By Dan Calabrese —— Bio and Archives September 20, 2018
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Grassley in a letter sent Wednesday to Feinstein said he needs an unredacted copy in order to prepare for the Monday hearing where Republicans have invited both Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, to testify. “My staff has made repeated requests for this document — which has become a significant piece of evidence in Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process — but your staff has so far refused to provide a copy of the letter,” Grassley wrote. “I must review the unredacted letter that Dr. Ford sent to you, dated July 30, 2018. I ask that you send me a copy of the original, unredacted letter immediately.” Grassley’s letter is the latest in an increasingly partisan standoff over the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh. Republicans are expected to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination as soon as next week, while Democrats are demanding that Monday’s hearing be delayed and that the FBI reopen its background investigation of Kavanaugh.
Grassley, in his letter, noted that Ford has until 10 a.m. on Friday to say whether she will attend the hearing. He also berated Feinstein over her handling of the letter, accusing her of sitting “on the allegations until a politically opportune moment.” “I cannot overstate how disappointed I am in this decision,” he wrote. “It has caused me to have to reopen the hearings for the fifth day of testimony, when we easily could have—and should have—raised these issues before or during the first four days of the hearing.”It is simply inconceivable that one member of a committee would sit on a document of this importance and refuse to share it with the chair. Party affiliations are completely irrelevant here. Feinstein was irresponsible in the extreme sitting on this document for three months and springing it at the last minute, but this goes beyond even that. How can Democrats accuse Republicans of being unfair to Blasey Ford when the Democrats won’t even let Republicans see the full letter she wrote? This whole thing is a gigantic circus whose obvious only point is to delay the Kavanaugh confirmation vote until Democrats can find some way to kill his nomination altogether. Feinstein’s refusal to turn over the letter is way beyond the pale of normal procedure, but she’s confident the media will cover for her and she’s probably right. Meanwhile, Blasey Ford’s lawyers continue to insist that before she testifies, they want a criminal investigation by the FBI – which they know will not happen because there is nothing alleged that approaches a federal crime, even if the statute of limitations had not long since passed. This whole thing is a complete fraud. It’s an utter disgrace. Republicans should hold a vote and confirm Kavanaugh immediately.
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