WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) released the following statement after the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court:
“Dr. Ford showed tremendous courage and credibility as she told her story, under oath, to the United States Senate and to so many Americans watching around the country. I have said throughout this process that we must treat Dr. Ford with the respect and dignity that we should show any survivor of sexual assault brave enough to come forward, and that she must be heard. Today, I listened intently to her harrowing and heart-wrenching testimony and to the full hearing. I believe Dr. Ford.
“Given today’s highly credible testimony from Dr. Ford and the deeply disturbing allegations of sexual assault made against Judge Kavanaugh, it is outrageous that Senate Republicans plan to rush forward with a vote tomorrow on this nomination – for a lifetime appointment to the highest court of the land – less than 24 hours after this hearing ended. The committee vote should be immediately canceled. At a bare minimum, Senate Republicans should call all relevant witnesses in this matter, including Mark Judge, to try and restore basic fairness to this process. And the president should immediately do what he has so far refused to do, and what Judge Kavanaugh refused to call for today: re-open the independent background investigation by the FBI. If the president won’t call for an FBI investigation of these new claims, then he should withdraw Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination.
“This is a watershed moment for our country. Women and men in New Mexico and around the country are watching the United States Senate to see how we will proceed, with so much on the line. Thus far, the responses to Dr. Ford’s allegations from the president and from too many Senate Republicans have helped contribute to an unacceptable culture of fear that exists for survivors of sexual violence. But it isn’t too late, and there is still time for Republicans to give these highly credible and appalling allegations the fair and nonpartisan investigation they deserve. We must halt these proceedings – not just for the integrity of the Supreme Court, but also to show that we are ready to build a culture where women and all survivors of sexual violence know that they will be heard, supported, and respected.”
