Kavanaugh Accuser's Lawyer Says Republicans Are Acting Unfairly

The lawyer for the woman who accuses Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault said Senate Republicans are acting unfairly by forging ahead with a hearing on Monday without investigating additional potential witnesses.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is sticking with his plan to hold the hearing and gave accuser Christine Blasey Ford until Friday morning to submit written testimony. He has refused to expand the witness list beyond Kavanaugh and Ford, or to ask for an FBI investigation of the woman’s claims.

'The committee’s stated plan to move forward with a hearing that has only two witnesses is not a fair or good faith investigation,' Ford attorney Lisa Banks said in a statement. 'There are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding. The rush to a hearing is unnecessary and contrary to the committee discovering the truth.'

Grassley sent a letter to committee Democrats on Wednesday again rejecting their calls to delay the hearing or seek an FBI investigation.

“There has been delay and obstruction of this process at every turn and with every argument available,” he wrote. “Therefore, I will view any additional complaints about the process very skeptically.”

Grassley also asked the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, to give him an unredacted copy of the July 30 letter in which Ford, a California college professor, originally made the allegation. It wasn’t immediately clear what information Grassley is seeking. The version that was made public redacts the identity of the other person Ford says was in the room during the attack, who has since been publicly identified. Also redacted was some information about Ford.

Late Tuesday, Banks and lawyer Debra Katz said Ford wants the FBI to investigate her claims before she appears at a Senate hearing. The new statement didn’t mention the FBI.

Grassley, wrote to Ford’s lawyers Wednesday that it’s up to the Senate to investigate, not the FBI, and that the invitation for Ford to testify Monday still stands.

Grassley didn’t say whether the hearing will be held Monday with only Kavanaugh if Ford decides not to testify, or whether the panel would vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination without hearing her testimony.