Nation needs to hear accuser and the accused

Published 9:38 am Wednesday, September 26, 2018

 

John Cornyn’s plea for a “fair process” for both Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh ought to capture the quick attention of his U.S. Senate colleagues.

Ford, a psychology researcher in California, has accused Kavanaugh of groping her at a drunken bash during their high school years, placing his hand over her mouth when she attempted to scream. Kavanaugh, whose nomination is before the Senate Judiciary Committee, vehemently denies such an incident ever happened, but a national furor has followed. The Senate committee must get control of an unwieldy situation.

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Both Ford and Kavanaugh were expected to testify Thursday before the Senate committee, but Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general and state Supreme Court judge, suggested the process already has been abundantly unfair to the accuser and the accused. It’s time to change that.

Cornyn noted in speaking on the Senate floor that Ford’s letter about the alleged encounter with Kavanaugh was intended to be confidential, that her complaint was supposed to be anonymous. Instead, he said, the letter was leaked to the news media and a national “firestorm” erupted. Let’s put that fire out and restore the Senate and the nation to the cool calm of reason.

“I’m confident this is not what Dr. Ford wanted,” Cornyn said the accuser’s letter.

What Dr. Ford wanted and what the country needs in the wake of what has occurred since, though, may differ. Cornyn rightly says the psychology researcher ought to have “a chance to talk about what she believes happened to her.” This is her chance and she should grasp it both hands.

“We are in the middle of an important national conversation about sexual assault and how certain people in positions of power wield their influence to coerce and intimidate women, in the workplace and at large,” Cornyn said.

Ford’s letter has advanced that conversation. It has imperiled a Supreme Court nomination and, if the facts bear out, has damaged the reputation of a respected federal judge. If she’s right, it ought to be damaged. As she has every right to be heard, he has every right to defend himself against such accusations, which he vehemently denies. Neither party should be silenced.

People have a right to be heard but not a right to be believed. The facts alone determine what is true, and it’s time to roll those facts out for the Judiciary Committee and the whole nation.

Cornyn asked that “the accuser and the accused should be required to provide information to Congress … .” How else can the Senate do its job fairly?

Kavanaugh is greatly skilled. But Ford herself is a formidable, accomplished woman; Americans should be confident she can handle herself.

Let the testimony begin.