The New York Times reporters who wrote The Education of Brett Kavanaugh say the accusation of sexual misconduct Dr. Christine Blasey Ford made against Justice Brett Kavanaugh is still credible, even though Ford’s friend Leland Keyser doubts it.
Co-author Kate Kelly told CNN’s Reliable Sources that valid issues have been raised and addressed, but also said some of the criticisms have been “a distraction from all the reporting that we did and new material that we have. It’s really sort of an attempt to discredit the messenger and avoid the conversation about the facts, about the evidence.”
Kelly said their book has the first interview with Keyser, whom Ford says was at the party where Kavanaugh allegedly tried to rape her. Keyser revealed she does not believe Ford’s claim and told the FBI she felt pressure from Ford’s allies to change her story.
“However, we still find Christine Blasey Ford credible in the end and you will see why,” Kelly said. “Keyser’s claims don’t rebut Blasey Ford’s claims and also Keyser has memory issues discussed in the book, as well, which relate to the way memory functions for all of us and also because she has a history of substance abuse, which she acknowledges. So, I think it’s important for all of these things to be seen in the full context.”
When Ford testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, she downplayed how Keyser did not remember what she was claiming.
“Leland has significant health challenges, and I’m happy that she’s focusing on herself and getting the health treatment that she needs,” Ford said. “I don’t expect that P.J. and Leland would remember this evening.”
Kelly and Robin Pogrebin’s new book also included a new accusation against Kavanaugh, which featured in a New York Times article that omitted key facts about the claim. The Times appended an editor’s note almost a full day after the article was published.
Pogrebin said the criticisms some have leveled against their work “just really points out how all of these facts are kind of taken out of context and then weaponized for people’s own political ends, and we think it’s really unfortunate because it obscures the actual hard work we’re doing to put the facts out there so people can make an assessment on the merits.”
