Brett Kavanaugh’s Accuser to Testify at Hearing on Thursday

The Senate Judiciary Committee is finalizing an agreement that will allow Dr. Christine Blasey Ford to testify on Thursday about her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

According to emails made public between Blasey’s lawyers and the committee’s counsel, Ford accepted the Senate Judiciary Committee’s request to testify, but details of the agreement are still pending.

The deal will cap a week of negotiations that began with the publication on Sunday of Ford’s account of the alleged assault in the Washington Post, which she says occurred at a house party in suburban Maryland when both were teenagers in the early 1980s. Ford alleges that Kavanaugh trapped her in a bedroom, groped her and tried to pull her clothes off. Kavanaugh has categorically denied the allegation.

Ford’s attorney, Debra Katz, has been negotiating the terms of Ford’s appearance at the hearing. Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the committee, had insisted that she appear to testify on Monday. Ford’s attorney said she could not be there until later in the week. Ford dropped her initial request for an FBI investigation of her allegations. She has also insisted that adequate security provided, as she faces threats to her safety.

Grassley had set a 10 p.m. Friday deadline for Katz to conclude an agreement for testimony, and vowed to hold a committee vote on Monday if a deal could not be reached, but granted an additional day to come to terms.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation hangs in the balance. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, both moderate Republicans, are waiting for the outcome of the hearing before deciding how to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed on Friday to “plow right through it” and get Kavanaugh confirmed. President Trump also challenged the credibility of the allegations, asking on Twitter, “Why didn’t someone call the FBI 36 years ago.”

The tweet spurred a hashtag, #WhyIDidntReport, in which sexual assault survivors shared their reasons for not coming forward.

This story has been updated.

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