Senate postpones Kavanaugh vote to investigate sexual misconduct allegation

WASHINGTON (Circa) — The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed its vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation in light of an allegation that the Supreme Court nominee may have engaged in sexual misconduct more than 35 years ago.

The accusation was shared with the committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California in July on condition of anonymity. It was leaked to the press last week. Over the weekend, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, stepped forward to share her account of being physically and sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh at a high school party in the early 1980's.

In a statement Monday, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, affirmed that Ford "deserves to be heard," and promised to give her the opportunity to share her story with the committee. He did not initially back down from his timetable of holding a vote Thursday.

Later in the day, it was reported that the vote would be delayed so lawmakers could hear from Kavanaugh and Ford. A public hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Believing the victim of sexual misconduct has become the rule, not the exception in the era of the #MeToo movement. That rule is being tested in the case of a highly politicized, bitter partisan fight over the lifetime appointment of Judge Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump told reporters that he believes his nominee is still "very much on track" to be confirmed. Trump supported the Senate considering the claims, even if it delays the confirmation vote. "If it takes a little delay, it'll take a little delay," he noted. "I'd like to see a complete process. I'd like everybody to be very happy." The White House and leading Senate Republicans have expressed their intent to seat Kavanaugh before the Supreme Court session begins in October.

The president dismissed the idea of withdrawing his nomination of Kavanaugh as "ridiculous."

Republicans are reportedly working to set up conference calls with both Ford and Kavanaugh as a first step in evaluating the claims of sexual misconduct. Leading Democrats argued that approach is not appropriate and amounts to an attempt to "dismiss" Ford's allegations.

Dr. Ford's attorney, Debra Katz confirmed Monday morning that her client was willing to testify before the committee but no one had asked her. "We've heard from no one," Katz told CNN. "We've seen various statements on television...statements that are being bandied about for political reasons, but no one's asked her." Ford is prepared to submit evidence to the committee supporting her claims, including the results of a lie-detector test and notes from her psychologist in 2012 when she reportedly discussed the incident in therapy.

The White House also came out to support giving Dr. Ford the opportunity to address the Judiciary Committee. "She should not be ignored," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters. Speaking on behalf of President Trump, Conway asserted, "She should be heard."

Across the political spectrum, there is a sense that Ford's claims are very serious.

According to Ford's account, Kavanaugh forced himself on her sexually at a high school party in suburban Maryland, where they attended separate schools. He reportedly pinned her to a bed and attempted to remove her clothing. When she tried to scream, he put his hand over her mouth. "I thought he might inadvertently kill me," Ford told the Washington Post. Ford was able to escape Kavanaugh and a friend, who were reportedly "stumbling drunk." She did not discuss the incident until years later during psychotherapy.

Kavanaugh "categorically and unequivocally" denied the allegations against him. "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone," the judge wrote in a statement Monday. He said he is willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee "in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, form 36 years ago, and defend my integrity."

REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS WANT ALLEGATIONS CONSIDERED

With 51 votes needed to confirm the Supreme Court nominee, Kavanaugh's path to confirmation is now in doubt as a number of Republicans have spoken out in favor of hearing from Ford.

At least four critical Republican votes, as well as the three Democrats who were seen as likely yes votes for Kavanaugh, are now asking the Senate leadership to postpone the vote until the committee can hear from both Ford and Kavanaugh and the claims can be investigated.

"We need to hear from her. And I don't think I'm alone in this," said Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Flake is one of the Judiciary Committee's 11 Republican members and he is retiring from the Senate at the end of the year. He added he is "not comfortable voting yes" if the committee leadership pushes a confirmation vote without attempting to hear from Kavanaugh's accuser.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., also retiring at the end of the year, said delaying the committee's confirmation vote "would be best for all involved, including the nominee."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a moderate Republican and possible swing vote, told CNN Sunday, "If there is real substance to this, it demands a response." She said added, Ford's allegations "may be something the committee needs to look into."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine has previously expressed concerns about confirming Kavanaugh because he may rule against abortion rights. On Monday, she tweeted that Kavanaugh and Professor Ford "should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee."

The three Senate Democrats who voted for President Donald Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, spoke out Monday, requesting the opportunity to consider the sexual misconduct allegation.

Democratic Senators Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia each acknowledged the seriousness of Ford's claim and asked the Judiciary Committee to listen to her story before proceeding to a vote.

Republicans, though open to hearing from Ford, were skeptical of new Democratic requests to delay the vote.

"It's disturbing that these uncorroborated allegations from more than 35 years ago, during high school, would surface on the eve of a committee vote after Democrats say on them since July," the Republican majority on the Judiciary Committee wrote Sunday. "It raises a lot of questions about Democrats' tactics and motives to bring this to the rest of the committee's attention only now rather than during these many steps along the way."

Already, Republicans have accused Democrats of trying to hold up Trump's Supreme Court nomination. Democrats petitioned Grassley to postpone Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing until lawmakers were given access to millions of pages of documents related to the nominee's government career. During the nominee's confirmation hearing earlier this month, Democrats attempted to adjourn the meeting seconds after it was convened. The minority party also accused Kavanaugh of providing incomplete answers during the hearing and requested additional time to consider his qualifications.

On Monday, Democrats on the Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Chairman Grassley asking him to postpone the vote on Kavanaugh's nomination until the Federal Bureau of Investigation has an opportunity to review the accusations and the committee has a chance to hear from Dr. Ford.

Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky criticized Democrats for bringing forward the allegation "at the last minute in an irregular manner." He charged, "Now, at the 11th hour, with committee votes on schedule, after Democrats have spent weeks and weeks searching for any possible reason that the nomination should be delayed, now they choose to introduce this allegation."

THE FACTOR OF PARTISAN POLITICS

The partisan atmosphere surrounding Kavanaugh's nomination is making an already challenging investigation even more difficult.

Arguing there was no way to confirm or deny Ford's account of sexual assault 35 years after the fact, the Wall Street Journal wrote that the matter "has all the earmarks of a calculated political ambush."

"This is simply too distant and uncorroborated a story to warrant a new hearing or to delay a vote," the editorial board continued. "The only purpose of another public hearing would be a political spectacle in which Democrats could wax indignant for the cameras while Mr. Kavanaugh repeated his denials."

According to her attorney, Ford did not want to add to the political spectacle. She confided in Sen. Feinstein and her congressional representative, Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., but avoided going public with her story. Ford believed "coming forward would be hopeless," Katz noted, pushing back on accusations that Feinstein hid the information from the committee until it was politically expedient to release it.

Ford's decision to stay silent was "taken from her" when her name was leaked to the press, Katz said.

"These allegations are extremely serious. And if they're true, I think they're disqualifying," said Jennifer Drobac, an expert in sexual harassment law and professor at Indiana University's Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

While similar in some ways to the sexual assault allegations Anita Hill brought against Justice Clarence Thomas during his 1991 confirmation hearing, one critical difference is the #MeToo movement raising public awareness of sexual misconduct.

"When Anita Hill gave her testimony, sexual harassment wasn't even on the radar screen. We understand it much better now, in part thanks to her," Drobac said.

The statute of limitations has long passed for a criminal investigation of the alleged assault. But that doesn't change the question before senators, which is whether the allegations are credible and whether they constitute the behavior of someone who should serve in one of the highest positions in the U.S. judiciary, Drobac noted. She encouraged senators to pause and allow time for the FBI and members of the committee to investigate the claims.

"His other qualifications are stellar," Drobac said. "But I think it undermines Americans' faith in the judiciary if we have someone who is reasonably and believably accused of sexual assault being confirmed by the Senate to serve on the Supreme Court."

According to Linda LeFauve, a college administrator who has written extensively on sexual assault, "there is little to be lost by delaying the vote." The political backdrop to Ford's claim should not change the process for investigating whether a claim of sexual misconduct is credible.

"That this allegation came about in a contentious political environment for a critically important position with a lifetime appointment may mean that what’s deemed 'sufficient' cause to investigate has a lower bar, but the principle remains the same," LeFauve noted.

C. Boyden Gray, who served as White House counsel during the Clarence Thomas hearings said the Senate should not air Ford's allegations in a large public forum. "This is right out of the Anita Hill playbook," he told Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Gray said the Kavanaugh hearings have already been too politicized. "To have a full-blown, televised, nationwide hearing of the kind that took place during the Thomas hearings would be a huge mistake," he warned.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the former chair of the Judiciary Committee, told CNN Monday that he supports holding a public hearing with Ford and Kavanaugh.