Brett Kavanaugh's Sexual Assault Accuser Willing to Testify Before Congress

On Monday, Ford's attorney Debra Katz told CNN that senators had yet to reach out to her client, whose allegations came to light after Senate Democrats disclosed last week that they'd received a complaint detailing sexual misconduct claims against Kavanaugh.

Ford had initially asked not to be identified as Kavanaugh's accuser, but Katz said Ford has decided to come forward now that her decision to remain anonymous was "essentially taken away from her as those allegations were leaked."

Ford's allegations against Kavanaugh were detailed in a Thursday story from The New Yorker , where writers Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer—without naming Ford—report that her complaint recounted a night at a high school party more than three decades ago. Ford says that night Kavanaugh held her down and attempted to assault her, conspiring with a friend to turn the music up so no one could hear her cries of protest. She was able to escape, but told Farrow and Mayer that the incident had caused her emotional distress for which she sought therapy.

Kavanaugh denies the allegations.

“I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation," he told The New Yorker in a statement. "I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”

Senate Republicans are prepared to stand by Kavanaugh's denial. On Friday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley released a letter from 65 women with whom Kavanaugh attended high school, who argue for the Supreme Court nominee's upstanding character.

"Through the more than 35 years we have known him, Brett has stood out for his friendship, character, and integrity," one woman wrote, according to Politico. "In particular, he has always treated women with decency and respect. That was true when he was in high school, and it has remained true to this day."

Over the weekend, Politico reporters called all 65 women named in the letter, but found only two who still stood by Kavanaugh. "More than two dozen didn't respond, and two declined to comment," Politico reporter Daniel Lippman wrote in a Monday tweet.

Nonetheless, President Donald Trump and his allies are intent to push Kavanaugh's confirmation through, and Katz said on Monday that she anticipates an enthusiastic campaign from lawmakers, government officials, and the general public to smear Ford and cast doubt on her story.

"She's now going to have to live with the tremendous efforts by people to annihilate her and to try to discredit her," Katz told CNN. "She's telling the truth. She took a polygraph. She mentioned this … in her therapy sessions in 2012.

"We all know what she's going to have to withstand as a result of having come forward."