Sen. Thom Tillis said Thursday the Justice Department should probe Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee last year against then-Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh after revelations surfaced this week she was partly motivated by politics.
A video surfaced of Ms. Blasey Ford’s attorney Debra Katz saying her client came forward because she wanted “an asterisk next to his name” before he rules against a woman’s right to abortion.
Striking down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case granting nationwide abortion access, is a fear Democrats have voiced about the conservative majority on the court, noting Justice Kavanaugh’s record, having once ruled to limit an illegal immigration minor’s right to a speedy abortion in Texas.
“We have to always make sure that when people come and give sworn testimony before any congressional committee that it is truthful and accurate, so I think any time you see something like this it’s probably worth looking into,” Mr. Tillis told Fox News’ Harris Faulkner.
The Daily Caller reported this week Ms. Katz gave a speech in April saying Ms. Blasey Ford, who accused Justice Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct more than 30 years ago, came forward to bolster abortion rights. Ms. Blasey Ford’s accusations were never substantiated and Justice Kavanaugh vehemently denies any misconduct.
“In the aftermath of these hearings, I believe that Christine’s testimony brought about more good than the harm misogynist Republicans caused by allowing Kavanaugh on the court,” Ms. Katz said in a video reportedly speaking at the University of Baltimore’s Feminist Legal Theory Conference.
“He will always have an asterisk next to his name. When he takes a scalpel to Roe v. Wade, we will know who he is, we know his character, and we know what motivates him, and that is important; it is important that we know, and that is part of what motivated Christine,” Ms. Katz said.
Mr. Tillis, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the newly revealed remarks seem to undermine Ms. Blasey Ford’s testimony, when she insisted she was reluctant to come forward and was only motivated by the assault she said she suffered.
A spokesperson for Judiciary Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about supporting a probe into the matter.
A Justice Department spokesperson also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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