US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the woman who accused him of attempted rape in 1982 will testify in the Senate next Monday. Clarification of this charge will delay the decision by the Senate Judiciary Committee on confirmation or otherwise of Kavanaugh.
The federal judge at the US capital's appeals court has been appointed by US President Donald Trump to the life term at the highest court in the United States. With the threat posed by this scandal, Kavanaugh met in the White House on Monday. It also issued a new denial of sexual assault, calling it "completely false."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said the committee will hold a public hearing with Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, on Monday.
"As I said earlier, anyone who comes to the public, as Dr. Ford did, deserves to be heard. My team contacted Dr. Ford to hear your report and made a follow-up call with Judge Kavanaugh this afternoon, "Grassley said.
"Unfortunately, committee Democrats have refused to join us in this effort. But to give ample transparency, we will hold a public hearing on Monday to give full exposure to these recent charges, "he said.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Christine Blasey Ford narrated in detail the night she claims to have been the victim of an attempted rape by Kavanaugh. He and a friend were "completely drunk" when they cornered her in a room and tried to keep her by force on a bed, to touch her and try to take off her clothes.
Ford managed to escape, and after 36 years of silence, decided to talk about the episode. "I now consider that my civic duty is more important than the anguish and fear of reprisals," he said.
The prosecution of the 53-year-old conservative judge is critical, in a highly sensitive social context with the theme of sexual violence against women since the beginning of the #Metoo movement, which in a year made dozens of men lose their jobs in environments of power.
"I am ready to speak with the Senate Judiciary Committee ... to refute these allegations about events dating back 36 years and to defend my integrity," the White House said in a brief statement issued by the White House. "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes, neither her nor anyone else."
Donald Trump held firm on Monday, at his side. He reaffirmed his support for the federal judge, although he admitted that his approval by the Senate may take "a little". The president lamented that the charges against his candidate for the Supreme Court date back to the 1980s.
"I'm sure things will work out," Trump said in the White House.
Asked by the press if Kavanaugh offered him the withdrawal of candidacy, Trump called the question "ridiculous."
Senate majority leader Republican Mitch McConnell has said he wants to hold a full Senate ballot over Kavanaugh before the start of the new Supreme Court ruling on Oct. 1. It is uncertain whether this goal will have to be adjusted.
