Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her while they were both in high school, said during her testimony on Thursday that she wished the Senate Judiciary Committee would have come to her in California to hear her testimony.
Rachel Mitchell, the chief of the Maricopa County attorney’s office Special Victims Division, asked Ford how she got to Washington, D.C., nothing it was reported she has a fear of flying that stemmed from the alleged traumatic experience in high school. Ford said she flew to Washington but that she hoped the committee could have come to her in California where she lives.
"Well, I was hoping that they would come to me. But then I realized that was an unrealistic request," Ford said.
Before Ford agreed to testify, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) said he offered the option for committee staff to come to her and hear her story.
Last week, before Ford agreed to testify, Grassley wrote to Ford's lawyers to repeat his requests to speak with their client.
"You have stated repeatedly that Dr. Ford wants to tell her story. I sincerely hope that Dr. Ford will accept my invitation to do so, either privately or publicly, on Monday," Grassley wrote. "In the meantime, my staff would still welcome the opportunity to speak with Dr. Ford at a time and place convenient to her."
Later on in the hearing, Mitchell asked Ford if it was communicated to her that she had the opportunity to be interviewed from California.
"Was it communicated to you by your counsel or someone else that the committee had asked to interview you and that they offered to come out to California to do so?" Mitchell asked.
"We are going to object, Mr. Chairman, for any call for privileged conversations between counsel and Dr. Ford," Ford's lawyer interceded.
After a brief back and forth between Grassley and Ford's attorney, Ford herself asked if she could say something directly to the chairman.
"Can I say something to you directly?" Ford asked Grassley. "I just appreciate that you did offer that. I wasn't clear on what the offer was; if you were going to come out to see me, I would have happily hosted you and been happy to speak with you out there. It just wasn't clear to me that that was the case."