Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) of the Senate Judiciary Committee might be getting nervous about Thursday’s upcoming hearing about the alleged sexual misconduct of Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh. That’s because Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, one of Kavanaugh’s accusers, might be there. Or, she might not be.
“Sen. Feinstein, D-Ca, just told me “I have no way of knowing” if Dr. Ford is actually going to show up to Kavanaugh hearing Thursday – if outside counsel is asking the questions,” Fox News Correspondent Peter Doocy tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
NEW: Sen. Feinstein, D-Ca, just told me “I have no way of knowing” if Dr. Ford is actually going to show up to Kavanaugh hearing Thursday – if outside counsel is asking the questions
— Peter Doocy (@pdoocy) September 25, 2018
Fox subsequently reported that the issue stemmed from a decision by the Republican judiciary committee leadership to hire an “expert sex crimes prosecutor as investigative staff counsel” to oversee questions at Thursday’s hearing. The reason? Republicans feared the hearing becoming a spectacle.
Chairman Grassley doesn’t want another media/political circus like Dems displayed during Judge Kavanaugh’s initial hearing. The best way to do that is to de-politicize the process. The majority has hired an expert sex crimes prosecutor as investigative staff counsel for Thursday.
— Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) September 25, 2018
Michael Bromwich, an attorney for Ford, is meanwhile not happy about the way the process is unfolding. In a letter to the Committee, he demanded to know the name of the prosecutor, which has not been released. She has merely been identified as “female.”
I’m honored to be joining Debra Katz and Lisa Banks in representing Dr. Ford https://t.co/WdhWj0qmSw
— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) September 22, 2018
“This is not a criminal trial for which the involvement of an experienced sex crimes prosecutor would be appropriate,” Bromwich said in the letter, as reported by Fox News, echoing previous requests that the senators themselves, not counsel, ask questions.
Bromwich also said it was difficult to conclude that the upcoming hearing will be “fair and credible,” which is what the Committee has sought, given that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is calling the accusations against Kavanaugh part of a Democratic Party “smear campaign.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is reportedly splitting the line between Kavanaugh’s smarts and his character:
[Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.]
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