Sen Chuck Grassley is not going to win any fans among the Democratic Senators, looking to showboat or among the lawyers for Christine Ford with his latest maneuver. He announced that the committee had hired an experienced prosecutor in sex-crime cases to question both Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Ford. This means that Kamala Harris will not be able to continue to run for president in the committee chamber.
And Ford will not spend half of her time answering leading and softball questions. Both Ford and Kavanaugh will have a tough prosecutor asking them tough questions. That’s good for Kavanaugh who will tell the truth but not so well for Ford who will have to remember what her script calls for her to say.
The letter was addressed to attorney Michael R. Bromwich who also represents former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
Mr. Bromwich,
The Chairman promised Dr. Ford that he would provide a fair, safe, dignified forum for Dr. Ford to provide her testimony. The Chairman and Dr. Ford both agree that we do not want a “circus,” like we experienced during the first four days of the confirmation hearing.
For the most serious hearings in our more recent history, such as Watergate and Iran-Contra, the Senate had experienced counsel question the witnesses. The Chairman believes that Dr. Ford’s allegations are serious. Thus, the Chairman has hired an experienced sex-crimes prosecutor to serve as an investigative staff counsel for the hearing. She will question Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh on Thursday on behalf of the Republican members.
The Chairman’s goal is to de-politicize this process and search for the truth – instead of creating a forum for senators to grandstand or launch their presidential campaigns.
As we discussed, the Chairman’s staff looks forward to working with you on all the hearing logistics and security issues.
Finally, I have attached a letter from the Chairman, in response to Dr. Ford’s letter on Saturday. As we discussed and agreed, we are going to publicly release these letters.
Thank you,
Mike Davis
Mike Davis, Chief Counsel for Nominations
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman
The choice of an experienced prosecutor is a big advantage for Kavanaugh.