Anita Hill says it's "the right move" to have FBI probe Kavanaugh allegation
Anita Hill, the woman who testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her, supports the idea of asking the FBI to investigate the sexual misconduct allegation Christine Blasey Ford has made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
"Absolutely, it's the right move," Hill told ABC News' "Good Morning America." "The hearing questions need to have a frame and the investigation is the best frame for that -- a neutral investigation, that can pull together the facts, create a record, so that the senators can draw on the information they receive to develop their question."
She also suggested bringing in the testimony of experts "who can help them shape the questions they're going to ask. All of this -- is really something that I don't think can be avoided if you really want to get to the truth."
Five days after Thomas' confirmation hearings, Hill testified before Congress that Thomas had harassed her when he was her supervisor at the Civil Rights office of the Education Department. While Thomas was confirmed, Hill's testimony has not been forgotten and has been raised as a #MeToo object lesson in how not to handle Kavanaugh's nomination.
Ford has been asked by the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify Monday, but her lawyers told the committee that Ford would like to see her allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her over three decades ago investigated by the FBI before she testifies to the the committee.
Hill was then asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos if Ford has an obligation to testify if, as the president and Republicans indicate, there isn't an FBI investigation, and the conditions are "not ideal." But Hill said it was really a question about the conditions of Ford's testimony are "actually tenable."
"We're not talking about whether the conditions are 'ideal,' we're talking about whether the conditions are actually tenable -- whether or not it's going to be anything more than just a sham proceeding, so that the senators can say, 'We gave her a chance to talk,'" before going on to just confirm him as they intended, Hill said.
"There is no reason to rush this and push this with a six-day time frame," Hill said.
"The American public really is expecting something more. The American public wants to know about what happened, and they want to know that the Senate takes this seriously."
Writing in the New York Times Tuesday, Hill used her own experience as an example of why Ford's allegations should not be dismissed out of hand. "The weight of the government should not be used to destroy the lives of witnesses who are called to testify," she said.