as someone who "always treated women with decency and respect.”
Both Ms. Eshoo and Ms. Feinstein said Sunday that they supported Ms. Ford’s decision to come forward.
Ms. Ford told the Post she changed her mind about coming forward after watching portions of her story come out without her permission. She said if anyone was going to tell her story, she wanted to be the one to tell it.
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