Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Wednesday that they would be willing to turn over certain documents…
Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Wednesday that they would be willing to turn over certain documents he requested to the FBI if the bureau agrees to interview her as part of its investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Debra Katz and Lisa Banks responded Wednesday to Grassley’s request for notes from Ford’s therapy sessions and recordings of a lie detector test she took related to her allegation that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed and groped her during a high school party in the 1980s.
« Dr. Ford is prepared to provide those documents to the FBI when she is interviewed. We have not yet heard from the FBI about scheduling an interview with her, » Katz and Banks wrote in a letter to Grassley.
Attorneys for Ford confirmed to The Hill that they had not yet heard from the FBI as of Wednesday afternoon about an interview for their review of the claims against Kavanaugh.
Ford has said she told her therapist about the alleged incident involving Kavanaugh during a 2012 session with her husband. The Washington Post has reported that the notes do not mention Kavanaugh by name, but say Ford reported being attacked by individuals from an « elitist boys’ school. »
She also took and passed a polygraph test in August, though polygraphs are generally considered unreliable and not admissible in court. Republicans have questioned why Ford waited until August to take the test.
The White House on Monday reportedly authorized the FBI to interview anyone deemed necessary in its investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh.
The scope of the review was expanded following reports that the White House had only permitted the FBI to look into two of the three allegations against Kavanaugh, and to interview four individuals total.
However, Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the FBI was not given permission to speak with Kavanaugh and Ford for its investigation. The news outlet reported that the White House felt that the two individuals had sufficient opportunity to state their cases during testimony last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In addition to Ford, Deborah Ramirez has alleged that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a college party in the 1980s, and Julie Swetnick claimed that Kavanaugh was among a group of high schoolers who got women drunk so they could be « gang raped. »
Kavanaugh has fiercely denied all the allegations.
Trump has said he favors a » comprehensive » investigation that remains within the parameters set out by Senate Republicans. He also expressed a hope that the review can be completed quickly.
The president upped his attacks on Ford at a rally in Mississippi on Tuesday night in which he openly mocked her testimony, and lamented the way Kavanaugh has been treated.
