On the list of demands from Christine Blasey Ford's lawyers for her client to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee was that there be no outside counsel questioning her at the hearing, originally scheduled for Monday. Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who knows a thing or two about public relations, believes he knows why.
The reason Professor Ford's lawyers don't want an outside lawyer to ask questions is because they don't want a woman to be the questioner. They prefer the optics of all male questioners. It shows how politically calculating her lawyers are.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 21, 2018
Witnesses, he added, "do not get to determine who asks questions." It is the committee’s "prerogative" if they want outside counsel.
Fleischer pushed back at some of Ford's other demands too, like her wanting Kavanaugh to testify first. That's not usually how it works in a courtroom, he noted.
It makes no sense for Kavanaugh to go first. The “prosecution” always goes first to prove their case. How can Brett properly respond if he doesn’t know what she’s said - other than he didn’t do it. That’s why the “defense” always goes second. https://t.co/sdul9dz5gu
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) September 21, 2018
Ford also wants to testify without Kavanaugh being in the room, and, perhaps the biggest ask of all, they want the FBI to investigate the incident. That, the committee has repeatedly noted, is not going to happen. They did, however, offer to move the hearing to Wednesday.