"No one should underestimate her," says Christine Blasey Ford's friend of 40 years
As Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford prepare to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ford's friend of 40 years, Samantha Guerry, is speaking out about her character and the consistency of her account that Kavanaugh was the person who assaulted her at a high school party in 1982.
"There's no question about his identity. This is something that she's been clear on from the very beginning and every instance that she's brought this information forward to a friend she's been clear about that," Guerry told "CBS This Morning" on Thursday.
Ford went public with her allegations on Sept. 16 but had initially outlined them in an anonymous letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Feinstein requested to delay Kavanaugh's confirmation vote because of the letter.
According to her prepared remarks, she will tell the committee, "I was pushed from behind into a bedroom" at a high school party. "Brett got on top of me" and "put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. This was what terrified me the most."
Ford, who Guerry described as "very private," will be facing intense scrutiny during Thursday's Senate hearing about personal details of her life including her marriage, politics and mental health.
- Christine Blasey Ford's prepared testimony for Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
- Brett Kavanaugh's prepared testimony for Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
"I am definitely worried about her….Who wouldn't be scared to get up and have to talk about these incredibly private things in such an incredibly public way to strangers who have already, many of whom have already said her testimony doesn't really matter to them. So, that's frightening but she's fierce and she's smart and she's sincere and no one should underestimate her," Guerry said.
Ford has faced criticism for the lack of specificity in her account. She appears to address those critics in her prepared statement in which she is expected to say, "I don't remember as much as I would like to. But the details about that night that bring me here today are ones I will never forget."
"I think it's well documented from everything I've been hearing as well as through the news and all that, that people who have had these types of traumas have an acute memory of a lot of details and then there are a lot of things that are somewhat vague…. But in this case she knew Brett Kavanaugh. She knew exactly who was attacking her," Guerry said.
Since Ford came forward with her allegations, two other women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
For full coverage of Thursday's hearing tune in to CBS or CBSN beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET