Feinstein denies that Ford letter came from her office

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) rebuked conservative claims she or her staff held onto a confidential letter from Christine Blasey Ford against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh and leaked it to disrupt his confirmation process.

“Mr. Chairman, let me be clear. I did not hide Dr. Ford’s allegations. I did not leak her story,” she said to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “She asked me to hold it confidential and I kept it confidential as she asked. She apparently was stalked by the press, felt that what happened, she was forced to come forward, and her greatest fear was realized,” Feinstein, who is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said. 

{mosads}“I was given some information by a woman who was very much afraid that asked that it be held confidential, and I held it confidential until she decided that she would come forward,” she added, also saying her staff members did not leak the letter.

D.C. bureau chief for The Intercept Ryan Grim, whose publication was the first to receive the letter, tweeted, “Feinstein’s staff did not leak the letter to The Intercept.”

Feinstein’s staff did not leak the letter to The Intercept

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) September 27, 2018

Ford initially submitted a letter detailing her allegations of rape to Feinstein and her representative, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) in late July outlining the allegations. The letter was leaked earlier this month.

Ford and Kavanaugh both testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday to discuss the allegations Ford has brought forth. Kavanaugh adamantly denied the allegations. 

Republicans ripped Feinstein’s handling of the allegations, accusing her of waiting to leak the allegations to have a maximum impact on Kavanaugh’s confirmation chances. 

“If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guy’s life, hold this seat open, and hope you win in 2020…This is the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics, and if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn’t have done what you’ve done to this guy,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who sits on the committee, shouted at Feinstein.

Democrats have repeatedly called for an FBI investigation into allegations from three women detailing various degrees of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh while in high school and college.

Kavanaugh has denied all the accusations and he and the GOP resisted calls for an FBI investigation.