Kavanaugh accuser, Palo Alto professor Christine Blasey Ford, lauded as “truth teller”
A Palo Alto professor went public with her accusation of sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Sunday, throwing the judge’s confirmation into question and receiving support from prominent Democrats.
Christine Blasey Ford, a professor of psychology and a statistician at Palo Alto University, went public in an interview with The Washington Post Sunday, saying Kavanaugh pushed her down on a bed, groping her and attempting to assault her at a high school party more than 30 years ago.
Ford, who also teaches at Stanford University, first made her accusation in a letter to her congresswoman, Rep. Anna Eshoo, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the lead Democract on the Senate Judiciary Committee, earlier this summer. News about the letter leaked out in the media and Capitol Hill circles this week. Ford, who had originally asked that her account be kept confidential, decided to go public to share her story in her own words, she told the Post
“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Ford said. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”
Kavanaugh has denied that the incident took place. “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time,” he said in a statement provided by the White House.
California Democrats came to Blasey’s defense Sunday, calling her allegation credible and serious.
“I’m proud of my constituent for the courage she has displayed to come forward to tell her full story to the American people,” Eshoo said in a statement. “In weighing her privacy and the consequences to herself and her family, she has demonstrated her willingness to risk these factors to present the truth.”
“For any woman, sharing an experience involving sexual assault—particularly when it involves a politically connected man with influence, authority and power—is extraordinarily difficult,” Feinstein said in a statement. “From the outset, I have believed these allegations were extremely serious and bear heavily on Judge Kavanaugh’s character. However, as we have seen over the past few days, they also come at a price for the victim. I hope the attacks and shaming of her will stop and this will be treated with the seriousness it deserves.”
Other Democrats called for a vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination scheduled for this week to be postponed in light of the allegations.
“A vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination must be delayed until there is a thorough investigation,” said Sen. Kamala Harris in a tweet, calling Ford’s story “a credible and serious allegation.”
Ford, 51, lives in Palo Alto with her husband Russell and two sons. A registered Democrat who’s made several small donations to candidates from the party, Ford also marched in last year’s Science March, wearing a cap knit to look like a brain.
Colleagues on Sunday described Ford as a devoted researcher and teacher. Helena Chmura Kraemer, a professor emeritus at Stanford who co-wrote a book and several articles with Ford, said in an interview she was a “joy to work with.”
Ford specializes in designing statistical models for research projects in order to make sure they come to accurate conclusions, said Kraemer. She’s co-written dozens of papers on topics ranging from ADHD in children to depression in young adults to posttraumatic disorders caused by the 9/11 attacks.
“We’re the people who look at the data and say, ‘that’s not what the data is saying,’” said Kraemer, who’s known Ford for about 20 years. “In some ways, she’s a professional truth teller.”
Ford, who previously taught at Pepperdine University, has received degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Pepperdine University, the University of Southern California and Stanford, according to her Linkedin page. Now she also helps doctoral students at Palo Alto University with their research, Kraemer said.
“She’s very invested in the work,” Kraemer said, “and very careful to make sure the researchers are getting the best advice they can possibly get.”
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