Christine Blasey Ford’s Credibility Under New Attack by Senate Republicans
Image A previous partner of Christine Blasey Ford said he witnessed her helping a buddy get ready for a possible polygraph evaluation, contradicting hersworn testament before the Senate Judiciary Committee.Credit Credit Erin Schaff for The New York City Times
WASHINGTON– Senate Republicans are stepping up efforts to challenge Christine Blasey Ford’s credibility by challenging her with a sworn declaration from a former sweetheart who disagreed with a number of assertions she made throughout testament prior to the Judiciary Committee last week.Senator Charles E.
Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the committee chairman, cited the previous boyfriend’s statement in a letter sent out Tuesday night to Dr. Blasey’s lawyers requiring that they turn over material that might be utilized to evaluate her veracity.President Trump< a href =https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/02/us/politics/trump-me-too.html title > mocked Dr. Blasey during a campaign rally on Tuesday night, simulating her failure to bear in mind some information from her account of being sexually assaulted by Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh when they were teenagers.The previous boyfriend informed the Judiciary Committee that he witnessed Dr. Blasey helping a pal prepare for a possible polygraph assessment, contradicting her testimony under oath. Dr. Blasey, a psychology professor from California who likewise passes her married name Ford, was asked throughout the hearing whether she had actually” ever provided ideas or advice to someone who was seeking to take a polygraph test.” She answered, “Never.”However the former sweetheart, whose name was redacted from a copy of the sworn statement offered by a person supporting Judge Kavanaugh’s verification to the Supreme Court, stated that when
they were together in the 1990s he saw Dr. Blasey use her understanding of psychology to help her roommate of the time, Monica L. McLean, before interviews for possible positions with the F.B.I. or the United States Attorney’s workplace that may require her to take a lie-detector test.”I witnessed Dr. Ford help McLean prepare for a possible polygraph test,”the man said in the statement.”Dr. Ford discussed in information what to expect, how polygraphs worked and helped McLean end up being familiar and less anxious about the test. “Ms. McLean, a former F.B.I. representative, denied the assertion on Wednesday.”I have never ever had Christine Blasey Ford, or any person else, prepare me, or supply any other type of assistance whatsoever in
connection with any polygraph examination I have taken at any time,”she stated in a statement.Dr. Blasey’s camp likewise rejected the account.”She stands by her testament, “a member of her legal team said in a statement.Although the man’s name and hometown were redacted from the copy of the statement, which was dated Tuesday
, an individual notified about the matter recognized him as Brian Merrick. A profile of Dr. Blasey in The Wall Street Journal last month said she fulfilled Mr. Merrick while pursuing a master’s degree at Pepperdine University. She was”sweet, cute and with an excellent attitude,”he told the newspaper.He added that she never told him about a violent encounter with Judge Kavanaugh.”
It strikes me as odd it never ever showed up in our relationship,”Mr. Merrick told the newspaper. “However I would never ever try to challenge what she says or what she thinks.”< figure aria-label=media function= group itemscope itemprop =associatedMedia itemtype =http://schema.org/VideoObject >
, the Arizona sex criminal activities prosecutor who questioned Dr. Blasey at last week’s hearing, appeared to know to ask her about whether she had ever encouraged anyone about taking a polygraph test.In his letter on Tuesday night, Mr. Grassley faced Dr. Blasey’s legal representatives about the contradiction between Mr. Merrick’s statement and her testimony.”This declaration raises particular issues about the reliability of her polygraph examination outcomes,”he wrote, requesting her legal representatives turn over any audio or video recordings of the polygraph that Dr. Blasey took about her allegation versus Judge Kavanaugh in August. “The Senate for that reason requires this information. ” Dr. Blasey, 51, who has positions at Stanford University and Palo Alto University, told the committee recently that during a little home celebration most likely in the summer of 1982, a drunken Mr. Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her, tried to remove her clothing and covered her mouth when she attempted to shout. He would have been 17 at the time and she would have been 15. He has actually adamantly rejected her account.Ms. McLean joined a group of schoolmates from Holton-Arms School, the all-girls academy in rural Maryland that Dr. Blasey attended
at the time of the alleged event, in coming out in support of her in a letter to the committee last month.The letter stated that the schoolmates wanted “to testify to her honesty, integrity, and intelligence; and to compete that her choice to supply info relating to a sexual assault is not a partisan act. It is an act of civic duty and the experience she explained in her letter needs to be seriously considered.” In his declaration, Mr. Merrick stated that he first met Dr. Blasey in 1989 or 1990 in California and after a duration of friendship they
dated from 1992 to 1998. “I found her honest and keep no animus towards her, “he wrote.But he did not substantiate her account of an assault by Judge Kavanaugh and challenged other elements of her testimony.”Throughout our time dating, Dr. Ford never brought up anything regarding her experience as a victim of sexual assault, harassment, or misconduct,”he wrote. “Dr. Ford never mentioned Brett Kavanaugh.”Dr. Blasey has currently said that she did not inform anybody about the experience up until discussing it with the man who is now her hubby in 2002 and later on talking about it in more detail with a therapist in 2012. Lots of victims of sexual assault do not raise their experiences for years after the events.Mr. Merrick took problem with Dr. Blasey’s proclaimed fear of flying and of restricted spaces, noting that they as soon as traveled around the Hawaiian islands in a propeller airplane.”Dr. Ford never ever indicated a worry of flying,”he composed. “To the best of my recollection Dr. Ford never revealed a fear of closed quarters, tight spaces, or places with just one exit.”While she testified that she once demanded developing a 2nd front door in her house because of the injury of her encounter with Judge Kavanaugh, Mr. Merrick said he assisted her find a place to reside in California”
in a very small, 500 sq. ft. house with one door. “He also composed that they broke up”when I found that Dr. Ford was unfaithful “which she continued to utilize a credit card they shared almost a year before he took her off the account. “When faced, Dr. Ford stated she did not utilize the card, however later confessed to the usage after I threatened to include fraud security,” he said.In his letter to Dr. Blasey’s legal representatives, Mr. Grassley also required copies of notes taken by her therapist, parts of which< a href=" https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/california-professor-writer-of-confidential-brett-kavanaugh-letter-speaks-out-about-her-allegation-of-sexual-assault/2018/09/16/46982194-b846-11e8-94eb-3bd52dfe917b_story.html?utm_term=.67ba42b1ecb2"title rel="noopener noreferrer"target=_ blank > The Washington Post reported that she had provided one of its press reporters. And he requested any other records of her interactions with the Post press reporter who initially interviewed her.”Your failure to supply the entirety of Dr. Ford’s correspondence with The Post again suggests a lack of sincerity,”he wrote.Follow Peter Baker on Twitter: @peterbakernyt.
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