Attorneys for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's accuser Christine Blasey Ford and the Senate Judiciary Committee have reached agreement for a public hearing on Thursday.
Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her at a high school party in the 1980s, reached a final deal to testify in an open hearing before the Senate committee this week.
Her commitment came after negotiators convened a call on Sunday to resolve potentially make-or-break details , such as potential witnesses who could corroborate her decades-old sexual assault claim.
A spokesman for the committee's chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) confirmed the meeting would be set at 10am on Thursday.
Attorneys for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, and the Senate Judiciary Committee have reached agreement for a public hearing on Thursday
'We've made important progress,' said Ford's attorneys Debra S. Katz, Lisa J. Banks, and Michael R. Bromwich.
'Dr. Ford believes it is important for senators to hear directly from her about the sexual assault committed against her. She has agreed to move forward.'
Terms of their appearances are still being negotiated, but several details have been resolved.
Ford agreed that she will testify after Kavanaugh, rather than going first, as she had preferred, according to a source familiar with the talks, but was unauthorized to discuss the talks publicly and was granted anonymity.
The lawyers said that who will be asking the questions still remains unresolved.
Republicans have been trying to hire an outside female counsel who could take over the questioning. The 11 senators on the GOP side of the dais are all men, which could send an unwanted message on live television against the backdrop of the #MeToo era so close to the midterm election. They could also use staff attorneys to the Republican majority on the committee.
'We were told no decision has been made on this important issue, even though various senators have been dismissive of her account and should have to shoulder their responsibility to ask her questions,' the attorneys said.
The attorneys said they did not know when they would have answers to the unresolved issues.
A spokesman for the committee's chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (pictured above) confirmed the meeting would be set at 10am on Thursday
Ford, who is now a California psychology professor, has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her at a high school party in the 1980s
A final accord could bring to a close days of brinkmanship that have roiled Washington ahead of midterm elections and threatened to jeopardize Kavanaugh's confirmation to the court, even as some Republicans say the additional hearings may do little to change their support for him.
Earlier Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said lawyers for Ford are contesting two GOP conditions of the proposed Thursday hearing - that Ford and Kavanaugh will be the only witnesses and that an independent counsel will ask the questions.
'If they continue to contest those two things, there won't be a hearing,' Graham said. 'We're not going to let her determine how many people we call' and on outside counsel.
'I hope she comes.'
Graham, speaking on 'Fox News Sunday,' promised a fair hearing in which both Ford and Kavanaugh 'will be challenged' but said 'unless there's something more' to back up her accusation, then he's 'not going to ruin Judge Kavanaugh's life over this.'
'I want to listen to her, but I'm being honest with you and everybody else. ...What am I supposed to do? Go ahead and ruin this guy's life based on an accusation?' Graham asked, explaining his dilemma over an allegation of a 1980s incident that is past the statute of limitations for criminal charges. 'But she should come forward. She should have her say.'
One issue that appears to have been resolved is the committee's refusal to subpoena Mark Judge, the other person Ford alleges was in the room when the assault occurred when they were high school age.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington
Lawyers for Ford and bipartisan representatives of the committee came to a tentative agreement for a Thursday hearing after a short but productive phone call late Saturday, said a person briefed on the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
But unresolved is who would question the 51-year-old California college professor and other potential witnesses. Ford wants an appearance by Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh friend who Ford asserts was in the room when the incident occurred. Meanwhile, the committee's 11 Republicans - all men - have been seeking an outside female attorney to interrogate Ford, mindful of the election-season impression that could be left by men trying to pick apart a woman's assertion of a sexual attack.
Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat on the committee, said Sunday he believed Ford's requests have been 'reasonable' and that she deserves a fair hearing to determine whether her allegations are 'serious' enough to vote down Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination.
He acknowledged that lawmakers will 'probably not' be able to know the truth of Ford's decades-old accusation that Kavanaugh assaulted her at a house party when they were teenagers. But Durbin left little doubt that that Democrats will go after Kavanaugh's drinking history to help shed light on the matter. Ford has alleged Kavanaugh was 'stumbling drunk' when it happened.
'There have been a lot of things said about the alcohol that was consumed by the judge as well as by others in his school. That has to be part of any relevant questioning,' he said.
Durbin told ABC's 'This Week' that some Republicans 'reached out to Democratic senators and assured them that they are looking to this as kind of a determination as to how their final vote' on Kavanaugh is cast.
Tensions have been running on overdrive since Ford went public last week with her allegation that Kavanaugh assaulted her when they in high school. Kavanaugh, an appellate court judge, denied the allegation and said he wanted to testify as soon as possible to clear his name.
Republicans viewed Ford's requests as a way to delay voting on President Donald Trump's nominee.
The White House is approaching Ford's potential testimony with trepidation, nervous that an emotional performance might not just damage Kavanaugh's chances but could further energize female voters to turn out against Republicans in November against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement.
Moreover, the West Wing aides who had urged Trump to remain muted in his response to the accusations worried about how the president might react to an hourslong, televised hearing. In tweet Friday, Trump broke his silence to cast doubt on Ford's story in ways Republicans had been carefully trying to avoid.
Trump mused to confidants that the 'fake' attacks against his nominee were meant to undermine his presidency, according to a White House official and a Republican close to the White House. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/23/senate-judiciary-committee-confirms-kavanaugh-public-hearing/
Main photo article Attorneys for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford and the Senate Judiciary Committee have reached agreement for a public hearing on Thursday.
Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her at a high school party in the 1980s, reached a final deal to...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/23/19/5092DC3600000578-6199115-image-m-11_1537726191017.jpg
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