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/25/brett-kavanaugh-second-accuser-testimony
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| White House says it is open to testimony from second Kavanaugh accuser | White House says it is open to testimony from second Kavanaugh accuser |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The White House said on Tuesday it was open to hearing public testimony from another woman who has accused supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. | The White House said on Tuesday it was open to hearing public testimony from another woman who has accused supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. |
| With the fate of his nomination hanging in the balance, Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the initial accuser who alleged that he sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers in high school, are scheduled to appear before a Senate panel in a public hearing in Washington on Thursday morning. | |
| In an interview on Tuesday morning, the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, was asked if the panel, the Senate judiciary committee, should hear from Deborah Ramirez, a second accuser who has come forward, alleging that she was harassed by Kavanaugh when they were both at Yale. In an interview with the New Yorker published on Sunday, Ramirez said Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a party there in the early 1980s. | In an interview on Tuesday morning, the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, was asked if the panel, the Senate judiciary committee, should hear from Deborah Ramirez, a second accuser who has come forward, alleging that she was harassed by Kavanaugh when they were both at Yale. In an interview with the New Yorker published on Sunday, Ramirez said Kavanaugh had exposed himself to her at a party there in the early 1980s. |
| “Certainly we would be open to that, and that process could take place on Thursday,” Sanders said during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America, adding: “The president has been clear, let them speak.” | “Certainly we would be open to that, and that process could take place on Thursday,” Sanders said during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America, adding: “The president has been clear, let them speak.” |
| Senate Republicans have increasingly hardened their defense of the embattled judge even as they sought to assure Ford that she would receive “fair and respectful” treatment when she testifies on Thursday. | |
| Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican of Kentucky, said on the Senate floor on Tuesday that “vague, unsubstantiated and uncorroborated allegations of 30-plus-year-old misconduct” were “nowhere near grounds to nullify someone’s career or destroy their good name”. He also assailed Democrats, accusing them of “malpractice” for waiting until the final stage of the confirmation process to bring the allegation to light. | |
| But Kavanaugh’s fate rests with a handful of Republican senators: Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Jeff Flake of Arizona. Republicans hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, which means Kavanaugh cannot lose more than one Republican vote. | |
| Collins and Murkowski, who are not on the Senate committee, told reporters on Monday that they would wait for the hearing to make up their mind. Flake, who is retiring, was among the first to call for delaying a committee vote to hear from Ford and has expressed misgivings about the process. | |
| Donald Trump, meanwhile, has continued to publicly defend and praise Kavanaugh as the confirmation process descended into a ugly, partisan battle. On Monday evening, he tweeted perhaps his harshest assessment yet of the claims against Kavanaugh: “The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which have never been seen before!” | |
| The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which have never been seen before! | The Democrats are working hard to destroy a wonderful man, and a man who has the potential to be one of our greatest Supreme Court Justices ever, with an array of False Accusations the likes of which have never been seen before! |
| Ford has alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party more than three decades ago, when he was 17 and she was 15, saying he put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming as he attempted rape. Ford has agreed to testify on Thursday, after nearly a week of fraught negotiations with chair of the Senate judiciary committee, Chuck Grassley. | Ford has alleged that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party more than three decades ago, when he was 17 and she was 15, saying he put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming as he attempted rape. Ford has agreed to testify on Thursday, after nearly a week of fraught negotiations with chair of the Senate judiciary committee, Chuck Grassley. |
| A third woman is expected to step forward with new allegations this week. | A third woman is expected to step forward with new allegations this week. |
| Kavanaugh has vigorously denied the allegation against him and on Monday night took the extremely unusual step of appearing in a TV interview while the Senate considers his nomination. | Kavanaugh has vigorously denied the allegation against him and on Monday night took the extremely unusual step of appearing in a TV interview while the Senate considers his nomination. |
| “I had never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not ever,” Kavanaugh said in an interview with Fox News. | “I had never sexually assaulted anyone, not in high school, not ever,” Kavanaugh said in an interview with Fox News. |
| He said he looked forward to the Thursday hearing as an opportunity to clear his name. | He said he looked forward to the Thursday hearing as an opportunity to clear his name. |
| “I want a fair process where I can defend my integrity, and I know I’m telling the truth,” the judge added.“I know my lifelong record and I’m not going to let false accusations drive me out of this process.” | “I want a fair process where I can defend my integrity, and I know I’m telling the truth,” the judge added.“I know my lifelong record and I’m not going to let false accusations drive me out of this process.” |
| Brett Kavanaugh | Brett Kavanaugh |
| Sexual harassment | Sexual harassment |
| Trump administration | Trump administration |
| US supreme court | US supreme court |
| Law (US) | Law (US) |
| US Senate | US Senate |
| news | news |
| 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 |