Update: The woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault wants the FBI to investigate the incident before senators hold a hearing about it, CNN is reporting Tuesday night.
In a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and obtained by CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360°,” Christine Blasey Ford’s attorneys are arguing that “a full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a nonpartisan manner, and that the Committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions,” according to CNN.
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Mark Judge, a former high school classmate of Judge Brett Kavanaugh from 35 years ago — the man who was said to be in the same room with Kavanaugh when a woman alleges he attempted to sexually assault her, all those years ago — has told senators through his attorney that he will not testify before them.
Mark Judge wrote in a brief letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that he “did not ask to be involved in this matter, nor did anyone ask me to be involved,” as The Hill reported Tuesday afternoon.
“In fact, I have no memory of this alleged incident,” Judge also wrote.
Other outlets have reported the development as well.
Back in July, President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to replace the outgoing Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
But it wasn’t until this past Sunday that Christine Blasey Ford publicly came forward via an article published in The Washington Post.
The piece claimed that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her some 36 years ago at a party in Maryland, when they were teens back in high school.
Ford, today a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in northern California, derailed the traditional Senate confirmation process when she came forward publicly after her anonymous allegation was leaked last week.
Ford detailed her allegation to Feinstein through her congresswoman, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.), in July.
The Senate Judiciary Committee had been scheduled to vote on whether to advance Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate for consideration Thursday.
Related: If Kavanaugh Is Delayed, Republicans Could Pay This Fall
But that vote has now been officially canceled amid the sexual assault allegations.
The committee is set to hold another hearing on Monday, September 24, at which both Judge Kavanaugh and his accuser may testify — although the latter has not confirmed that she will appear, according to reports.
People from both sides of this issue have been weighing in on the developments.
Avowed Never-Trumper commentator Bill Kristol said Monday night on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper, “I am not in any way questioning her [Ford’s] motives or at this point saying that I know who’s telling the truth. But this is — we really need to have the hearing, really need to investigate this.”
“I’m not criticizing her for speaking up,” he added. “I just think we need to suspend judgment until we learn more.”
And conservative commentator Candace Owens said on Tuesday morning that if people truly wanted to help sexual assault victims, they should speak up against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.
This article has been updated.
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