Within minutes of The New Yorker breaking the story of a second woman alleging improper behavior by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Senate GOP investigators reached out to accuser Deborah Ramirez’s attorneys asking for any and all evidence she had to support her allegations. The article was based on a foggy accusation of misconduct and admitted that the accuser was not sure of her memory even days before it was published.
Over the next 48 hours, attorneys for the Senate Judiciary Committee repeated their requests for testimony and evidence another six times. Yet more than three days later, attorneys for the woman have still refused to provide any evidence or formal statements beyond what she told The New Yorker.
At 7:43 p.m. on Sunday, Mike Davis, chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee, emailed Ramirez’s attorneys asking when she’d be available for an interview with Senate committee investigators. “[W]e are determined to take Ms. Ramirez’s statement and investigate further as necessary as quickly as possible,” he wrote. He followed up later that evening and again the following morning. Her attorneys said they’d respond later.
Throughout Monday, he asked again if Ramirez had “any other evidence, including other statements, in addition to those that are contained in the New Yorker article?” At 3:03 p.m., the attorneys responded with vague, non-committal statements about possible future compliance.
At 3:11 p.m., Davis immediately reiterated his request for any additional information beyond what had been published in the New Yorker article. A few hours later, Ramirez’s attorneys put off the request again. So Davis emailed again at 7:11 p.m. pleading with them for additional information.
Still not receiving the information necessary to proceed by Tuesday morning, Davis implored Ramirez’s counsel at 10:05 a.m. to answer whether she had any other evidence and whether she was willing to provide it direcxtly to the committee. He did so again at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday night, and again at 8:05 p.m. after another non-responsive email.
Rather than making Ramirez available for an interview, providing a formal statement, or providing any evidence to support her claims, her attorneys instead sought to delay and obstruct at every opportunity. This mirrors the behavior of the attorneys of Christine Blasey Ford, who has yet to provide a sworn statement to the Senate, instead making a seemingly unending list of demands for delays.
Correspondence from Grassley and his staff make clear that they have repeatedly sought to make accusers comfortable and safe so that they can formally testify to their allegations.
“It’s important to me that you personally know how sincere and thorough this effort has been, including my commitment to make sure committee members and other senators are able to hear directly from you,” Grassley wrote in a September 24 letter to Ford. “The arrangements made to re-open and continue the confirmation hearing on Thursday will allow you to testify and also will allow the nominee to address the allegations made against him. Both of you deserve a credible and fair process in a secure and professional setting. ”
After left-wing activists in media attacked Republicans for allowing male senators to question Blasey Ford in a Senate hearing, Grassley even went so far as to invite an experienced female sex crimes prosecutor to manage the hearing process. Saying he sought a “safe, comfortable and dignified” forum, Grassley explained why he was asking a female career sex-crimes prosecutor to handle questioning of witnesses. “The goal is to de-politicize the process and get to the truth, instead of grandstanding and giving senators an opportunity to launch their presidential campaigns.”
Grassley also repeatedly rescheduled hearings to accommodate Blasey Ford’s demands.
Feinstein said she’s still not sure Blasey Ford will show up. The committee is scheduled to hear her and Kavanaugh’s testimony under oath at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.
