Collins wants accuser’s lawyer to question Kavanaugh

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a crucial swing vote in Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation, announced Tuesday she wants the attorney for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, to question the judge.

In a tweet, Collins said she would ask Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the panel’s ranking member, to allow the questioning. She also said Kavanaugh’s attorney should question Ford.

“I’m writing to the Chairman & RM of Judiciary Cmte respectfully recommending that at Monday’s hearing, counsel for Prof. Ford be allocated time to question Judge Kavanaugh & counsel for the Judge be granted equal time to question Prof. Ford, followed by questions from Senators,” she tweeted. 

{mosads}“Such an approach would provide more continuity, elicit the most information & allow an in-depth examination of the allegations,” she added.

I’m writing to the Chairman & RM of Judiciary Cmte respectfully recommending that at Monday’s hearing, counsel for Prof. Ford be allocated time to question Judge Kavanaugh & counsel for the Judge be granted equal time to question Prof. Ford, followed by questions from Senators.

— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) September 18, 2018

The Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing Monday in which Ford and Kavanaugh will both testify.

Ford went public with her allegations Sunday in an interview with The Washington Post, in which she said Kavanaugh threw her on a bed, groped her over her clothes while attempting to remove them and muffled her screams for help while drunk at a party in high school. 

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