After Christine Blasey Ford came forward publicly with a story of being assaulted by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at a high school party in the early 1980s, the White House quickly released a statement dismissing her as a liar.

“On Friday, Judge Kavanaugh ‘categorically and unequivocally’ denied this allegation,” says the White House statement, released on Monday morning. “This has not changed. Judge Kavanaugh and the White House both stand by that statement.”

White House statement on Kavanaugh just out: "On Friday, Judge Kavanaugh ‘categorically and unequivocally’ denied this allegation. This has not changed. Judge Kavanaugh and the White House both stand by that statement." — Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) September 17, 2018

According to Washington Post reporting published Sunday, there are a number of pieces of evidence corroborating her story.


Blasey Ford told a couples therapist about the incident in 2012; she provided the Post with the notes from that session. Though the notes don’t mention Kavanaugh by name, they indicate she said she was attacked by students “from an elitist boys’ school” who went on to become “highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington.” Blasey Ford’s husband also told the Post that when she recounted the alleged assault during those 2012 therapy session, he remembers Blasey Ford using Kavanaugh’s last name and expressing concern that Kavanaugh could be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court one day.

As Blasey Ford considered coming forward earlier this summer, she contacted an attorney named Debra Katz. According to the Post, Katz advised her to take a polygraph test administrated by a former FBI agent; the results indicted she was telling the truth about the incident with Kavanaugh.

During a CNN interview on Monday, Katz cited the 2012 therapy sessions and the polygraph test as evidence her client is being truthful. Katz also said Blasey Ford is willing to testify before Congress, but hasn’t been asked yet.

Katz on CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD: "She's now going to have to live with the tremendous efforts by people to discredit her. She's telling the truth. She took a polygraph and mentioned this in her therapy sessions in 2012, and she came forward before this nominee was nominated." pic.twitter.com/nIxutjbDQs — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 17, 2018

This is far from the first time the Trump has unequivocally dismissed credible accusations of sexual misconduct made against him or one of his political allies, opting to smear the people speaking out about alleged abuse as liars.


Trump took the same approach in response to accusations made against Roy Moore, Bill O’Reilly, Roger Ailes, Rob Porter, and, most recently, Jim Jordan. The White House has officially accused the more than 16 women who have accused President Trump of sexual misconduct of lying.

While the White House accused Blasey Ford of lying, Donald Trump Jr. mocked Blasey Ford’s accusation in an Instagram post on Sunday, likening Kavanaugh’s alleged behavior to schoolyard attempts at romance.

I didn’t think this was real. The president’s son posted this on Instagram yesterday. The “🤣🙌” comment at the bottom is from senior HUD official @LynnePattonHUD. pic.twitter.com/nzRqMN0sIG — andrew kaczynski🧐 (@KFILE) September 17, 2018

Meanwhile, during a CNN interview on Monday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said “this woman should not be insulted and she should not be ignored,” but added that the accusation “has to be weighed against what we already know, which is that Judge Kavanaugh is a man of character and integrity… he has been lauded by women from every different aspect of his life.”

.@KellyannePolls says Christine Blasey Ford's assault allegation against Brett Kavanaugh "has to be weighed against what we already know, which is that Judge Kavanaugh is a man of character and integrity… he has been lauded by women from every different aspect of his life." pic.twitter.com/IJ8gfObJ3s — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 17, 2018

On Friday, Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released a statement vouching for Kavanaugh’s character that was signed by 65 women who knew Kavanaugh around the time Blasey Ford says he assaulted her.


The women claim that “[f]or the entire time we have known Brett Kavanaugh, he has behaved honorably and treated women with respect.” But treating women well in one set of circumstances certainly doesn’t mean someone is incapable of assaulting them in another — and some of the women who signed the letter indicated they didn’t know their signatures would be used to push back on a sexual assault allegation.

UPDATE (9/17, 10:24 a.m.) — Kavanaugh has released a new statement denying Blasey Ford’s allegations.