Christine Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in 1982, still hasn’t submitted material evidence supporting her claim, according to Senate Judiciary Committee head Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Ford’s allegation relies heavily on three components: a polygraph exam she took earlier this year, notes from a therapy session in 2012, and eyewitness testimony. She has been unable to obtain the latter as all of her named witnesses and people at the alleged party where the alleged assault happened have denied being at the party and/or witnessing the alleged crime.
Grassley said in a letter sent to Ford’s attorneys that he wants them to send him the other two material evidence components, or the exam and therapist notes.
“Your continued withholding of material evidence despite multiple requests is unacceptable as the Senate exercises its constitutional responsibility of advice and consent for a judicial nomination. I urge you to comply promptly with my requests,” Grassley wrote in the Oct. 2 letter.
Therapist Notes
The only news agency that Ford has spoken to, the left-leaning Washington Post, stated that it was provided some of the therapist’s notes, but Ford said during the testimony that she wasn’t sure if she provided the notes to the Post or summarized them for a reporter.According to the Post story, which first named Ford as the accuser, the therapist notes state several descriptions about the alleged assault that Ford has later claimed the therapist misunderstood, such as the number of people present.
“Your previous response to this request—that ‘[t]hese records contain private, highly sensitive information that is not necessary for the committee to assess the credibility of [Dr. Ford’s] testimony’—is not justified, based on the fact that this material has been presented as a key component supporting allegations made by your client, including the presentation to The Washington Post,” Grassley wrote to Ford’s lawyers.
Polygraph Exam
He also noted that he has not received any information pertaining to a polygraph exam conducted on Ford, including all audio or video recordings and all polygraph charts and other data.“Dr. Ford cited the results of this polygraph examination to support her allegations. It’s unfair to rely on the results of a polygraph examination while withholding the materials necessary to assess the accuracy of the results,” Grassley wrote.
Grassley said he also wants any other information that was shared with a reporter or anyone else at a media organization, including a conversation with a Post reporter on WhatsApp.
“On the eve of our hearing, you provided a single screenshot of Dr. Ford’s WhatsApp correspondence with The Washington Post tip line. But Dr. Ford testified the next day that she had continued her conversation, ‘under the encrypted app,’ with a reporter. Your failure to provide the entirety of Dr. Ford’s correspondence with The Post again suggests a lack of candor,” according to Grassley.
