Kavanaugh Accuser Speaks To Newspaper On Record

WASHINGTON (CBSLA/AP) — The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers came forward Sunday.

Christine Blasey Ford identified herself to The Washington Post after her name was reportedly leaked.

Ford, a research psychologist who teaches at Palo Alto University and Stanford, told the newspaper that Kavanaugh and a friend corralled her in a bedroom during a gathering at a house in Maryland in the early 1980s. She says that both boys were "stumbling drunk" and that the friend watched as Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed.

She said, "He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing," she said.

She says she tried to scream and Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand. She also said the friend turned up music in an effort to drown out her screams.

Ford says she escaped when Kavanaugh's friend jumped on top of them and they tumbled.

The now-53-year-old Kavanaugh denies the allegation.

Ford told the paper, "I thought he might inadvertently try to kill me."

Ford says she didn't reveal what happened until 2012 during couples therapy with her husband.

Last week, Kavanaugh said, "I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any other time."

Senator Dianne Feinstein who first made Ford's allegations public by passing on a letter Ford wrote to the FBI tweeted Sunday, "I support Mrs. Ford's decision to tell her story. It's hers to tell and it must be taken seriously. I find her credible and the attacks on her must stop."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, another member of the Judiciary Committee said, "If Mrs. Ford wishes to provide information to the committee, I would gladly listen to what she has to say and compare that against all other information we have received about Judge Kavanaugh."

Will the accusations about the attempted sexual assault derail Kavanaugh? Political pundits don't agree.

"Judge Kavanaugh was sailing through the confirmation process, and I think now it's going to be a bumpier road," says Professor Jessica Levinson of Loyola Law School.

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