Sen. Flake ‘not comfortable’ voting on Kavanaugh until accuser is heard

PHOENIX — Sen. Jeff Flake tweeted Tuesday night that he urges Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser to accept an invitation to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“I now implore Dr. Ford to accept the invitation for Monday, in a public or private setting,” Flake wrote. “The committee should hear her voice.”

In a recent interview, Flake made it known that he is not comfortable voting yes for Kavanaugh until his accuser tells her story.

Sitting down with the Washington Post on Sunday, Flake said Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, should be heard before any decisions are made on the nomination.

“I’ve made it clear that I’m not comfortable moving ahead with the vote on Thursday if we have not heard her side of the story or explored this further,” Flake told the Washington Post. “For me, we can’t vote until we hear more.”

When Dr. Ford came forward, I said that her voice should be heard and asked the Judiciary Committee to delay its vote on Judge Kavanaugh. It did so. I now implore Dr. Ford to accept the invitation for Monday, in a public or private setting. The committee should hear her voice.

— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 19, 2018

Flake is one of 11 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee who will elect the next Supreme Court judge. The Republicans hold a 11-to-10 majority on the panel.

Ford told The Washington Post in her first public interview Sunday that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed at a Maryland party they attended in the early 1980s while in high school, tried to remove her clothing and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. Both of them were drunk.

“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” Ford said. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”

Ford, 51 and a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, says she was able to get away after a friend of Kavanaugh’s who was in the room jumped on top of them and everyone tumbled.

Kavanaugh on Friday denied the allegation, seeking to defuse a potential threat to his confirmation as a handful of key senators remained silent on whether they would vote for him.

In a statement released by the White House, Kavanaugh said: “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

The Judiciary Committee, which has finished confirmation hearings for Kavanaugh, is scheduled to meet on Thursday to vote on the nomination.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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