Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Monday that the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault deserves a public hearing in front of the Judiciary Committee.
“I think [a public hearing is] the only way to go at this point,” Durbin told CNN. “She has agreed to do it and it’s going to be very difficult, otherwise, to satisfy all the different things that have been said, contradictory things, as you noted, between judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford.”
[Related: Kellyanne Conway: Kavanaugh accuser ‘should not be ignored’]
The lawyer for a woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says her client is willing to testify before Congress.
@JohnBerman: “Are you in favor of a public hearing?”Sen. Dick Durbin: “I think that’s the only way to go at this point” https://t.co/JyibPUUYJm pic.twitter.com/X4od4xk2cI
— New Day (@NewDay) September 17, 2018
Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault spanning back to their time in high school together, said she would be willing to testify publicly against the nominee.
The now 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California said Kavanaugh drunkenly pinned her to a bed and tried to removed her clothing at a high school party.
Kavanaugh denied the allegations last week.
“I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” Kavanaugh said in a statement sent to the Washington Post.
But Durbin claimed in his interview on CNN that the story does “have a ring of truth to it,” and said the Senate needs to take its time dealing with it, even though Republicans were hoping to have the committee confirm him on Thursday.
“The fact that she can refer to therapist notes so that she did bring it up before,” Durbin said. “I am skeptical of polygraphs but for those who believe them, she has passed a polygraph test. I’d say at this point that the fact that she came forward to defend herself adds credibility to her charge.”
Although he wants Ford to testify publicly, Durbin believes testifying as early as this week would be “too fast.”
“Let’s do this the right way, the thoughtful way,” Durbin said. “It’s a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. It’s a generation decision.”
Sen. Dick Durbin says hearing a public testimony from Kavanaugh’s accuser this week is “too fast,” adding that “it’s a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, it’s a generation decision” that should not be rushed https://t.co/JyibPUUYJm pic.twitter.com/6Q2iFtZ6xp
— New Day (@NewDay) September 17, 2018
Democrats have been looking to block the confirmation of Kavanaugh, or at least postpone it until after the midterm elections in November, hoping for the possibility that Democrats take the majority.
Kavanaugh is President Trump’s second Supreme Court nomination since taking office.
