Grassley Says Ford is Withholding Evidence & Her Polygraph May Be Unreliable

Chuck Grassley, the chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, has sent a letter to Christine Ford’s lawyers demanding that she immediately hand over evidence of the alleged sexual assault on her by Brett Kavanaugh. Grassley charged that Ford has been “withholding” material evidence in the case, in spite of “multiple requests” for her to hand over any evidence that she may have to his commmittee. He also says that Ford’s polygraph examination may not be as reliable as people believe it to be.

Grassley writes, “Your continued withholding of material evidence despite multiple requests is unacceptable.”

You can read the full letter, from Grassley to Ford’s lawyers, here.

Grassley Wants the Notes from Ford’s Therapy Sessions

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The letter to Ford’s lawyers makes a few specific demands. First, it asks Ford’s legal team to hand over the notes from the therapy sessions in which Ford discussed the alleged assault by Kavanaugh. That’s a reference to the 2012 marriage counseling sessions that Ford attended with her husband. Ford has said that those counseling sessions were the first time that she ever told anyone that she had been assaulted by Kavanaugh.

Grassley says that he’s asked for these notes and Ford has turned him down — now he’s asking again. He points out that Ford gave the Washington Post some of the notes from her therapy sessions. Now, he says, it’s only fair for the Senate Judiciary committee to see those notes too. He writes, “These notes have been repeatedly cited as corroboration even while written 30 years after the alleged eventand in apparent contradiction with testimony and other public statements…” Grassley says that it’s not reasonable for Ford to claim that the notes are too sensitive to share, since the material in the notes has already been presented as evidence.

Grassley Says Ford May Know How to Beat a Polygraph Test

The letter to Ford’s lawyers also requests any audio or video recordings that were made while Ford had her polygraph test. Grassley also wants to see the polygraph charts, and any other material that was used in preparing the polygraph results.

The letter says that this is especially important in Ford’s case because senators have heard testimony from a former boyfriend of Ford’s who swears that Ford has some expertise in taking polygraph tests. The ex-boyfriend told the committee that he’d seen Ford coaching someone on how to take a polygraph exam. Grassley says he is concerned that her own polygraph test may not be reliable.

“The Senate Judiciary Committee has received sworn testimony from a longtime boyfriend of Dr. Ford’s, stating that he personally witnessed Dr. Ford coaching a friend on polygraph examinations. When asked under oath in the hearing whether she’d ever given any tips or advice to someone who was planning on taking a polygraph, Dr. Ford replied, “Never.” This statement raises specific concerns about the reliability of her polygraph examination results.”

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