Getty Christine Ford's husband is Russell Ford.
Russell Ford, the husband of Christine Blasey Ford, met his wife through an online dating site and is a California-based engineer.
Ford’s husband Russell has spoken out in defense of Ford, a Palo Alto University professor, after she accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to grope her in the 1980s, when both were in high school. Kavanaugh adamantly denies that – and other – accusations that have imperiled his nomination. Both Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh were scheduled to give testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a September 27, 2018 public hearing. Ford mentioned her husband and their two children during her testimony.
Professor Christine Blasey Ford.
In the hearing, Ford said that she had “told my husband before we were married” that she had experienced sexual assault. “My husband and I had completed a very extensive, long remodel of our home, and I insisted on a second front door, an idea that he” and others did not understand, she said, explaining how the alleged attack came up during their marital therapy sessions. She said the Kavanaugh revelation came out in the discussion about why she wanted a second door. She told Dianne Feinstein she wanted the second door because she was claustrophobic.
Through it all, Russell Ford has remained publicly steadfast in support of his wife. Christine Ford first spoke out 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.
GettyChristine Blasey Ford
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. Three friends of Ford’s joined her husband in submitting affidavits that say she told them about the alleged attempted assault before Kavanaugh was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. Two other people Ford has named as being at the party in question have denied any recollection of it.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Russell Ford Says He Can Corroborate That Christine Ford Told Him About the Allegation Before Kavanaugh Was a Candidate for U.S. Supreme Court
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 same 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 those notes 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 nomination to the Supreme Court even though it dates back 36 years. “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.”
Russell Ford has submitted an affidavit in advance of the hearing to back up his wife. It says, “The first time I learned that Christine had any experience with sexual assault was around the time we got married, although she did not provide any details.”
He said that “Christine shared the details of the sexual assault during a couple’s therapy session in 2012. She said that in high school she had been trapped in a room and physically restrained by one boy who was molesting her while another boy watched. She said she was eventually able to escape before she was raped but that the experience was very traumatic because she felt like she had no control and was physically dominated.”
Ford’s affidavit further contends, “I remember her saying that the attacker’s name was Brett Kavanaugh, that he was a successful lawyer who had grown up in Christine’s home town, and that he was well-known in the Washington D.C. community.”
Ford stated that in the years following the therapy sessions he and his wife “spoke a number of times about how the assault affected her.”
He said that Christine Ford mentioned Kavanaugh “was the person who sexually assaulted her” when President Donlad Trump was in the process of selecting his first nominee for the Supreme Court, a nomination that went to Judge Neil Gorsuch. “I remember Christine saying she was afraid the President might nominate Mr. Kavanaugh,” Russell Ford said.
He said the conversations began again when Anthony Kennedy retired and Kavanaugh emerged on Trump’s short list.
“Christine was very conflicted about whether she should speak publicly about what Mr. Kavanaugh had done to her, as she knew it would be emotionally trying for her to relive this traumatic experience in her life and hard on our family to deal with the inevitable public reacton. However, in the end she believed her civic duty required her to speak out,” Russell Ford’s affidavit rads.
He concluded by saying that his wife was a “truthful person of great integrity” and lauded her. “I am proud of her for her bravery and courage,” he wrote.
2. The Family of Four Enjoys Surfing & the Fords Drive Hybrids They Charge in the Driveway
Ford’s 1983 yearbook photo
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.”
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.
However, 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.
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 Biddle Ford Has Worked for Medical & Pharmaceutical Companies
Getty/Palo Alto UniversityChristine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh
Russell Ford’s LinkedIn page hasn’t been updated since 2016. However, at that time, it described a lengthy and accomplished 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 Met His Wife Through a Dating Website
How did Russell Ford and Christine Ford meet?
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 Works as a Professor in California
Like her husband, Christine Blasey Ford has a successful career 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.
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