Christine Blasey Ford May Testify Next Week After All

Kavanaugh accuser's attorney wants to discuss conditions for her appearance
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 20, 2018 4:32 PM CDT
Kavanaugh Accuser May Testify Next Week After All
Brett Kavanaugh, waits to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in the 1980s is willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week, the Washington Post reports. Just not on Monday, the day that Republicans set for the hearing. In an email to committee aides, the lawyer for Christine Blasey Ford says that it is "not possible" for her client to appear on Monday, adding that the committee's selection of that day is "arbitrary in any event." In the email (see it here), the lawyer, Debra Katz, says she wants to set up a call Thursday to discuss under what conditions Ford would agree to testify next week, "provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety," per the New York Times.

Also in the email, Katz reiterates Ford's "strong preference" for a "full investigation" to occur before she testifies. The NYT notes that "the wording stopped short of demanding an FBI probe and suggested she is open to testifying without one." Republicans have said they will move forward with a vote on Kavanaugh if Ford does not testify. Earlier in the week, Sen. Orin Hatch told CNN, "We're going to proceed. There's no question about it." As for negotiating terms for Ford's appearance before the committee, "She is not really in a position to make conditions, in my view," Sen. John Cornyn said to the network. "We don't know if she's coming or not, but this is her chance. We hope she does." (More Brett Kavanaugh stories.)

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