Sides at impasse on Kavanaugh confirmation

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump stepped up his defense Wednesday of his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, saying it was hard to imagine Brett Kavanaugh committed a sexual assault over three decades ago and that it would be unfortunate if his accuser did not testify before the Senate.

With Trump's effort to cement conservative control of the nation's highest court at stake, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley set a Friday morning deadline for Christine Blasey Ford to decide if she will testify.

In a call Wednesday with Iowa reporters, Grassley expressed doubts she'd appear before his committee. Based on Ford's lawyer asking for an FBI investigation first, he said 'at this point, I would say it's negative” she would appear Monday.

The FBI has said it is not investigating the matter, a decision backed by Republicans.

Grassley's committee wants prepared testimony from Ford by Friday and an answer on whether she will accept its invitation to testify Monday. The committee also has invited Kavanaugh to testify.

'So we're trying to reach out to her lawyer to see if I can talk to her about my reputation for running a respectful and thorough hearing, so she can be protected,” the Iowa Republican told reporters on the call. 'I'm going to do everything I can between now and (Monday) to encourage participation. I think I'm doing that by trying to make her feel as comfortable as I can.”

Although he is inflexible on the Monday date, he's offering her four options for testifying: an open hearing; a closed committee hearing; and either public or private question-and-answer by transcription.

'We do all this because we want Dr. Ford to feel comfortable, and we also do this because these charges of sexual harassment are very important,” Grassley said.

Later Wednesday, Grassley wrote to the senior Democrat on the committee, Dianne Feinstein, requesting she provide an unredacted copy of the letter Ford sent her in July about the assault allegation, saying he must review it before Monday's hearing.

Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University in California, has said Kavanaugh, now a federal appeals court judge, sexually assaulted her in 1982 when both were high school students in Maryland.

Kavanaugh has called Ford's allegation 'completely false.”

If Ford opts not to testify, Kavanaugh's chances for confirmation in the Republican-led Senate could be boosted, with senators in Trump's party so far remaining largely supportive.

In a statement Wednesday, a lawyer for Ford said her client was willing to cooperate but criticized the panel's plan to hear from only Ford and Kavanaugh.

'There are multiple witnesses whose names have appeared publicly and should be included in any proceeding,” lawyer Lisa Banks said. 'The rush to a hearing is unnecessary, and contrary to the committee discovering the truth.”

Ford's allegation has jeopardized Kavanaugh's nomination to the lifetime post on the Supreme Court, which previously was on a glide path toward confirmation.

'Look, if she shows up and makes a credible showing, that will be very interesting and we'll have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House.

'But I can only say this: He's such an outstanding man - very hard for me to imagine that anything happened,” Trump said.

'If she shows up, that would be wonderful. If she doesn't show up, that would be unfortunate,” Trump added, calling the situation 'very unfair” to his nominee.

The confirmation fight comes just weeks before Nov. 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are seeking to win control of Congress.

Any defections from the GOP's narrow Senate majority could sink the nomination - if the confirmation vote were drawn out that long.

Republican Judicial Committee member Lindsey Graham said on Twitter that requiring an FBI investigation of a 36-year-old allegation 'is not about finding the truth, but delaying the process till after the midterm elections.”

Democrats have said the White House can order an FBI investigation as occurred during the 1991 confirmation for Justice Clarence Thomas after he was accused of sexual harassment by lawyer Anita Hill.

Reuters and James Q. Lynch of The Gazette contributed.