Dr. Blasey Ford, Judge Kavanaugh to Testify Thursday

Washington, DC…The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford on Thursday, September 27. This will occur as a continuation of the hearing to consider the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Following Dr. Ford’s testimony, Judge Kavanaugh will appear again before the committee.

Chairman Grassley has also postponed the committee’s vote on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination previously scheduled for Monday.

This morning, following a phone call between the chairman’s staff, the ranking member’s staff and the attorneys for Dr. Ford, the chairman’s counsel sent a note to all parties finalizing the agreement to testify. It reads in part:

Mr. Bromwich, Ms. Katz, Ms. Banks, Mr. Abboud, and Ms. Barkoff:

Thank you for the call. We are pleased that you accepted the Chairman’s invitation for Dr. Ford to testify on Thursday, 9/27/2018 at 10 am in an open hearing in Dirksen 226, in accordance with the parameters that we outlined in our emails below.

The Chairman asked me to relay again that he will do everything in his power to provide a safe, comfortable, and dignified forum for Dr. Ford to testify. I have noted the issues that you raised on the call. But again, as with any witness who comes before the Senate, the Senate Judiciary Committee cannot hand over its constitutional duties to attorneys for outside witnesses. The Committee determines which witnesses to call, how many witnesses to call, in what order to call them, and who will question them. These are non-negotiable.

As noted in the note above, the parameters outlined consist of those the Chairman’s office proposed on Friday, save for the adjusted date. The updated hearing notice follows:

September 23, 2018

RESCHEDULED NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING CONTINUATION

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing on the nomination of the Honorable Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States will continue on Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
By order of the Chairman.