White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Monday said the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct “should not be insulted and she should not be ignored.”
Conway on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends” said members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are willing to hear testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, the California psychology professor who went public with her accusations against Kavanaugh on Sunday.
{mosads}”This woman should not be insulted and she should not be ignored,” Conway said. “I think the Senate is headed to a reasonable approach.”
Conway said she has spoken to several senators, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who support bringing Ford before the committee to provide sworn testimony.
“This woman will be heard,” Conway said, noting she has spoken to the president.
Ford’s attorney on Monday said that her client is willing to testify before the committee.
“Remember too, that has to be weighed against what we already know, which is that Judge Kavanaugh is a man of character and integrity who has been through six FBI vettings,” Conway added.
Conway in a later tweet said that “hundreds of women have come forward to speak about Judge Kavanaugh’s character and integrity.”
“This matters,” she added.
Ford earlier in the summer sent a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, alleging that Kavanaugh in the 1980s pinned Ford down and attempted to take her clothes off during a party when the pair were in high school. Ford’s identity was unknown until she identified herself to The Washington Post on Sunday.
Kavanaugh and the White House have denied the accusation.
Multiple Democratic lawmakers are calling to postpone the Thursday vote on Kavanaugh. A few Republican senators, including Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), have said they want to hear more from Ford. Both senators are retiring after this Congress.
Updated at 10:17 a.m.