Supporters of Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, rallied to her defense just hours before she was set to face off against her alleged assailant in a hearing that seems likely to determine whether Kavanaugh sinks or swims in the Senate.
Ford says Kavanaugh attempted to rape her in 1982 when they were both in high school. The men she said were present have no recollection of the event, and Kavanaugh has denied it ever happened, but Ford’s supporters say she’ll be able to come off as a credible witness to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“We’re going to see a very credible individual present a narrative about a very serious issue tomorrow,” Nan Aron, president of the left-leaning Alliance for Justice, said of Ford. “It’s just hard to predict what it’s going to be like.”
“Unfortunately, it will be her word versus his word, but I think given the serious allegation and the corroboration others are offering about her story, she would be a formidable witness,” Aron added.
Aron predicted that Kavanaugh would get questions about his drinking habits while he was in high school. Kavanaugh’s critics say he has presented himself as a clean student who was only worried about grades, but several women have accused him of being a heavy drinker who would aggressively pursue women when drunk, and Kavanaugh himself has admitted to some excess drinking.
“I think they want to get a fuller picture of him during high school,” Aron said. “He has certainly presented one face, and his posturing on this unfortunately for him doesn’t jive with the facts.”
Carrie Severino, the chief counsel of Judicial Crisis Network, which supports Kavanaugh, agreed that Democrats would likely target his drinking habits. But she predicted that the more than three decades that have passed since the alleged event took place would make it hard for Democrats get definitive answers about what happened.
“That’s a long period of time during which it may have happened. It’s unclear what the location was. It’s hard to get to the bottom, and they’re 36 years old,” she said of the allegations.
Severino argued that some are “trying to create a strawman” by saying that Kavanaugh painted himself as a “choir boy,” when his social calendar that he handed over to the Senate acknowledges that he attended numerous parties over the summer of 1982.
Ford was the first of three women who identified themselves as people who were either victims of Kavanaugh, or who observed him victimizing others. This week, Deborah Ramirez said Kavanaugh assaulted her in college, and Julie Swetnick signed an affidavit saying she saw Kavanaugh drink excessively at parties and abuse women.
Those new accusations led to demands from Kavanaugh’s opponents that the nomination should be scrapped.
“Given the mounting allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh, the upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearings should be canceled, and Kavanaugh’s nomination must be withdrawn,” said Shauna Thomas, executive director of UltaViolet Action, a left-leaning women’s group. “It is a travesty to force Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to testify alone, when there are numerous other accusers and witnesses who have valuable testimony to provide to the Senate.”
Likewise, the head of Planned Parenthood said moving forward with Kavanaugh’s nomination sends a signal to sexual assault survivors that they “don’t matter.”
“These serious allegations are horrifying. There is only one path forward: Brett Kavanaugh must withdraw,” said Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood’s executive vice president.
Kavanaugh’s lawyer, Beth Wilkinson, said Kavanaugh does not intend to withdraw his nomination, and President Trump has continued to stick by his nominee. But during a press conference Wednesday, the president conceded that he could change his mind depending on Ford’s testimony.
“I’m going to see what’s said,” he said. “It’s possible that they will be convincing.”
Supporters like Severino say that to win over undecided Republican and Democratic senators, Kavanaugh need only to speak truthfully. Several Republicans have said they will judge how to vote based on how both witnesses perform, which makes the hearing a make or break moment for both of them.
“I think he needs to go out there and tell his story, explaining that this is, he’s said it before, but this is something he would never do, never has done,” Severino said of Kavanaugh. “I think he sits up there and simply speaks from his heart and speaks the truth. That should be the most convincing.”
