FBI access to Blasey Ford’s therapy notes a must

NEWS ANALYSIS

One of the FBI’s most critical steps in investigating Christine Blasey Ford’s charges against Brett Kavanaugh is to view her therapist’s notes from sessions in 2012 and 2013.

Ms. Ford talked about the alleged sexual assault at both. This means the notes are likely the only recorded rendition — as opposed to hearsay — of her story before Mr. Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court in July and she filed her complaints quickly thereafter.

To date, Ms. Ford has refused to turn the therapist’s writings over to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

What is known are snippets from her interview with the Washington Post and her testimony. She says she cannot remember if she provided the Post the actual notes or just her recounting.

From that, we know that in her 2013 therapy session she said she was in her “late teens” when it happened. She told the Post she was 15 and that it happened in the “summer of 1982.”

“Late teens,” are generally considered 16-19, pushing the timeline to 1983 or beyond.

A full reading of the notes may provide more details on when Ms. Ford said the assault happened.

She testified she did not bring up Mr. Kavanaugh’s name at either session.

The only time she is confirmed to have named Mr. Kavanaugh as the assailant is when she complained to Congress and the press culminating in her Senate testimony last week.

Rachel Mitchell, a sex crimes prosecutor hired by committee Republicans, issued a report Sunday night.

She said: “I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee.”

Citing a lower evidentiary standard, she added, “Nor do I believe that this evidence is sufficient to satisfy the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.”

One reason is Ms. Ford’s various statements on when it happened in a house near the Columbia Country Club in Montgomery County.

“Dr. Ford has not offered a consistent account of when the alleged assault happened,” wrote Ms. Mitchell. Ms. Ford is a psychology professor.

She noted that Ms. Ford has said the attack happened in her “late teens” and “mid-1980s.”

Now, she says it was the summer of 1982 when Mr. Kavanaugh was a senior at Georgetown Preparatory and she a student at Holton-Arms School.

“While it is common for victims to be uncertain about dates, Dr. Ford failed to explain how she was suddenly able to narrow the timeframe to a particular season and particular year,” Ms. Mitchell wrote.

There has been no corroboration that the party she described where the alleged assault actually occurred.

She placed her good friend, Leland Keyser, at the scene. But Ms. Keyser has told the committee twice that she had no knowledge of the party and doesn’t know Mr. Kavanaugh.

Ms. Ford can recall exact details of the alleged attempted rape by Mr. Kavanaugh and a friend, Mark Judge. She can remember she consumed one beer.

But she has no memory of how she got there and how she traveled the seven to 10 miles to her parents’ home. She says she wasn’t given a ride.

“Dr. Ford has no memory of key details of the night in question––details that could help corroborate her account,” Ms. Mitchell said. “Perhaps most importantly, she does not remember how she got from the party back to her house.”