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| Brett Kavanaugh’s Accuser Says She’s Willing to Testify Before Judiciary Committee | Brett Kavanaugh’s Accuser Says She’s Willing to Testify Before Judiciary Committee |
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| WASHINGTON — The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers said on Saturday that she was willing to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but asked for more time to continue negotiating the details of her appearance. | WASHINGTON — The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers said on Saturday that she was willing to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but asked for more time to continue negotiating the details of her appearance. |
| That left it up to Senator Charles E. Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to decide whether to grant the extra time or move ahead with a committee vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination scheduled for Monday. | |
| In a letter to the committee, lawyers for the woman, Christine Blasey Ford, said they were hopeful that an agreement could be reached on the details and asked to schedule further talks for Saturday afternoon. Dr. Blasey’s representatives separately said that she wanted to appear before the committee on Thursday, though that detail had not been finalized; Republicans want her to appear Wednesday. | |
| The move by Dr. Blasey, 51, a research psychologist in Northern California, came after an extended back-and-forth between her lawyers and top Judiciary Committee aides. Mr. Grassley had set 2:30 p.m. Saturday as a final deadline for Dr. Blasey to agree or decline to appear. | The move by Dr. Blasey, 51, a research psychologist in Northern California, came after an extended back-and-forth between her lawyers and top Judiciary Committee aides. Mr. Grassley had set 2:30 p.m. Saturday as a final deadline for Dr. Blasey to agree or decline to appear. |
| Mr. Grassley’s spokesman had no immediate comment on the Blasey letter, but a White House official suggested that her seeming acceptance was no acceptance at all, calling it a ploy to delay the Monday vote. | |
| Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah and a member of the committee, echoed the White House criticism. “Worth noting that this is exactly where we were on Monday morning — without agreeing to a date, time, and terms we are no closer to hearing from Dr Ford then we were when her lawyers said Dr. Ford was willing to testify during their media tour.” | |
| Testimony by Dr. Blasey would set up a potentially explosive showdown after days of uncertainty over whether she would appear at a hearing. It could also greatly complicate matters for Judge Kavanaugh, who has vigorously denied Dr. Blasey’s allegations and just last week seemed destined for confirmation. | Testimony by Dr. Blasey would set up a potentially explosive showdown after days of uncertainty over whether she would appear at a hearing. It could also greatly complicate matters for Judge Kavanaugh, who has vigorously denied Dr. Blasey’s allegations and just last week seemed destined for confirmation. |
| The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has said that he has enough votes, but with at least two Republicans in the Senate undecided and with the party holding only a 51-to-49 majority, confirmation is hardly assured. | The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has said that he has enough votes, but with at least two Republicans in the Senate undecided and with the party holding only a 51-to-49 majority, confirmation is hardly assured. |
| Dr. Blasey’s accusations, coming just days before the Judiciary Committee was initially set to vote on Judge Kavanaugh, have rocked official Washington, evoking memories of the 1991 confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by the law professor Anita Hill. They have further energized Democrats, and women particularly, in a midterm election in which Republicans are struggling to court the female vote. | Dr. Blasey’s accusations, coming just days before the Judiciary Committee was initially set to vote on Judge Kavanaugh, have rocked official Washington, evoking memories of the 1991 confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment by the law professor Anita Hill. They have further energized Democrats, and women particularly, in a midterm election in which Republicans are struggling to court the female vote. |
| Over the past week, Dr. Blasey has become a cultural touchstone for women around the country in the era of the #MeToo movement. A hashtag, #IBelieveChristine, has sprung up on Twitter, and survivors of sexual assault are set to rally in New York on Monday. A Facebook post promoting the rally said that “New York City stands with Dr. Blasey Ford and all sexual assault survivors.” | Over the past week, Dr. Blasey has become a cultural touchstone for women around the country in the era of the #MeToo movement. A hashtag, #IBelieveChristine, has sprung up on Twitter, and survivors of sexual assault are set to rally in New York on Monday. A Facebook post promoting the rally said that “New York City stands with Dr. Blasey Ford and all sexual assault survivors.” |
| The intense attention on Dr. Blasey’s accusation continued to reverberate on Capitol Hill on Saturday in unexpected ways. A communications adviser to Mr. Grassley, who had joined the Judiciary Committee temporarily to help shape messaging around Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, stepped down from his position after NBC News raised questions about an accusation that he sexually harassed a co-worker in a previous political job. | The intense attention on Dr. Blasey’s accusation continued to reverberate on Capitol Hill on Saturday in unexpected ways. A communications adviser to Mr. Grassley, who had joined the Judiciary Committee temporarily to help shape messaging around Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, stepped down from his position after NBC News raised questions about an accusation that he sexually harassed a co-worker in a previous political job. |
| The adviser, Garrett Ventry, said the sexual harassment claim against him was false. A spokesman for the committee, Taylor Foy, noted the denial of wrongdoing but said that Mr. Ventry had decided to step aside “to avoid causing any distraction from the work of the committee.” | The adviser, Garrett Ventry, said the sexual harassment claim against him was false. A spokesman for the committee, Taylor Foy, noted the denial of wrongdoing but said that Mr. Ventry had decided to step aside “to avoid causing any distraction from the work of the committee.” |
| Saturday’s letter from Dr. Blasey’s lawyers, Debra S. Katz and Lisa Banks, also indicated that Michael R. Bromwich, a Washington lawyer and former inspector general of the Justice Department, had joined Dr. Blasey’s legal team. Mr. Bromwich is also at the center of another leading story line in Washington: He represents Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy F.B.I. director, who was fired this year and witnessed many of the most sensitive episodes of the bureau’s Russia investigation. | |
| The letter was the latest turn in an on-again, off-again negotiation that began cordially with Dr. Blasey voicing an openness to testifying but quickly turned acrimonious. There have been several sticking points, including who would question her at a hearing and how many news media cameras would be present. Democrats stepped up to her defense on Saturday. | |
| “Dr. Blasey Ford really is a profile in courage,” Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said in an interview. “She has decided to tell her story in the face of an impossible choice and vile bullying by Republican leadership. I will do everything possible to support her steadfast bravery against the arbitrary, unfair, irrational constraints set by Chairman Grassley, and I hope the nation will rally around her decision to speak truth to power.” |