The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has begun negotiating with the Senate Judiciary Committee over possible testimony next week.
Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford have told the committee she “would be prepared to testify next week” as long as senators offer “terms that are fair and which ensure her safety,” the New York Times reported Thursday.
In an email to committee staff members, Ford’s lawyers appeared to shut the door on Ford testifying Monday, the day that was offered by the GOP majority on the panel, writing it “is not possible and the committee’s insistence that it occur then is arbitrary in any event.”
Ford still prefers “a full investigation” happen before she testifies about the alleged sexual assault, the email said.
Ford alleges Kavanaugh held her down on a bed and tried to remove her clothing during a party in Maryland more than 30 years ago when the two were in high school. When she tried to escape, he covered her mouth so no one else could hear her scream, Ford said.
Kavanaugh vehemently denies the allegation.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley invited Ford, as well as Kavanaugh, to testify Monday about the allegations. He gave Ford a deadline of 10 a.m. Friday to respond to the request.
“As you are aware, she has been receiving death threats, which have been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and she and her family have been forced out of their home,” Ford’s lawyer said in the email, according to the Times. “She wishes to testify, provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.”
