Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who publicly accused now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, has not been able to return to her home and faces a near-constant stream of threats, her attorneys said in an interview on Sunday.
“This has been terrifying, her family has been through a lot,” Ford’s lawyer, Debra Katz, told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt. “They are not living at home, it’s going to be quite some time before they’re able to live at home. The threats have been unending, it’s deplorable.”
Earlier this month, Ford testified before the the Senate Judiciary Panel in a hearing that captured national attention. She spoke about her allegations, which were first made public in an interview with The Washington Post, that Kavanaugh had pinned her to a bed during a party when they were both in high school in the 1980s, attempted to remove her clothes and held his hand over her mouth to the point that she feared for her life.
Two other women came forward with their own allegations of sexual impropriety after Ford went public.
Kavanagh vehemently denied the allegations, and moved to paint the claims as a partisan attack that he linked to “a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election.”
During her remarks, Ford addressed her hesitation to come forward, saying she was not in front of lawmakers “because I want to be.”
“I am terrified,” Ford said. “I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school. …I understand and appreciate the importance of hearing from me directly about what happened to me and the impact it has had only life and on my family.”
Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Saturday in a narrow 50-48 vote.
Lisa Banks, another of Ford’s attorneys, told MSNBC that Ford had no regrets about coming forward because she “still believes it was the right thing to do.”
President Donald Trump stood steadfast beside Kavanaugh, and even moved to discredit Ford, mocking her at a rally shortly after her testimony and doubting the claims.
Ford’s lawyers on Sunday said she was “horrified” at the president’s attacks and compared her ordeal to that of Anita Hill, the woman who publicly testified against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
“We thought it was bad back in 1991, and it’s even worse today, the political climate and how women are treated,” Banks said.