The lawyer for the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of a sexual assault when they were in high school said Monday that her client is willing to testify to Congress regarding her claim.
“She is. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her story forth, yes,” Debra Katz said on NBC Monday morning.
Christine Blasey Ford has accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly forcing her down on a bed at a party in the early 1980s when they were both minors, groping her over her clothes, covering her mouth to stifle her protests, and attempting to undress her before she was able to flee.
The 51-year-old psychology professor from California wrote a letter weeks ago describing the allegations to Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. Ford originally asked not to be named but came forward publicly on Sunday.
Kavanaugh, 53, has categorically denied the allegation.
As of Monday morning, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee plan to go through with the scheduled September 20 vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination. Chairman Chuck Grassley said he plans to speak with both Kavanaugh and Ford on the phone beforehand, however.
“No one in their right mind, regardless of their motive, would want to inject themselves into this process and face the kind of annihilation that she will be subjected to by those who want this nominee to go through,” Katz said. “This is not a politically motivated action. In fact, she was quite reluctant to come forward.”
“She clearly considers this an attempted rape,” the lawyer continued. “She believes that if it were not for the severe intoxication of Brett Kavanaugh, she would’ve been raped.”
Two senators who have bucked President Trump on occasion, Bob Corker and Jeff Flake, have called for the confirmation vote to be delayed until the committee hears Ford’s accusation.