Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) on Monday suggested that a male Democratic lawmaker or staffer leaked the confidential letter from Christine Blasey Ford detailing sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Comstock, who is facing a tough reelection battle in November, appeared on Fox News to discuss the handling of sexual misconduct allegations in the future after Kavanaugh’s confirmation process.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, first received a letter from Ford detailing the allegations in July, but Ford had asked that it remain private. Feinstein has denied leaking the letter.
{mosads}“The confidentiality of Dr. Ford was brutality violated by a Democrat staff or member,” Comstock said Monday. “And I like to think that it wasn’t a woman who did that. I think it was probably a male staffer or a male member because you don’t do that to somebody who’s a victim and victimize her all over again by not allowing her to consent about going forward.”
Ford went public with her allegation last month after reports began to surface that Feinstein had turned over the letter to the FBI.
Ford later testified before the Senate Judiciary panel and detailed how Kavanaugh assaulted her at a high school party in the early 1980s.
Kavanaugh vehemently denied her claims before the committee that same day.
President Trump has also suggested Feinstein or her staff leaked the letter, basing his claims on her body language at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.
“Dianne Feinstein, did you leak? Remember her answer. Did you leak the document? ‘Uh. Uh. What? What? No. Uh. No. Uh. I didn’t lie — well, wait one minute. No, no, we didn’t leak it,'” Trump told the crowd during a rally in West Virginia last week.
“I’ll tell you what, that was real bad body language,” Trump added. “Who knows? Maybe she didn’t leak it, but that was the worst body language I’ve ever seen.”
Comstock — one of the most endangered members in the House GOP caucus — has touted her work combating sexual assault and harassment on Capitol Hill.
She authored a resolution that passed in the House last year requiring members and staff to attend annual sexual harassment awareness training.
A poll released last week found that Comstock is trailing her Democratic challenger, state Sen. Jennifer Wexton, by 7 points.