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Christine Ford Now Says She Told 'Friends on the Beach' About Alleged Assault

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In what many analysts are calling a compelling restatement of her allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford answered questions Thursday morning during Senate judiciary committee testimony.

During her prepared opening statement, she described the attack she claims occurred during a high-school house party in the early 1980s.

“Brett’s assault on me drastically altered my life,” Ford said, explaining that she confided in very few people in the decades that followed.

When she realized Kavanaugh was among the judges on President Donald Trump’s short list of potential Supreme Court nominees, she said she felt compelled to share her story while there was still time for the White House to select another candidate.

As part of the process of determining how best to alert the right people in D.C., the California professor said she reached out to some of her friends for advice.

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“On July 6, 2018, I had a sense of urgency to relay the information to the Senate and the president as soon as possible before a nominee was selected,” Ford testified. “I called my congressional representative and let her receptionist know that someone on the president’s short list had attacked me. I also sent a message to The Washington Post’s confidential tip line.”

At that time, she had not identified herself to either source and was still weighing her options, she said.

“Over the next two days, I told a couple of close friends on the beach in California that Mr. Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted me,” she said. “I was conflicted about whether to speak out.”

Some on the right, including TownHall’s Katie Pavlich, cited this admission as an apparent departure from her initial interview with The Washington Post earlier this month.

Did you find Christine Ford's testimony credible?

“Ford said she told no one of the incident in any detail until 2012, when she was in couples therapy with her husband,” the Post reported. “The therapist’s notes, portions of which were provided by Ford and reviewed by The Washington Post, do not mention Kavanaugh’s name but say she reported that she was attacked by students ‘from an elitist boys’ school’ who went on to become ‘highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington.'”

Ford maintained that timeline during her testimony this week, explaining that sharing the story caused her to “relive the trauma,” so she generally kept it to herself.

“This all changed in early July 2018,” she said. “I saw press reports stating that Brett Kavanaugh was on the “short list” of potential Supreme Court nominees. I thought it was my civic duty to relay the information I had about Mr. Kavanaugh’s conduct so that those considering his potential nomination would know about the assault.”

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Chris Agee is an American journalist with more than 15 years of experience in a wide range of newsrooms.
Chris Agee is an American journalist with more than 15 years of experience in a variety of newsroom settings. After covering crime and other beats for newspapers and radio stations across the U.S., he served as managing editor at Western Journalism until 2017. He has also been a regular guest and guest host on several syndicated radio programs. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife and son.
Birthplace
Virginia
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Texas Press Association, Best News Writing - 2012
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Journalism - Averett University
Professional Memberships
Online News Association
Location
Arizona
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment




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