Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has announced the committee will hold another hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh next Monday following the accusations he attempted to rape a 15-year-old girl at a party while he was in high school. Both Kavanaugh and his accuser, professor Christine Blasey Ford, will testify. Ford told The Washington Post that Kavanaugh and his friend pushed her into a bedroom during a party and that Kavanaugh then forcibly pinned her down on a bed and tried to pull off her clothes. She says she tried to scream, but that Kavanaugh put his hand over her mouth to silence her.
Kavanaugh has denied the accusation. Ford identified Kavanaugh’s friend as the conservative writer Mark Judge. Judge once wrote a book about his high school days titled “Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk.” The book describes being an alcoholic in high school and even features a cameo by someone he calls “Bart O’Kavanaugh” who puked in someone’s car and passed out on his way back from a party. On Monday, Republican Senator Susan Collins welcomed the additional hearing.
Sen. Susan Collins: “Well, that does make it very difficult. And that’s why it’s important that there be a very thorough interview and that we see both individuals respond to the allegations. There are an awful lot of questions, inconsistencies, gaps. And that’s why, to be fair to both, we need to know what happened.”