Sen. Collins Calls For Kavanaugh, Ford to Testify Under Oath Regarding Sexual Assault Claims

Brittany M. Hughes | September 17, 2018
DONATE
Font Size

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins is now calling for both SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh and California professor Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who’s accused him of sexual assault, to testify under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Collins

Collins had previously expressed concern over the timing of these new allegations, telling the New York Times she questions why Democrats sat on such serious accusations for nearly two months before bringing it to light mere days away from Kavanaugh’s confirmation vote.

“What is puzzling to me is the Democrats, by not bringing this out earlier, after having had this information for more than six weeks, have managed to cast a cloud of doubt on both the professor and the judge,” Collins told The New York Times. “If they believe Professor Ford, why didn’t they surface this information earlier so that he could be questioned about it?”

“And if they didn’t believe her and chose to withhold the information, why did they decide at the 11th hour to release it? It is really not fair to either of them the way it was handled,” she added.

Anti-Kavanaugh protesters, on the other hand, have already raised about $1.3 million through crowdfunding they say they'll donate to Collins' opponent if the Maine senator votes to confirm Kavanaugh -- an effort Collins has slammed as an attempt to "bribe" her.

Kavanaugh on Monday responded to the allegations, saying bluntly that the incident Ford has described from 36 years ago “never happened" and claiming he’s committed to working with the Senate Judiciary Committee in whatever manner they choose in order to clear his name.

"This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes—to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday,” Kavanaugh said in a statement.

“I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity,” he added. 

Ford’s attorney, Debra Katz, has said her client is also willing to testify that she was assaulted by Kavanaugh and a friend at a party back in the early ‘80s after they’d all been drinking. Ford revealed her identity over the weekend after first anonymously penning a letter detailing her allegations and turning it over to California Rep. Anna Eshoo and Sen. Dianne Feinstein back in July.

donate