Senate Republicans announced late Tuesday that Rachel Mitchell, a decorated career sex crimes prosecutor with decades of experience, will handle some of the questioning of Christine Blasey Ford at a scheduled hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
Ford, the California professor accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault decades ago, had requested through her attorneys that only senators be able to ask questions at the hearing, in order to avoid a “trial-like” atmosphere.
Senate Democrats will still able to ask their own questions of Ford and Kavanaugh, who is also set to testify Thursday, and some have said they intend to do so. Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Judiciary Committee and former prosecutor, criticized Republicans for “hiding from their roles as members of the Judiciary Committee” and said he would not “concede or cede” his role as a senator.
Saying he wants the hearing to be a “safe, comfortable, and dignified” environment, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote in a statement that retaining Mitchell would help take politics out of the proceedings.
“The goal is to de-politicize the process and get to the truth, instead of grandstanding and giving senators an opportunity to launch their presidential campaigns,” Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote. “I’m very appreciative that Rachel Mitchell has stepped forward to serve in this important and serious role.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote Friday on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
The committee vote is being set for the day after Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford are to testify about her allegation he sexually assaulted her when they were teens. That public hearing is set for Thursday.
The committee scheduled the vote as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday he was moving forward with Kavanaugh’s nomination.
Kavanaugh has denied Ford’s claim and that of another woman who has come forward with an allegation from his time at Yale. – READ MORE