Yearbook/university photo Christine Blasey Ford's family includes husband Russell Ford.
Christine Blasey Ford’s husband Russell Ford has spoken out on her behalf after Ford, a Palo Alto University professor, revealed that she is Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s high school-era accuser.
Christine Blasey Ford and Russell Biddle Ford have been married since 2002, according to their wedding announcement from the time. Christine Ford voluntarily came forward by name to The Washington Post in a September 16, 2018 interview. In it, she accused Brett Kavanaugh of pinning her down and groping her but says she escaped. Both were in high school at the time. A Kavanaugh high school friend Ford alleges was also present – D.C. writer Mark Judge – previously told the Weekly Standard that the accusation was false. Kavanaugh has strenuously denied the accusation.
Kavanaugh has said: “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.”
Kavanaugh’s mom, Judge Martha Kavanaugh, handled some hearings in a home foreclosure case filed against Ford’s parents, Ralph G. and Paula Blasey. You can read the details of that case below.
Here’s what you need to know about Christine Ford’s family and husband, Russell Biddle Ford:
1. Russell Ford Says His Wife Told Him About the Alleged Incident, Which He Feels Is Relevant to Kavanaugh’s Nomination
GettyU.S. President Donald Trump introduces U.S. Circuit Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh with his family.
Christine Ford alleged to the Post that Brett Kavanaugh, while he was in high school, “pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.”
Her husband is quoted in the Post story to back her up. The article alleges that Ford first revealed the incident in couples’ therapy with her husband in 2012, and it quotes therapist notes that describe what she said, although they don’t mention Kavanaugh by name.
Her husband Russell verified that she told him about the incident at that time in an interview with the Post and “recalled that his wife used Kavanaugh’s last name and voiced concern that Kavanaugh — then a federal judge — might one day be nominated to the Supreme Court.”
Russ Ford also told The Post that he thinks the allegation is relevant to Kavanaugh’s quest for the Supreme Court even though it dated to high school. “I think you look to judges to be the arbiters of right and wrong,” Russell Ford said to The Post. “If they don’t have a moral code of their own to determine right from wrong, then that’s a problem. So I think it’s relevant. Supreme Court nominees should be held to a higher standard.”
2. The Couple Married in Half Moon Bay, California, in 2002; Ford’s Parents’ Home Once Faced Foreclosure
Ford’s 1983 yearbook photo
The wedding announcement for the couple was published at Gazette.net.
It gives additional information about Christine Blasey Ford’s family, saying she is the daughter of “Mr. and Mrs. Ralph G. Blasey Jr. of Potomac” and giving her full name as Christine Margaret.
According to the announcement, the groom was Russell Biddle Ford, “son of John Bailey Ford of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mrs. Ruth Guthery of Wyckoff, N.J.”
“The prospective bride is a graduate of the Holton Arms School, the University of North Carolina, Pepperdine University and the University of Southern California. She is a research psychologist and bio-statistician at Stanford University School of Medicine,” the announcement reads. “Mr. Ford is an alumnus of the University of Rochester and Stanford University School of Engineering. He is employed with Cygnus Corporation in Redwood City, Calif. A June wedding in Half Moon Bay, Calif., is planned.”
Montgomery County court records show that Brett Kavanaugh’s mother, Martha Kavanaugh, who was a judge, presided over a couple hearings involving a foreclosure action against Ralph G. Blasey of Potomac Maryland and Paula Blasey.
Kavanaugh’s mom granted a voluntary plaintiff’s motion for dismissal in the case. According to Snopes, “Kavanaugh actually ruled favorably toward the Blaseys, who ended up keeping their home.” Some sites have falsely reported that Martha Kavanaugh ruled against Blasey Ford’s parents. The company that had filed the foreclosure action sought its dismissal when the Blaseys were able to refinance their mortgage, according to Snopes, adding that the Blaseys kept their home.
.@CBSNews went to Montgomery Co Court today to look into Blasey’s parents’ 1996 foreclosure.
The Blaseys settled w/their lender. The bank asked Judge Martha Kavanaugh to dismiss the case. She did. The Blaseys kept the house.
There’s no record they appeared in her courtroom.
You can read more about Brett Kavanaugh’s mom Martha here. A friend told The Mercury News that Christine Ford’s parents were “Bush-conservative” parents. “She didn’t always get along with her parents because of differing political views,” Russell said. “It was a very male-dominated environment,” Russell Ford told The Post.
3. Russell Ford Has Worked for Medical & Pharmaceutical Companies & the Couple Has Two Children
Getty/Palo Alto UniversityChristine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh
Russell Ford and Christine Blasey Ford have two teenage sons, according to the San Jose Mercury News, which reports that the family members are all avid surfers. A friend described the couple as “modest,” and said they eat organic food and “drive hybrids that they plug into a charging station in their driveway.”
Russell Ford’s LinkedIn page hasn’t been updated since 2016. However, at that time, it described a lengthy career in medical research. The most recent entry says that, from 2004 to 2006, Russ Ford worked for a company called Zosano Pharma. He gave his title as “Sr Director, System Design and Development.”
Ford described his duties as: “Individual contributor and manager of engineering group responsible for all mechanical product design and development activities including technical scale-up for components and applicator device; i.e. non-drug, non-excipient product design – dynamic mechanical applicator, microneedle array, adhesive patch, and packaging. Budgeting for functional group and for individual projects. Presenter and interface for device design during 6+ technical audits by prospective pharma business partners. Attendee at FDA EOP2 meeting.”
Before that, he worked as director of Advanced Engineering for Abbott Medical Optics in Milpitas, California, a position he held from 2011 to 2014. “Division of Abbott Laboratories, #1 in laser vision correction products, #2 in cataract products – surgical equipment and implants (IOL’s). Milpitas is portion of R&D and MFG site for all surgical capital equipment – phaco-emulsification and LASiK (aberrometers for diagnostic, femto-second lasers for flap cut, and excimer laser for shaping the cornea),” he wrote in part with the entry.
Ford has also held similar positions at Boston Scientific and, as noted in his wedding announcement, at Cygnus, where he describes himself as the “developer of first FDA-approved non-invasive continuous glucose monitor for people with Diabetes.”
4. Russell Ford, Who Met His Wife Through a Dating Website, Has a PHD in Mechanical Engineering From Stanford University
Russell Ford first met Christine Blasey through a dating website; their first date was dinner and the second, surfing, according to The Washington Post.
Russ Ford earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, according to his LinkedIn page.
“Developed a Robust Concept Design Methodology using two in-depth industry case studies: • Design of a vacuum compatible robot for semiconductor fabrication equipment. • Design of a material forming process for manufacture of heat-shrink tubing. Coursework during MS and PhD also included depth in material science and mathematical statistics,” he wrote.
He also received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford and graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in mechanical engineering as well.
Online records say the couple sold a home in 2004 together for more than $800,000.
5. Christine Blasey Ford Is a Professor in California
Ford works as a professor at Palo Alto University and teaches in consortium with Stanford University. She has written or helped write more than 50 journals, book chapters, and other articles. One study focused on trauma as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
A 2017 article in the San Jose Mercury News says that Blasey was planning to attend a science march wearing a knitted brain hat that was supposed to resemble the pink p*ssy hats that many have used to protest Donald Trump and advocate for women’s rights.
“It’s a science party!” the article quotes “biostatistician Christine Blasey, of Palo Alto” as saying. It says she would “wear an elaborately knitted cap of the human brain — yarn turned into a supersized cerebral cortex — inspired by the ‘pussy hats’ donned during the Women’s Marches.” The article describes the march as involving people, in general, who are “deeply worried that political leaders are ignoring scientific evidence, aren’t committed to fighting climate change and are calling for significant cuts to national science programs.” It didn’t specifically attribute those views to Blasey, though.
The Washington Post reports that she is a “registered Democrat who has made small contributions to political organizations.” She also signed a letter speaking out against Donald Trump’s family separation policy at the border.
Her donations have been earmarked for Bernie Sanders, the Democratic National committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The amounts were small.
Here is a link to her scholarly works.
Christine Ford has deleted her social media pages, but an archive of an old LinkedIn page gives these past positions for her:
Consultant. The Brain Resource Company Jul. 1, 2013 – Sep. 1, 2013
Professor Pgsp-stanford School Of Medicine Collaborative Clinical Psychology Program
Consultant. Titan Pharmaceuticals Jan. 1, 2012 – Dec. 31, 2013
Director of statistics. Corcept Therapeutics Pharmaceuticals Jul. 1, 2006 – Aug. 1, 2012
Research psychologist. Stanford University Department Of Psychiatry Research Jul. 1, 2004 – Aug. 1, 2012
Psychologist. Children’s Health Council Mental health care Apr. 1, 1998 – Aug. 1, 2002
Research psychologist. Stanford University Division Of Child Psychiatry Research Jan. 1, 1998 – Aug. 1, 2004
Visiting professor in psychology. Pepperdine University Higher education Sep. 1, 1995 – Apr. 1, 1998
LINKEDIN EDUCATION
Stanford University. MS, Epidemiology and Biostatistics January 1, 2007 – December 31, 2009
University of Southern California. PhD, Educational Psychology: Research Design January 1, 1991 – December 31, 1996
Pepperdine University. MA, Psychology: Clinical January 1, 1989 – December 31, 1991
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. BA, Psychology January 1, 1984 – December 31, 1988
Holton-Arms School. High School Diploma January 1, 1977 – December 31, 1984
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