Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Thursday said the allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh prompted his daughters to reveal to him for the first time certain experiences they had in high school.
Wallace made the disclosure during Fox News’ coverage ahead of Thursday’s highly anticipated hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee between Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges the judge sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers in the early 1980s.
“Over the course of this week, like I think a lot of American families, my family ― a lot of it on email ― has been discussing this and disagreeing and arguing about it,” Wallace said. “And two of my daughters have told me stories that I had never heard before about things that happened to them in high school.”
He continued: “[They] hadn’t told their parents ― I don’t know if they told their friends ― certainly they never reported to police. They weren’t as serious as the allegations against Kavanaugh, but the point is that there are teenage girls who don’t tell stories to a lot of people, and then it comes up, and I don’t think we can disregard that. I don’t think that we can disregard Christine Blasey Ford and the seriousness of this. I think that would be a big mistake.”
At least three women ― Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick ― have alleged in recent weeks that Kavanaugh engaged in sexual misconduct in the early 1980s.
Blasey alleges Kavanaugh pinned her down, groped her and attempted to remove her clothes during a small gathering when they were both high school students. Ramirez alleges Kavanaugh thrust his penis in her face during a drinking party when they were both freshmen at Yale University in the early 1980s. And Swetnick alleges she witnessed Kavanaugh and one of his friends at several high school parties getting “drunk” and “being overly aggressive with girls.”
Kavanaugh, now a federal appeals court judge, has vehemently denied the allegations.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.