Kellyanne Conway speaks out on Kavanaugh's accuser: 'She should be heard'

Screenshot via Fox

Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway

• White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault"should not be insulted and she should not be ignored."
• Conway was appearing on "Fox & Friends" less than a day after The Washington Post published a story in which Christine Blasey Ford identified herself as the previously anonymous accuser.
• Ford said Monday said she would testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and "do whatever it takes to get her story forth."

Less than a day after the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault spoke out for the first time, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway encouraged lawmakers to embrace hearing her story.

Conway said on Fox & Friends Monday morning the now-identified accuser "should not be insulted and she should not be ignored."

Christine Blasey Ford, a 51-year-old research psychologist and professor, identified herself to The Washington Post in an article published Sunday that further detailed her allegations of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh when both were teenagers.

On Monday, Ford said through her lawyer she would testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and "do whatever it takes to get her story forth," according to CNN.

Conway said officials should support Ford's right and willingness to testify as they prepare for a potential committee vote on Kavanaugh's nomination.

"Allowing this woman to be heard in sworn testimony, allowing Judge Kavanaugh to be heard in sworn testimony about these specific allegations, would be added to the considerable mountain of evidence and the considerations folks will have when they weigh whether or not to vote for Judge Kavanaugh," she said.

Conway said after speaking with President Donald Trump and other lawmakers, she was confident the committee would determine "how and through which forum" Ford would be able to testify.

However, Conway added, this new development should be weighed against records as part of his vetting as a nominee that Conway said concluded Kavanaugh is a "man of character and integrity."

"He also has been lauded from women from every aspect of his life and this is significant ... for a man of character and integrity to be spoken about so highly by women who maybe didn't vote for President Trump, maybe don't call themselves Republicans," Conway said, referring to a letter from 65 women who knew Kavanaugh since high school. 

The Post published previously unknown details from Ford, who alleges during the incident from the early 1980s of a "stumbling drunk" Kavanaugh pinning her down and forcing himself on her while his friend watched and stifled her screams.

"I thought he might inadvertently kill me," Ford said. "He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing."

The Post corroborated Ford's account with elements including notes from therapy sessions that include mention of a "rape attempt" by students from an "elitist boys school" who would become "highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington." The notes did not mention Kavanaugh by name.

Ford told the Post she decided to come forward after she feared for her privacy and story's accuracy after reporters visited her at home and at work, and another reporter called her colleagues.

Kavanaugh's nomination has already been embroiled in resistance from Judiciary Committee Democrats and scores of protestors that have expressed concerns over his record on a number of key issues, including abortion and gun control.