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| Christine Blasey Ford Pushes Back: Here’s What Might Happen Next | Christine Blasey Ford Pushes Back: Here’s What Might Happen Next |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Gender Letter helps you keep up with the world, and the women shaping it. Tell me what you think at dearmaya@nytimes.com. | Gender Letter helps you keep up with the world, and the women shaping it. Tell me what you think at dearmaya@nytimes.com. |
| For the past week, I have immersed myself in the testimony of Anita Hill. I was 11 in October 1991, when Professor Hill sat before an all-male panel of Senate Judiciary Committee members and was prodded to tell, in excruciating detail, her account of being sexually harassed years earlier by Judge Clarence Thomas, who would soon after become Justice Thomas. | For the past week, I have immersed myself in the testimony of Anita Hill. I was 11 in October 1991, when Professor Hill sat before an all-male panel of Senate Judiciary Committee members and was prodded to tell, in excruciating detail, her account of being sexually harassed years earlier by Judge Clarence Thomas, who would soon after become Justice Thomas. |
| I understood little of what had happened at the time, in part because the adults in my life shielded me from the graphic nature of the proceedings. Only now — as the accusations against the Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, in many ways echo what transpired almost exactly 27 years ago — have I been able to grasp the gravity of Professor Hill’s stand against Judge Thomas. | I understood little of what had happened at the time, in part because the adults in my life shielded me from the graphic nature of the proceedings. Only now — as the accusations against the Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, in many ways echo what transpired almost exactly 27 years ago — have I been able to grasp the gravity of Professor Hill’s stand against Judge Thomas. |
| [Like this newsletter? Share with a friend! Did a friend forward you this? Sign up here.] | [Like this newsletter? Share with a friend! Did a friend forward you this? Sign up here.] |
| There are plenty of similarities between Ms. Hill, then a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California, who says that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a party in the 1980s, when they were teenagers. | There are plenty of similarities between Ms. Hill, then a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California, who says that Judge Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a party in the 1980s, when they were teenagers. |
| Like Professor Hill, Dr. Blasey has been compelled by the Judiciary Committee to testify publicly. Her name leaked to the press, like Professor Hill’s did. She has received death threats, like Professor Hill did. Judge Kananaugh denies all allegations, like Judge Thomas did. | Like Professor Hill, Dr. Blasey has been compelled by the Judiciary Committee to testify publicly. Her name leaked to the press, like Professor Hill’s did. She has received death threats, like Professor Hill did. Judge Kananaugh denies all allegations, like Judge Thomas did. |
| But there is one major difference: Dr. Blasey seems adamant about exerting control over the situation — perhaps to avoid the kind of public smear campaign Professor Hill endured. | But there is one major difference: Dr. Blasey seems adamant about exerting control over the situation — perhaps to avoid the kind of public smear campaign Professor Hill endured. |
| As of Friday, Dr. Blasey had ruled out the possibility of testifying on Monday, the date Senate Republicans were initially unwilling to budge on, but seemed open to doing so later in the week. So a hearing, either public or private, could very well be held next week. | |
| Her terms included that the senators must ask the questions, not an outside counsel; that Mr. Kavanaugh testify first; and that he must not be present in the hearing room while she speaks. | Her terms included that the senators must ask the questions, not an outside counsel; that Mr. Kavanaugh testify first; and that he must not be present in the hearing room while she speaks. |
| Barring new information, or if Dr. Blasey decides not to testify after all, Judge Kavanaugh may have enough momentum to be confirmed this month. | Barring new information, or if Dr. Blasey decides not to testify after all, Judge Kavanaugh may have enough momentum to be confirmed this month. |
| Also, Dr. Blasey is expected to speak with the F.B.I. in San Francisco this afternoon, not about Mr. Kavanaugh (they are not investigating him), but about online and telephone death threats against her, per her lawyer Lisa Banks. | |
| The stalemate is casting a long shadow on the midterm elections, just weeks away. Republicans want Judge Kavanaugh confirmed quickly because if Democrats manage to win control of the Senate, nominees sent by President Trump are likely to fall by the wayside. | The stalemate is casting a long shadow on the midterm elections, just weeks away. Republicans want Judge Kavanaugh confirmed quickly because if Democrats manage to win control of the Senate, nominees sent by President Trump are likely to fall by the wayside. |
| For Democrats, a delay would increase their chances of blocking his confirmation and enhance the Democratic influence over who eventually fills the vacant seat. | For Democrats, a delay would increase their chances of blocking his confirmation and enhance the Democratic influence over who eventually fills the vacant seat. |
| It’s been a long week. If you’ve been struggling to keep up with the twists and turns, check out these articles from The Times and other outlets. | It’s been a long week. If you’ve been struggling to keep up with the twists and turns, check out these articles from The Times and other outlets. |
| • It started with a July letter to Dianne Feinstein, in which Dr. Blasey described the assault. Senator Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the committee, shared it with the F.B.I., which shared it with the White House, which then shared it with the committee. Shortly after, Dr. Blasey’s name was starting to circulate. [The Washington Post] | • It started with a July letter to Dianne Feinstein, in which Dr. Blasey described the assault. Senator Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the committee, shared it with the F.B.I., which shared it with the White House, which then shared it with the committee. Shortly after, Dr. Blasey’s name was starting to circulate. [The Washington Post] |
| • What do we know about Dr. Blasey? She is a researcher and statistician whose work has been widely published in academic journals. A former colleague of hers called her “a friendly but kind of geeky scientist,” who is “obsessive about making sure it’s right.” [The New York Times] | • What do we know about Dr. Blasey? She is a researcher and statistician whose work has been widely published in academic journals. A former colleague of hers called her “a friendly but kind of geeky scientist,” who is “obsessive about making sure it’s right.” [The New York Times] |
| • What about all those rumors? Dr. Blasey has been the subject of disinformation that spread widely on social media, including the claim that Judge Kavanaugh’s mother once ruled against Dr. Blasey’s parents in a foreclosure case. Here are five false and misleading claims about her, debunked. [The New York Times] | • What about all those rumors? Dr. Blasey has been the subject of disinformation that spread widely on social media, including the claim that Judge Kavanaugh’s mother once ruled against Dr. Blasey’s parents in a foreclosure case. Here are five false and misleading claims about her, debunked. [The New York Times] |
| • Has Anita Hill weighed in? Yes, in an Op-Ed this week, Professor Hill, now at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, advised that the Senate Judiciary Committee has a chance to do better by the country than it did in 1991. “Do not rush these hearings. Doing so would not only signal that sexual assault is not important — hastily appraising this situation would very likely lead to necessary facts being overlooked,” she wrote. [New York Times Opinion] | • Has Anita Hill weighed in? Yes, in an Op-Ed this week, Professor Hill, now at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, advised that the Senate Judiciary Committee has a chance to do better by the country than it did in 1991. “Do not rush these hearings. Doing so would not only signal that sexual assault is not important — hastily appraising this situation would very likely lead to necessary facts being overlooked,” she wrote. [New York Times Opinion] |
| • “Who has the greater incentive to lie?” New York Times readers debate the credibility of Dr. Blasey’s sexual assault allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. [New York Times Reader Center] | • “Who has the greater incentive to lie?” New York Times readers debate the credibility of Dr. Blasey’s sexual assault allegations against Judge Kavanaugh. [New York Times Reader Center] |
| ______ | ______ |
| In 1991, 1,600 black women added their names (and many contributed money) to a full-page ad in The New York Times protesting the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. “As women of African descent, we are deeply troubled by the recent nomination, confirmation and seating of Clarence Thomas,” it read. “We are particularly outraged by the racist and sexist treatment of Professor Anita Hill.” | In 1991, 1,600 black women added their names (and many contributed money) to a full-page ad in The New York Times protesting the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. “As women of African descent, we are deeply troubled by the recent nomination, confirmation and seating of Clarence Thomas,” it read. “We are particularly outraged by the racist and sexist treatment of Professor Anita Hill.” |
| Tayari Jones was one of the women who added their names. She was 20 years old and contributed $25 to the ad, which was a significant sum for her at the time, she said this week. Ms. Jones, an author who’s since met Professor Hill twice, said that there was “a sense of emergency among black women.” Why? Because of “a huge rift in the black community over Anita Hill, in the sense that she was trying to bring down a black man who was up for this important post — that she would have the gall to put herself in his way.” | Tayari Jones was one of the women who added their names. She was 20 years old and contributed $25 to the ad, which was a significant sum for her at the time, she said this week. Ms. Jones, an author who’s since met Professor Hill twice, said that there was “a sense of emergency among black women.” Why? Because of “a huge rift in the black community over Anita Hill, in the sense that she was trying to bring down a black man who was up for this important post — that she would have the gall to put herself in his way.” |
| “I do believe that some progress has made” between then and now, Ms. Jones said. “To say that you support Dr. Blasey isn’t a terribly risky thing. That is significant.” | “I do believe that some progress has made” between then and now, Ms. Jones said. “To say that you support Dr. Blasey isn’t a terribly risky thing. That is significant.” |
| ______ | ______ |
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