Sen. Chuck Grassley on Wednesday refused to delay Monday’s hearing on sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — or pursue an FBI investigation into the accusations.
In a letter sent to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein Wednesday evening, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said accuser Christine Blasey Ford has had plenty of time to prepare testimony about Kavanaugh’s alleged assault.
“I have scheduled the hearing continuation for this Monday because Dr. Ford, through her counsel, expressed the desire to tell her story under oath. It is my understanding that Dr. Ford has been represented by counsel in this matter for months and thus should be adequately prepared to testify,” Grassley wrote.
“It would be a disservice to Dr. Ford, Judge Kavanaugh, this Committee, and the American people to delay this hearing any further.”
Ford, a university professor from California, claims that a drunk Kavanaugh locked her in a bedroom and tried to pull her clothes off while covering her mouth to stop her from screaming during at a party in 1982.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
Grassley subsequently announced plans to reopen the hearing into Kavanaugh’s nomination on Monday, but Ford has asked him to hold off while the FBI investigates her claims.
In his letter, Grassley argued there was no need for one because the agency’s role in Supreme Court nominations is to do a confidential background check to help the White House — not to perform “a credibility assessment” for the Senate on information that is already public.
“The job of assessing and investigating a nominee’s qualifications in order to decide whether to cons,” he wrote.
Ford’s lawyer re-upped her request for the investigation Wednesday, and criticized Grassley for refusing to allow other witnesses to testify at the hearing.
“The Committee’s stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good faith investigation; there are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding,” attorney Lisa Banks said in a statement.
“The rush to a hearing is unnecessary, and contrary to the Committee discovering the truth.”
She also said Ford has received threats and has been unable to return to her own home since her allegations became public over the weekend.
“Fairness and respect for her situation dictate that she should have time to deal with this,” Banks wrote.
In a separate letter to Ford and Banks on Wednesday, Grassley said he was “disturbed” to hear about the threats, but nevertheless wouldn’t push the hearing back.
“In recognition of how difficult it can be to discuss allegations of this kind in public, I have also offered her the choice of testifying in either a public or closed session of the hearing,” he wrote.
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