WSJ: Leland Keyser Says She Felt 'Pressured' By Ford Allies to Revisit Her Statements About Kavanaugh

Brittany M. Hughes | October 5, 2018
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Leland Keyser, a longtime friend of Christine Blasey Ford’s, reportedly told the FBI that she felt “pressured” to revise her earlier statement that she had not attended any parties with Brett Kavanaugh back in high school. 

Keyser, was one of three – and later, four – people whom Ford said had attended a party in high school where she claims she was sexually assaulted by a then-teenage Kavanaugh. But when asked about the alleged incident, Keyser stated said she had never attended such a gathering, or had ever even met Kavanaugh. Keyser’s statement flatly contradicted Ford’s claim that Keyser was one of only a few people who were at the small house party when she was attacked by a drunk Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, in an upstairs bedroom.

Now, the Wall Street Journal reports sources say Keyser told the FBI that Monica McLean, a former FBI agent and a longtime friend of Ford’s, pressured her to “clarify” her statement after Republicans seized on it as a pivotal gap in Ford’s story.

After several days of back-and-forth between Republicans and Democrats, Keyser, through her lawyers, amended her initial statement to say, “Ms. Keyser does not refute Dr. Ford’s account, and she has already told the press that she believes Dr. Ford’s account. However, the simple and unchangeable truth is that she is unable to corroborate it because she has no recollection of the incident in question.”

For her part, Ford had said she didn’t think Keyser would remember the “very unremarkable party,” adding that Keyser herself would be unavailable to testify personally due to “health challenges.”

The WSJ also claims the FBI report on their investigation, which was sent to the White House and Senate Thursday but hasn’t been released to the public, also contained texts between McLean and Keyser.

McLean’s lawyer has stated, “Any notion or claim that Ms. McLean pressured Leland Keyser to alter Ms. Keyser’s account of what she recalled concerning the alleged incident between Dr. Ford and Brett Kavanaugh is absolutely false.”

Neither Ford’s attorneys, Keyser’s attorneys, or the FBI would give a comment to the WSJ.

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