The woman who has accused President Donald Trump‘s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault said an FBI investigation should be “the first step” before she testifies to the Senate.
California professor Christine Blasey Ford, 51, came forward on Sunday and publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault during a drunken encounter when they were both teenagers.
Kavanaugh has denied those allegations and said he was willing to testify before the Senate to “refute” accusations of sexual misconduct against him.
“An FBI investigation of the incident should be the first step in addressing her allegations,” Ford’s lawyers wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley on Tuesday.
Ford “wants to cooperate,” the attorneys said. However, the hearing is scheduled for Monday, “six short days from today and would include interrogation by Senators who appear to have made up their minds that she is ‘mistaken’ and ‘mixed up.'”
Her “worst fears have materialized,” Ford’s lawyers said. “She has been the target of vicious harassment and even death threats.”
“While Dr. Ford’s life was being turned upside down, you and your staff scheduled a public hearing for her to testify at the same table as Judge Kavanaugh in front of two dozen U.S. Senators on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident,” Ford’s lawyers said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein received a letter from Ford in late July which alleged that Kavanaugh had drunkenly held Ford down on a bed and attempted to remove her clothes when they were in high school in the 1980s. Ford claimed that Kavanaugh’s friend, Mark Judge, who was also in the room at that time, jumped on them.
Judge has also denied Ford’s allegations.
“A full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner,” Ford’s lawyers wrote.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
