Two women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who gained national prominence for representing porn actress Stormy Daniels, who says she was paid to stay silent about an alleged affair with President Trump, says he has credible evidence of a third incident of sexual assault implicating Kavanaugh.
But in the US Senate, there’s still no indication that Kavanaugh’s confirmation proceedings will be slowing down much.
Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University in California who came forward with a sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh last week, is expected to testify in the Senate Judiciary Committee this Thursday. Deborah Ramirez, who has made allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh, is not yet part of that hearing.
Both Ramirez and Ford have called for an FBI investigation into their allegations, but Republicans have denied that request, saying the FBI cannot judge on the credibility of allegations. Senate Democrats argue, however, that the investigators would serve as a more nonpartisan fact-finding body.
Ford told the Washington Post that Kavanaugh held her down at a high school party in the 1980s and attempted to force himself on her, covering her mouth to quiet her protests. Her allegations were documented by her therapist in notes from sessions in 2012 and 2013, in which Ford talked about a “rape attempt” and being attacked by students “from an elitist boys’ school.” Ramirez told the New Yorker that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her during a group drinking game at a freshman-year college party at Yale, thrusting his penis in her face.
Kavanaugh has denied the allegations. The White House, so far, has stood by him.
Senate Republicans have been pushing to get Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court this fall, before the midterm elections, spinning the allegations as a last-ditch Democratic attempt to hold up the confirmation.
But as more details emerge and more accusers come forward, there are still a lot of moving parts and unanswered questions. Here’s what we know so far about where things stand, what the White House is saying, and what kind of investigation might be conducted.
Where the confirmation process stands
- Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee said they will hold a public hearing on Thursday, September 27, at 10 am for both Ford and Kavanaugh to testify.
- Republicans have agreed that Ford would not be in the same room as Kavanaugh, and there would only be one camera in the room.
- Despite Ford’s lawyers’ objections, however, Republicans reportedly said they would bring in an outside lawyer to question Ford. According to the Daily Beast, Republicans are eying former New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte to serve as outside counsel.
- A statement from her lawyer says Ford does not think a hearing with just two witnesses qualifies as a “fair or good faith investigation,” though she said she is willing to cooperate with the committee.
- Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have not been involved in organizing the hearings, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the top Democrat on the committee, has called for the committee to delay Kavanaugh’s confirmation proceedings indefinitely, until a thorough investigation has been completed.
- However, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) another high-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said the Senate should simply hear from Ford and move to a committee vote.
- A committee vote on Kavanaugh’s hearing has not been rescheduled — yet. This would be the first vote in the process of confirming Kavanaugh to the Court and serves as a recommendation to the Senate as a whole. The full Senate can still vote, and confirm, Kavanaugh even without the Judiciary Committee’s approval.
Are the allegations against Kavanaugh going to be investigated?
- Republicans are adamant that any investigation into allegations of sexual assault will be done in the Senate.
- With Ford, Republican staff on the committee held calls with Kavanaugh and tried to get in touch with Ford last week, which Democrats did not participate in. From the start, Democrats said that Republicans aren’t capable of handling this review in an impartial manner and think the FBI needs to conduct an investigation. However, Republicans proceeded with the matter regardless.
- Feinstein has referred the case to the FBI, which is in charge of background checks for nominees. The FBI said it has added the letter to Kavanaugh’s background file, which means that the White House and the full body of senators now have access to it. The background check is something that all Supreme Court nominees in recent memory have had to undergo.
- Democrats want the FBI to spearhead the investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, not Congress. They argue that these allegations require a formal investigation and note that the partisan handling of Kavanaugh’s nomination thus far suggests that Congress is not up to the task. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, especially, has said Senate Republicans are incapable of “impartially investigat[ing].”
- Meanwhile, Republicans have been questioning Ramirez’s allegations from the beginning, claiming there are no “witnesses” or “evidence” in the case. The New Yorker report cited one classmate who anonymously said with confidence that he had heard about the incident but could not confirm the details with anyone else allegedly present. The allegations were first discussed by a group of Yale alumni in an email chain — not by Ramirez herself.
The White House is standing by Kavanaugh
- Kavanaugh put forth a letter on Monday reiterating his denials of all the allegations, and noting that he stands firm in his pursuit of the nomination. “These are smears, pure and simple,” he writes. “And they debase our public discourse. But they are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country.”
- Trump has said the allegations are a political play, calling Ford’s lawyers part of the “radical left” and questioning why Ford didn’t go to the police or FBI 35 years ago. He tweeted, “Let her testify, or not, and TAKE THE VOTE!”
- He has praised Kavanaugh throughout the week as one of the “great intellects and one of the finest people.” Previously, Trump said that he wanted the Senate “to go through a full process. ... If it takes a little delay, it’ll take a little delay.”
- With Ford’s allegations, anonymous sources told Politico that they expected Trump to go after the accuser. But the official response from the White House has for the most part left Ford out of it. Last Monday morning, the White House released a statement standing by Kavanaugh’s denial. The statement read: “On Friday, Judge Kavanaugh ‘categorically and unequivocally’ denied this allegation. This has not changed. Judge Kavanaugh and the White House both stand by that statement.”
- On Ramirez, the White House said the allegations are “inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say,” in a statement.
- Trump appeared to throw cold water on the idea of an FBI investigation last week: “I don’t think the FBI should be involved because they don’t want to be involved; if they wanted to be, I would certainly do that,” he said. “As you say, this is not really their thing. The senators will do a good job.”
- In 1991, the FBI did conduct an investigation regarding allegations of sexual harassment that Anita Hill brought against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas — a contrast Democrats have repeatedly highlighted. At the time, the agency opened its investigation via the direction of the president.
- The DOJ issued a statement on Ford’s allegations last week outlining the FBI’s role in this process. “The FBI does not make any judgment about the credibility or significance of any allegation,” the statement reads. “The purpose of a background investigation is to determine whether the nominee could pose a risk to the national security of the United States.”