I listened carefully to the testimonies of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Cavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Both of them were powerful witnesses. Each of them has a host of supporters who vouch for their good character, and I had the impression that Ford and Kavanaugh were each telling the absolute truth “as they remembered it.”  But both accounts could not be correct.  One of them must be wrong.

I am neither a psychologist, psychiatrist nor a sex therapist.  Could Christine Ford have a vivid memory of an event that never happened?  I do not know,  but I do know that there have been occasions in my own life when it was  difficult  to discern whether something was a memory or a dream.  There is also the possibility that Christine identified the wrong man, even though she stated that she was absolutely certain that Brett Cavanaugh was the person who assaulted her.

Many facts appear to weaken the credibility of Ford’s account:

• She does not remember the day, month or year of the assault, although she is reasonably certain that it occurred in the summer of 1982.
• She does not know the address of the house where the assault took place or the owner of the house.
• She cannot say how she got to the house, although she seemed to suggest that it was near the country club and she walked to the house from there.
• When she fled the house, at least one account says she walked home. If the house was near the country club, that would have been a distance of some five miles.
• Christine says two boys, Brett and a friend, were in the room where the assault took place. Both of them deny being there.
• Christine says that there were others, possibly two other boys and two girls, who were also in the house. One of these boys and one girl she identified, and thus far both of these people, and the girl is a close friend of Christine Ford, deny any knowledge of the event. This girl has also said that she does not know Brett Kavanaugh.
• Christine did not tell her parents, friends, or anyone else of the assault until she was in a couples’ therapy session in 2012.
• A contemporary calendar kept by Kavanaugh suggests that he attended no party such as the one described by Christine during the summer of 1982.
• The Brett Kavanaugh of 1982, as portrayed by Christine Ford , is totally different from the Brett Kavanaugh pictured by his friends at that time; and his behavior toward her, if true, would be a complete deviation from his well-attested record of respect and consideration towards girls and women during his school years and throughout his entire adult life.
• Although Christine says she is 100% certain that it was Kavanaugh who assaulted her, both she and Brett say that they did not know each other well and traveled in different social circles.  Christine also says that she never encountered Brett after the day of the incident; therefore, she could easily be mistaken about the attacker’s identity
• Christine Ford could be telling a deliberate lie. If so, she is a wonderful actress.

Brett Kavanaugh’s credibility can also be questioned:

• Brett drank a lot at parties in high school. He admits this.  Most if not all of his drinking was beer, but sometimes he consumed an excessive amount.  He denies having ever been drunk to the point of not knowing where he was or what he was doing, but it is possible that he may have become so inebriated that he engaged in the activity Christine describes and cannot remember it.
• If Brett Kavanaugh is guilty of the alleged offense and remembers it, he would probably deny it. If so, he is a wonderful actor.

Now we wait for the FBI’s follow-up investigation.  I assume that they will concentrate on Christine Ford’s allegation and re-interview the persons that she identified as witnesses.  Unless these people change their testimony, I doubt that the FBI will unearth new evidence that will corroborate her story; nor is it likely that any new evidence will prove Kavanaugh’s innocence.

Next week another chapter in this continuing saga will be written.

May the truth prevail!