In a sworn statement provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee, a man who claims to be an ex-boyfriend of Christine Blasey Ford says that he personally witnessed Ford coach a friend on how to take a polygraph exam. If true, it would mean Ford provided false testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week when she claimed she had never had any discussions with anyone about how to take a polygraph.
The troubling allegations about Ford’s polygraph history and potentially false testimony were revealed Tuesday in a letter from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, to attorneys for Ford. Ford and her attorneys have thus far refused to provide all polygraph-related documents and media to the Senate for review.
“The full details of Dr. Ford’s polygraph are particularly important because the Senate Judiciary Committee has received a sworn statement from a longtime boyfriend of Dr. Ford’s, stating that he personally witnessed Dr. Ford coaching a friend on polygraph examinations,” Grassley wrote. “When asked under oath in the hearing whether she’d ever given any tips or advice to someone who was planning on taking a polygraph, Dr. Ford replied, ‘Never.'”
“This statement raises specific concerns about the reliability of her polygraph examination results,” he continued. “The Senate therefore needs this information.”
BREAKING: Fox’s @johnrobertsFox obtains letter from Ford ex-boyfriend alleging: dated for 6 yrs, never told of sex assault, Ford coached friend on taking polygraph, flew frequently w/o expressing any fear of flying/tight spaces/limited exits. Doesn’t want to b/c “involved”. pic.twitter.com/jVeW0qaJD0
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) October 3, 2018
The sworn statement from Ford’s ex-boyfriend directly contradicts what Ford repeatedly told the Senate under oath last week about her alleged lack of experience with polygraph exams, suggesting that Ford may have lied to the Senate panel.
“During some of the time we were dating, Dr. Ford lived with Monica L. McLean, who I understood to be be her life-long best friend,” the ex-boyfriend, whose name was redacted from the statement he gave to the Senate, wrote. “During that time, it was my understanding that McLean was interviewing for jobs with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“I witnessed Dr. Ford help McLean prepare for a potential polygraph exam,” he said. “Dr. Ford explained in detail what to expect, how polygraphs worked, and helped McLean become familiar and less nervous about the exam.”
At last week’s hearing, Ford was specifically asked by Rachel Mitchell, an experienced sex crimes prosecutor who was hired by the committee to question Ford and Kavanaugh, whether she had advised anyone on how to take a polygraph.
“Have you ever had discussions with anyone, beside your attorneys, on how to take a polygraph?” Mitchell asked.
“Never,” Ford responded.
“And I don’t just mean countermeasures,” Mitchell said, “but I mean just any sort of tips, or anything like that.”
“No,” Ford said.
“[H]ave you ever given tips or advice to somebody who was looking to take a polygraph test?” Mitchell continued.
“Never,” Ford replied again.
The ex-boyfriend also said in his statement that during their six-year-long romantic relationship, Ford never mentioned the alleged assault against her, Brett Kavanaugh, or a fear of flying.
Federal law makes it a crime to provide false information to congressional officials in the course of an investigation. A person convicted of lying to Congress can be imprisoned for up to five years under the statute.
In his letter, Grassley also repeated his request of Ford to provide her therapists’ records to the Senate for review. According to Ford, she first shared details of the alleged sexual assault against her with a marriage therapist and an individual therapist. Despite providing portions of the notes to a report for the Washington Post, Ford has thus far refused to disclose the records to the Senate.
“I renew my request for notes from therapy sessions in which Dr. Ford discussed the alleged assault by Judge Kavanaugh,” Grassley wrote. “The Washington Post reported that some notes were provided to The Post, and Dr. Ford’s testimony indicated that these notes were highly relevant to her allegations.”
“These notes have been repeatedly cited as corroboration even while written 30 years after the alleged event and in apparent contradiction with testimony and other public statements regarding several key details of the allegations, including when the alleged attack occurred, how many individuals were present in the bedroom in which the attack was alleged to have occurred, and how many individuals attended the party,” Grassley noted.
“Please provide the requested materials to the Senate Judiciary Committee immediately,” the letter from Grassley concluded.
The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be a Supreme Court Justice was favorably reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee last Friday and is currently pending before the full Senate, which is awaiting the completion of a supplemental background check investigation by the FBI before it votes on whether to confirm Kavanaugh.