Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that despite being “frightened,” her “fear will not hold me back from testifying” as scheduled on Thursday.
In a detailed letter sent Saturday to Sen. Grassley, R-Iowa, Ford asked for “fair and respectful treatment” ahead of her testimony.
“I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and other Senators directly, person to person, to tell you what occurred,” Ford wrote in the letter that was released on Monday.
“I will answer any questions you have. I hope that we can find such a setting and that you will understand that I have one motivation in coming forward – to tell the truth about what Mr. Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge did to me. My sincere desire is to be helpful to persons making the decision.”
In a Monday response, Grassley wrote that he was “committed to fair and respectful treatment of you, as you’ve requested. I’ve worked to make certain the committee I chair handles all individuals involved in hearings in that manner, and you deserve the same.”
“It’s important to me that you personally know how sincere and thorough this effort has been, including my commitment to make sure committee members and other senators are able to hear directly from you,” Grassley wrote.
“The arrangements made to re-open and continue the confirmation hearing on Thursday will allow you to testify and also will allow the nominee to address the allegations made against him. Both of you deserve a credible and fair process in a secure and professional setting.”
Ford has accused Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her while both were in high school. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations.
Speaking publicly about the claims, Ford wrote to Grassley, has negatively affected her life and the lives of her family members.
“While the nationwide outpouring of love has been heartwarming, I am spending considerable time managing death threats, avoiding people following me on freeways, and disconcerting media intrusion, including swarms of vans at my home and unauthorized persons entering my classroom and medical settings where I work,” she wrote.
“I have received an inordinate number of requests to appear on major TV shows to elucidate further information, to which I have not responded. My goal is to return soon to my workplace, once it is deemed safe for me and importantly, for students. Currently, my family has physically relocated and have divided up separately on many nights with the tremendous help of friends in the broader community. Through gracious persons here and across the country, we have been able to afford hiring security.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a public committee hearing continuation for Thursday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Both Kavanaugh and Ford are expected to testify at the hearing, with Ford going first. She is expected to tell lawmakers about her accusation: Kavanaugh allegedly pinned her to a bed, tried to remove her clothes and covered her mouth with his hand while at a house party in the early 1980s.
Fox News’ Mike Emanuel, Chad Pergram and Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.
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