“It’s not a head-scratcher!”
Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz appeared on a Fox News panel on Tuesday to speculate on what would come from the recent sexual assault accusation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
“The fact that she won’t even talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee, it’s really a head scratcher,” Chaffetz said on Fox New’s “Outnumbered,” referring to Christine Ford, a professor of clinical psychology who had accused Kavanaugh of drunkenly trying to sexually assault her when they were both in high school.
Being the sole male on the show, Chaffetz was, quite literally, outnumbered, and the whole-female case erupted with unanimous rebuke.
“It’s not a head-scratcher!” said conservative commentator Melissa Francis. “Because it looks like it would be horrible. I wouldn’t volunteer for that, if you’re just a regular person. If she has a story to tell, and she’s brave enough to do it, let’s all listen to it. If she doesn’t show up it doesn’t mean she’s lying… it could just mean she doesn’t want to go through that horrible spectacle.”
Chaffetz seemed to suggest that if Kavanaugh’s accuser didn’t testify, something about her story might be amiss. This breaks with the opinion of many elected officials, including some Republicans, who felt it was important to at least set the stage for Ford to testify.
Though the Senate Judiciary Committee already started preparing to allow Ford and Kavanaugh to testify about the incident, Ford’s lawyers said Tuesday that she wants the FBI to investigate her claims before she speaks publicly.
Ford originally contacted Democrat lawmakers with her story through an anonymous letter. On Sunday, The Washington Post revealed her identity in a extensive interview. In it, Ford said that the alleged assault had traumatized her.