Here's What You Need To Know About The Allegations Against Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh
By: Kayla Pasacreta
photo via New York Times
Confirmation hearings for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have been clouded in controversy amid sexual assault allegations from a former classmate of Kavanaugh’s.
California professor Christine Blasey Ford wrote a confidential letter to 2 Democratic lawmakers earlier this summer, alleging that Kavanugh sexually assaulted her three decades ago, when she was 15 and he was 17, both of them students at Maryland private school Holton Arms.
Ford described the incident for the first time publicly to the Washington Post, saying she thought Kavanaugh would “inadvertently kill me,”
“Speaking publicly for the first time, Ford said that one summer in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and a friend — both “stumbling drunk,” Ford alleges — corralled her into a bedroom during a gathering of teenagers at a house in Montgomery County.
While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” said Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Ford said she was able to escape when Kavanaugh’s friend and classmate at Georgetown Preparatory School, Mark Judge, jumped on top of them, sending all three tumbling. She said she ran from the room, briefly locked herself in a bathroom and then fled the house.”
Kavanaugh quickly denied the allegations, “Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday." Kavanaugh also says he never attended the party Professor Ford referenced.
Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing is set for Thursday, but many are calling for the Senate to #DelaytheVote until there is further clarity about the allegations. Republican senators like Susan Collins and Jeff Flake have called for more answers about the allegations. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) said he won’t vote without further information, “For me, we can’t vote until we hear more,” adding, “I don’t think I’m alone in this.” Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) tweeted that Professor Ford and Kavanugh should both testify,
The White House has taken to defending Kavanaugh. Monday afternoon, Trump stated that Kavanugh is an “outstanding” judge and the allegations against him are “ridiculous”. He also told reporters that he is willing to delay the vote, “He is somebody very special; at the same time, we want to go through a process, we want to make sure everything is perfect, everything is just right,” Additionally, the White House published statements of praise from 2 of Kavanaugh’s former girlfriends,
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) also defended Kavanugh, “I have known him for a long time. He has always been straightforward, honest truthful and a very, very decent man.”
Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote is currently still scheduled for Thursday.
