This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/sep/22/brett-kavanaugh-accuser-new-deadline-granted-senate-testimony
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Brett Kavanaugh accuser ready to testify as supreme court drama goes on | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A lawyer for the woman who has accused the supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has said she is ready to testify to the Senate next week – but still wants to negotiate terms of her testimony. | |
| Christine Blasey Ford, a professor of clinical psychology based in California, has said Kavanaugh attacked her 36 years ago, when they were both teenagers. | |
| On Friday night the Republican chair of the Senate judiciary committee, Chuck Grassley, set a deadline for negotiations to conclude on 2.30pm on Saturday. | |
| Shortly before that deadline, Debra Katz, representing Ford, sent an email to the committee restating Ford’s willingness to testify but berating the conditions the Republicans had set for the testimony. | |
| She added: “We are disappointed by the leaks and bullying that have tainted this process.” | |
| Katz called for negotiations to continue on Saturday afternoon, “to reach agreement on details”. | |
| Grassley set the Saturday deadline in the unusual form of a tweet addressed to the nominee. | |
| “Judge Kavanaugh I just granted another extension to Dr Ford to decide if she wants to proceed [with] the statement she made last week to testify to the Senate,” Grassley wrote. “She should decide so we can move on. I want to hear her. I hope you understand. It’s not my normal approach to be indecisive.” | |
| Grassley also wrote: “Five times now we [have] granted extension for Dr Ford to decide if she wants to proceed w[ith] her desire stated one [week] ago that she wants to tell Senate her story. Dr Ford if [you] changed [your] mind say so so we can move on I want to hear [your] testimony. Come to us or we to u[.]” | |
| In a remarkable final tweet the Iowa senator, who is 85, wrote that he felt he was “playing 2nd trombone in the judiciary orchestra and [minority leader Chuck] Schumer is the conductor”. | In a remarkable final tweet the Iowa senator, who is 85, wrote that he felt he was “playing 2nd trombone in the judiciary orchestra and [minority leader Chuck] Schumer is the conductor”. |
| On Saturday, a few hours before the new deadline was set to expire, one of Grassley’s top press aides resigned abruptly, after it emerged he had been fired from a previous job in part because of sexual harassment allegations. | On Saturday, a few hours before the new deadline was set to expire, one of Grassley’s top press aides resigned abruptly, after it emerged he had been fired from a previous job in part because of sexual harassment allegations. |
| Garrett Ventry, who had been involved in crafting Republican tactics in response to Ford’s allegations, told NBC News he denied any past “allegations of misconduct”. | Garrett Ventry, who had been involved in crafting Republican tactics in response to Ford’s allegations, told NBC News he denied any past “allegations of misconduct”. |
| The Republican majority on the judiciary committee have been arguing with Ford’s lawyers about the details of Ford’s appearance before the committee, such as the day of the hearing and how many cameras would be allowed into the chamber. | |
| Republicans, eager to move rapidly with Kavanaugh’s nomination in an attempt to consolidate conservative control of the supreme court, want the hearing to take place on Monday. Ford wants to appear later in the week. | Republicans, eager to move rapidly with Kavanaugh’s nomination in an attempt to consolidate conservative control of the supreme court, want the hearing to take place on Monday. Ford wants to appear later in the week. |
| The previous deadline for resolving the disputes was set at 10pm on Friday but Katz, rejected as arbitrary and a bullying tactic. | |
| “The imposition of aggressive and artificial deadlines regarding the date and conditions of any hearing has created tremendous and unwarranted anxiety and stress on Dr Ford,” Katz wrote in an email to the committee. | “The imposition of aggressive and artificial deadlines regarding the date and conditions of any hearing has created tremendous and unwarranted anxiety and stress on Dr Ford,” Katz wrote in an email to the committee. |
| “Your cavalier treatment of a sexual assault survivor who has been doing her best to cooperate with the committee is completely inappropriate.” | “Your cavalier treatment of a sexual assault survivor who has been doing her best to cooperate with the committee is completely inappropriate.” |
| With Kavanaugh’s nomination hanging in the balance, and a poll showing he is the least popular supreme court nominee for more than 30 years, Trump waded into the row by impugning Ford’s credibility. | With Kavanaugh’s nomination hanging in the balance, and a poll showing he is the least popular supreme court nominee for more than 30 years, Trump waded into the row by impugning Ford’s credibility. |
| “I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!” | “I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Friday. “I ask that she bring those filings forward so that we can learn date, time, and place!” |
| A Washington Post profile of Ford, who is now married with two children, gave an account of how she struggled with the trauma of the alleged assault in 1982, undergoing therapy. | A Washington Post profile of Ford, who is now married with two children, gave an account of how she struggled with the trauma of the alleged assault in 1982, undergoing therapy. |
| It said she had considered leaving the US when it became clear Kavanaugh would be Trump’s pick for supreme court justice. | It said she had considered leaving the US when it became clear Kavanaugh would be Trump’s pick for supreme court justice. |
| Brett Kavanaugh | Brett Kavanaugh |
| US supreme court | US supreme court |
| Rape and sexual assault | Rape and sexual assault |
| US politics | US politics |
| Law (US) | Law (US) |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |