Anita Hill: Senate GOP handling of Kavanaugh accusations is ‘a real mockery’

Anita Hill on Wednesday said she’s seen similarities in how her 1991 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee was handled and how Christine Blasey Ford is being treated ahead of her highly anticipated appearance before the panel Thursday.

Hill, who appeared before the committee when she accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment, described the handling of claims against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a “real mockery,” The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

{mosads}“That’s a commentary really on values,” Hill said at a Utah event focused on ending sexual harassment. “I hope that we can all be open to hearing [Ford] and evaluating based on what we hear and without the lens of the myths that have followed this hearing.”

Hill reiterated that she believes Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of pinning her to a bed and groping her during a 1980s high school party, and said that she does not think she will not receive a fair assessment of her claims without an FBI investigation and the testimony of additional witnesses.

Republican senators and President Trump have yet to call for such an investigation, arguing that Thursday’s hearing will provide her with an opportunity to make her case.

Some senators have also questioned why Ford waited to go public with her claims until this month, something Hill said is misguided.

“When you think about why women don’t report, think about the toll that it could take,” she said. “We know that the reporting is not immediate. I think that’s a lesson that’s been lost on some of our public figures as they discuss the Kavanaugh nomination.”

Since Ford came forward, two other women have publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, threatening to derail his nomination.

Kavanaugh has unequivocally denied all the claims against him and has vowed he will not withdraw his nomination.