 Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Senator Dianne Feinstein that said the FBI has already investigated Brett Kavanaugh's time at Yale and "uncovered nothing remotely similar to the misconduct alleged by [accuser Deborah] Ramirez."
Grassley also said he would not postpone Thursday's hearing as Feinstein requested after The New Yorker reported on Ramirez's ridiculous claims.
Grassley's statement reads in full:
Dear Senator Feinstein:
I write regarding your request that I postpone the hearing scheduled for Thursday, September 27, during which we will hear Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony regarding her allegations of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's conduct in high school. I respectfully decline your request. I am not going to silence Dr. Ford after I promised and assured her that I would provide her a safe, comfortable. and dignified opportunity to testify.
Both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh have, over the last week, requested the opportunity to testify to Congress regarding Dr. Ford's allegations. After protracted negotiations with Dr. Ford's attorneys, during which we postponed the hearing we had originally scheduled, Dr. Ford's attorneys agreed to a hearing this Thursday. There is no reason to delay the hearing any further.
Besides being unfair to Dr. Ford, whose attorneys asked for a public hearing one week ago. delaying the hearing further would be unfair to Judge Kavanaugh and his family. He has asked the Committee repeatedly for the chance to testify as soon as possible. He has categorically denied the allegations that have been made public. He did this in a transcribed interview with several Senate investigators, under penalty of up to five years' imprisonment for lying. We can no longer stand in the way of him presenting his testimony before the Committee.
It is unforgivable that Dr. Ford and her family have been subjected to threats and intimidation. But Judge Kavanaugh and his family, including his two young daughters, have also faced threats and intimidation. We must take his family's safety. and the trauma this is causing to his young daughters, into account no less than we must account for the threats and intimidation suffered by Dr. Ford and her family.
You suggest that Dr. Ford's testimony should be further delayed because of allegations made in the New Yorker by Deborah Ramirez. I am unclear why Ms. Ramirez's claims should have any bearing on Dr. Ford's testimony. In fact, the obvious connection between the two claims is that Senate Democrats hid both allegations of misconduct from the Committee and the public. Indeed.
it was reportedly Senate Democratic staff who conveyed the allegations to the media rather than alert Republican staff to conduct a bipartisan investigation.
Finally, you ask that the FBI investigate Ms. Ramirez's claims. As you know, Judge Kavanaugh has gone through six FBI background investigations over the past 25 years. The FBI's investigations covered his time at Yale and uncovered nothing remotely similar to the misconduct alleged by Ms. Ramirez. Additionally, as the New Yorker story itself states, the publication could "not confirm[] with other eyewitnesses that Kavanaugh was present at the party." And the New York Times spoke to several dozen people to corroborate Ms. Ramirez's allegations but "could find no one with firsthand knowledge." Indeed, the Times reports that Ms. Ramirez herself said she could not be sure Judge Kavanaugh did what she alleged in the New Yorker article. It's not clear how the FBI could further illuminate what transpired at a dormitory party 35 years ago. Even the liberal New York Times did not find these allegations "fit to print."
As of now, the only allegations of which the Committee is aware with respect to Ms. Ramirez are the allegations described in the New Yorker. As you know, false statements made to the press are not subject to criminal penalty, but false statements to Congress are. If Ms. Ramirez submits testimony and evidence to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Committee investigators have requested, we can decide how to proceed. But, at this time, Democratic staff has not shared any such evidence it has with Republican staff. And, because Ms. Ramirez's allegations are unrelated to Dr. Ford's, there is no reason at all to delay the hearing on Thursday in light of these new al legations.
Sincerely,
Chuck Grassley Chairman As I reported earlier this week, Ramirez's claims read like a sarcastic joke:
Republicans should end this charade, vote Kavanaugh through immediately and tell Democrats to go to hell.
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